Effects of Short-term English Study Abroad Programs on the Development of Japanese College Students'Academic Communication Skills

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This study was conducted to investigate what contribution a three-week English study abroad program would bring to the development of Japanese college students' English proficiency. Shizuoka Summer English Program (SSEP), the study abroad program specifically tailored for University of Shizuoka undergraduate students, was held at a large American university. The program focused on improving their oral presentation skills through learning American culture.During the summers of 2005-2007, thirty five students participated in the program, and they all took the Institutional Michigan Test of English Proficiency (MTELP) and the Institutional Michigan Test of Written English (ITWE) at both the beginning and the end of each program. Because the program was not designed to improve test scores and because the program duration was short, we did not expect to find any significant improvement in the test scores. Although we did not find significant improvements in the MTELP scores, we did find significant improvements in the ITWE scores. This is noteworthy because the curriculum did not offer any specific curricula for writing. In short, the oral presentation training could serve as a practice for formulating ideas and making a coherent and logical argument. Because these skills are also necessary when one writes an essay in a limited time, it is plausible to assume that their writing improved despite the fact that the curriculum did not teach writing.Based on these results, we conclude that oral presentation exercises are effective for Japanese college students in such short-term study abroad programs.