Identifying strategies and tools used by students to address the challenges faced in their Period Abroad in Spain - Juan Muñoz López and Isabel Molina Vidal

The aim of this project is to identify which strategies and tools (if any) have been developed and used by students of Spanish at the University of Leeds when confronting challenges during their period abroad in Spain. Such identification of challenges will include not only language-related issues but also social and cultural situations that might have led students to resort to strategies and tools that were new to them, and which can only be developed and practised in the context of a foreign language and culture. The methodology and data collection tools of this study will include the analysis of students’ reflective essays submissions as well as a focus group discussion and questionnaires with those students who are or have been spending a period abroad in Spain. The collection of data will include all three options of placements abroad, namely, study abroad, British Council English language assistant and work placement. Results from this study will be relevant to provide future students before departure and during their placements in Spain with a toolkit of strategies to confront similar situations. In doing this, this study could significantly contribute to reducing the anxiety and stress that preparation for the period abroad might cause among students.

Juan Muñoz-López & Isabel Molina-Vidal

Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies