Influence of Intercultural Educational Programs on Attitudes, Behavior, and Affect

本研究的目的是探讨跨文化体验是否影响旅居者的英语学习动机、交际意愿、焦虑和二语交际信心、对不同文化的态度、国际姿态和二语交际能力。本研究以三组日本英语学习者为研究对象，编制了问卷并进行了初步调查。其中一个是1999年离开日本到美国学习一年的日本高中生。2000年，在第二批高中逗留者出发前和三周后，对他们进行了同样的问卷调查。第三年（2002年）主要用于数据分析和结果展示。通过将三年中获得的新数据与我们积累的旧数据相结合，我们获得了许多新的见解。例如，一项结构方程模型的分析表明，对不同文化的态度和国际态度影响了学习第二语言的动机水平，进而影响了第二语言的交际能力和交际信心。

The objectives of the research are to investigate whethor intercultural experience affects the sojourners' 1) motivation to learn English, 2) willingness to communicate, anxiety and confidence in L2 communication, 3) attitudes to different cultures, 4) international posture, and 5) communicative competence in L2.In 1999, questionnaires were developed and administered to three groups of Japanese learners of English for the preliminary study. One of them were Japanese high school students who left Japan in 1999 to study in the U.S. for one year. For this group a follow-up study was made three weeks after the arrival in the U.S. In 2000, the same questionnaires were administered to the second cohort of the high school sojourners, before their departure and three weeks later. A statistical analysis showed that communication anxiety reduced significantly during the three weeksThe third year, 2002 was spent mostly on data analyses and presentation of the results. By combining the new data gained during the three years with the old data we had accumulatcd, a number of new insights were gained. For example, an analysis through structural equation modeling demonstrated that attitudes to different cultures and international posture affected the level of motivation to learn L2, which in turn predicted communicative competence and communication confidence in L2.These results were presented in a domestic conference and were accepted by international journals for publication.