Language Learning and Acculturation: Lessons From High School and Gap‐Year Exchange Students

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between acculturation and language learning during a year‐long study abroad program at the pre‐collegiate level. The researcher presents the experiences of four U.S. American sojourners to Sweden as case studies. This mixed‐methods study looks specifically at students with no prior knowledge of the target language. The researcher compared descriptions of students' acculturation and a measure of their acculturative outcomes to their language development as measured by an unofficial Oral Proficiency Interview after 5 and 10 months. The results indicated that higher levels of acculturation are associated with higher levels of proficiency, while a rejection of the host culture is associated with lower levels of proficiency. The researcher presents the implications for study abroad program designs that support language learning.