Study Abroad Programs in Transition from Pandemic to Endemic

Abstract

The language that is used to refer to COVID-19 is changing to reflect how the disease evolves. One of the changes is the use of the word endemic to replace pandemic , a modification that implies far reaching effects on goals for language acquisition and cultural integration, particularly in the context of study abroad. Study abroad programs need to be constantly responsive to living, working, traveling, and studying within a framework of the continued presence of a disease that shows no sign of abatement. In this chapter, the author will compare past goals of study abroad and new goals that administrators, faculty, and students are collectively creating as they adapt to acquiring language and culture in a learning environment that is now, by default, in flux requiring hybridized and flexible activities and objectives. Focal comments by administrators, faculty, and students are included in order to present perspectives on how COVID has impacted each of these groups.