PLATO On-Line Course Reference: Maximizing Study Abroad

A Student’s Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use

The Center for Global Education Project for Learning Abroad, Training, and Outreach (PLATO) would like to thank Professor R. Michael Paige and The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota for giving us permission to share materials from Maximizing Study Abroad for the PLATO Pre-Departure and Re-Entry On-Line courses. More information about the Maximizing Study Abroad Series can be found at: www.carla.umn.edu/maxsa/guides.html.

About Maximizing Study Abroad:

Maximizing Study Abroad: A Students’ Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use By R. Michael Paige, Andrew D. Cohen, Barbara Kappler, Julie C. Chi, & James P. Lassegard, CARLA Working Paper Series (August 2002).

Aimed at students who want to make the most of their study abroad experience, this flexible and user-friendly guide helps students identify and use a wide variety of language and culture learning strategies. The Guide begins with three inventories designed to help students be more aware of how they currently learn language and culture. The following sections of the guide provide students with tools and creative activities that they can use to enhance their favored learning strategies and try out unfamiliar ones. Students can use this guide as they prepare for study abroad, during their experience, and once they return.

We hope that many students will purchase the complete book and take advantage of all the materials and information to enhance their study abroad experiences as we are only sharing a small amount of their important work. Colleagues at colleges and universities should take note that CARLA offers a Program Professionals’ Guide designed to broaden study abroad program professionals’ understanding of language- and culture-learning strategies as they are presented in the Students’ Guide.

The Students’ Guide is available for purchase from the University of Minnesota Bookstore for $12 plus shipping and handling. To purchase any of the Maximizing Study Abroad materials, go to the CARLA Working Paper Series Website at: http://www.carla.umn.edu/resources/working-papers.