Self-Perception of Fluency: The Impact of Study Abroad vs. At-Home Formal Instruction

For many years now, study abroad has occupied an important place within second language acquisition research, especially concerning the effects of this experience on learners’ proficiency. The studies conducted so far have mainly dealt with the correlation between fluency development and learning context, comparing study abroad to formal instruction at home. The evidence supported the idea that learners who study abroad experience significant improvements in fluency compared to those who stay at home. The present study investigated students’ self-perception of fluency due to participating in these programmes. By means of a questionnaire, 62 Italian undergraduates self-reported on their fluency development. In this way, it was possible to determine whether and how much, according to the participants themselves, fluency may develop depending on the learning context. A comparison between the two samples was then performed. Results confirmed what had already been predicted in the literature by showing that study-abroad participants perceived their fluency to be more developed after the experience. However, improvements can also be observed in the at-home group. The study fills a gap in fluency research in terms of the approach adopted: instead of using traditional measures to gauge fluency, it is assessed directly by participants according to their perceptions.