Do students carry their home in their pocket?

Abstract

This longitudinal mixed methods study followed 16 U.S.-affiliated learners of French in Paris. After merging monthly social network and weekly smartphone usage reports, K-means clusters analysis revealed significant differences between (1) learners displaying attachment to versus detachment from their friends and family at home, and (2) smartphone usage profiles – spectators versus communicators and explorers. Triangulation with pre-/during-/post-study abroad in-depth interviews allowed identification of what was most instrumental for participants’ interactions in the target language and intercultural gains: geolocation applications on their phones and living with host families. The electronic umbilical cord hypothesized to exist for those displaying attachment was in fact not a detrimental force – quite the opposite. Instead, the way participants had (detrimentally) taken their home with them to Paris was by being visited by friends and family, by often interacting with U.S. students on site, and by frequently consuming English-speaking audiovisual content on their phones.