While urban settlements have been an integral part of human life for millennia, cities today are arguably at the heart of survival on, and of, this planet. More than half of the world's population now lives in cities, and urban centers present some of the greatest social and environmental challenges of their time. Though students may study in or…

Creating first hand experiences of urban cultures that focus on reflection and leave profound impressions on students while providing the framing for future cycles of experiential learning is a complex and difficult dynamic to navigate. The way urban manifestations of a different culture are directly experienced varies depending on the…

In the summers of 2007 and 2008 St. John's University's faculty arrived in Rome and spent two weeks working together at the university's campus in the Prati section of Rome as participants in a program that was half faculty writing retreat and half writing across the curriculum faculty development workshop. The focus of the St. John's University…

Students who attend Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, have elected to spend their university years in one of America's most distinguished small cosmopolitan cities. Over the last two decades as the world has become rapidly urbanized, Hartford has become a critically contested site where economic poverty, environmental degradation,…

Study abroad's purpose, once conceived primarily as a means for acquiring knowledge in a content area as well as language acquisition, began in the 1980s to be considered a vehicle for helping American students become less "parochial" and better prepared to live and work in a globalized world. To achieve these goals, students must be able to…

Cross-/inter-cultural development, language acquisition, employment potential, and the impact of homestays, program duration, direct enrollment, even grading policies have been analyzed in the pages of "Frontiers" and other journals. This analysis more often than not utilizes methodologies particular to social science research. What has been…

London is the paramount example of a city that is not bounded by its geography and cannot be grasped in isolation. The U.K.'s national capital and the prime focus for business, finance and creative industries, London also transcends the U.K.'s borders as a hub of the world economy. This paper argues that London, a city riddled by the socioeconomic…

Jerusalem is more than an intriguing global historical city; it is a classroom for liberal learning and international understanding. It had never been a city of one language, one religion and one culture. Looking at the origins of Jerusalem's name indicates its international and multicultural nature. While Israelis designate Jerusalem as their…

Dubbed the Net Generation, modern university students have grown up not only with advanced communication technologies at their disposal, but using such technologies to both maintain and create social networks of support. In a study abroad context, the maintenance of dual on- and offline personas provides students with the opportunity to demolish…

Over the last decade the number of students studying abroad has increased 150% to more than a quarter of a million. The programs in which these students participate are no longer seen as simply a campus extension of academic exercise, but as an overall educational experience that develops holistic life skills in the participants. Through their…

Foreign language proficiency and learning are crucial parts of many study abroad programs; especially those whose host culture language is different than that of the native language of students electing to study in them. Indeed, how a program organizes itself regarding pre-departure language proficiency requirements, on site language learning, and…

As international travel has become more commonplace and as the economies of the world have become more interdependent, both students and faculties are recognizing the importance of increasing students' ability to function effectively in a global community. Study abroad programs are seen by many as an effective means to provide students with the…

The past 20 years have witnessed enormous growth in a diverse array of studies which explore the linguistic impact of study abroad (SA) experiences. During this period a multitude of research projects have investigated SLA/L2 learning in SA, in a number of different languages (Russian, Japanese, French, Spanish, English), utilizing diverse…

The last two decades have seen institutions of higher education put increasing emphasis on both internationalizing their institutions and making them more sustainable. While laudable in their own right, there are contradictions and tensions between these goals, in particular when the carbon emissions involved in international activities like study…

The number of foreign language students who join study abroad programs continues to increase annually, especially those who take part in short-term sojourns lasting eight weeks or less. What can be accomplished in such a short stay in the host culture? Is it possible for sojourners to enhance their proficiency in the host language and…