Best Practices for Study Abroad Maximizing Your Experience

1. Best Practices for Study AbroadMaximizing Your Experience Facilitated by: Lance Askildson, Ph.D.Assistant Provost for Internationalization David Younger, M.A. Associate Director for International Programs

2. Introductions & Credibility • Who we are… • Leaders, experts and scholars in intl studies • What we know… • The cognitive and behavioral correlates for good vs bad study abroad experiences • Why you should care… • We can help you help yourself to a much more meaningful and impactful study abroad experience

3. Some Preliminary Reflections In small groups of 4-6, answer the following questions: • What is the purpose of study abroad? Its expensive, relatively risky and involves considerable discomfort. So, why apply to go? What do you expect to get out of this experience? • What do you anticipate will be hard or challenging about your study abroad experience? Cite 2-3 examples. • What are your goals for your study abroad experience? What do you hope to accomplish/learn/achieve? Cite 2-3 examples. • How do you expect to achieve your goals for study abroad while avoiding the pitfalls that you anticipate? How will you accomplish this in your short time abroad? (Efficacy vsEfficiency)

4. Why go abroad? • To learn outside of the classroom. It’s that simple. Keri Matwick, 2009 SLA Grant & ND Alumnus

5. Best Practices: 7 Core Strategies • Articulate clear and feasible goals for yourself • Make progress towards these goals before departure • Anticipate and prepare to navigate challenges and surprises • Stay away from people/s and things you know and push yourself outside of your comfort zone • Get out and do something new everyday that helps advance your goals in a meaningful way • Develop a mechanism by which to systematically reflect on your learning every day/week • Take time to unpack your experiences and apply them to your life when you return to the US

6. 1. Establishing Goals for Your SA • In order to maximize your outcomes for study abroad, you need to set clear learning goals/outcomes for yourself now • This will allow you to “hit the ground running” and not spend your first weeks orienting yourself & creating a plan • Think about your goals functionally: Both in breadth and depth. What do you want to do vs. just know/understand? • What sort of attitude(s) or disposition do you want to cultivate? • Know why you are studying abroad: What motivates you intellectually and practically; should not be mutually exclusive • What, specifically, do you hope to get out of this experience? • Write down your top 3 goals now. Be explicit. • Take a moment to sketch out your goals now and compare them with individuals near to you

7. 2. Make Progress on Goals now • Start preparing for language/culture flood by watching/reading TL media to gear up • Research the country, region and city where you will be living • Make social networking connections with locals • Identify key resources to advance your goals: • Museums / libraries / universities to visit • Historical or cultural sites/events to visit • Professors / leaders / students you wish to meet • Businesses or professional contacts to make • Political organizations to engage or observe • Opera houses / music venues to attend • Intramural sports clubs / student clubs to join • Service organizations / churches to volunteer • Prepare a schedule of activities for your first 1-2 weeks in country now, using this research

8. 3. Prepare for Challenges • Understand and be prepared to navigate culture shock and homesickness • Talk to other returnees to make sure your goals are realistic (# of friends) and adjust accordingly • Think through responses for safety, health and security threats now so you can avoid panic • Local challenges? Transportation? Climate? Cultural attitudes towards women/Americans?

9. 4. Stay away from what you know • Avoid Americans and/or fellow ND students outside of classtime– be creative • Cultivate daily interactions with at least one local outside of your school/university • Push yourself to try new things (foods, activities, social norms) within reason • Limit social networking and communication back home to reasonable levels • Limit exposure to American culture/media/lang • Cultivate a greater tolerance for ambiguity in order to allow yourself to take social-psycho risks (again, within reason)

10. 5. Do something New Each Day • Simple but brilliant rule of thumb • Do something new every day • Make a list of all the small and big things you want to do and use it to get out of your local school/home environment every day • Make sure that these activities advance your goals in some discrete way – targeted activities • Great way of making measurable progress and addressing #4: Stay away from what you know

11. 6. Reflect on your Progress • If you don’t make time every day/week to systematically reflect on what you have learned and where you are headed: • You may lose/forget a lot of your insights/gains • Many of these insights will help you advance further • You may not realize how much progress you are making and may become unnecessarily discouraged • You may not realize that your current approach to SA is not working until it is too late • Keep a journal, set aside time once a day/week to sit in a coffee shop/bar/restaurant/sheesha lounge to cultivate some self-awareness on where you have been and where you are likely going…

12. 7. Think through Your Reentry • Don’t waste your experience by forgetting to unpack your experiences when you return • Reflect upon and apply what you have learned for your future personal, academic and professional trajectories • Talk to people who can help you leverage and implicate your intl experiences in some way • Find ways to stay connected/practice your language or cultural gains, if you want to do so • Study abroad should be transformative and have some/enormous impact on your life… if done right

13. Why Use Maximization Strategies? • Because they make a significant difference: Improving both efficacy and efficiency • Because you have a limited timeframe in which to achieve your goals • Because they will help you to better cope with study abroad immersion as a whole • Because they are often simple and easily applied once they have been raised to a level of awareness and practice

14. Questions or Comments? • Lance Askildson (Askildson.2@nd.edu) • David Younger (David.Younger.4@nd.edu)