Speaker
Description
How can institutions design study abroad preparation courses that move beyond disconnected commercial textbook units? This session introduces a longitudinal, performance-based curriculum preparing students for academic and social participation overseas. The course integrates real-life study abroad topics with staged oral assessments, LMS-supported listening and shadowing tasks, intercultural competence training, and reflective learning across two semesters. Participants will gain practical tools and design principles for aligning syllabus, assessment, and multi-instructor coordination within coherent, outcomes-driven preparation programmes.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Study abroad preparation courses are increasingly common in Japanese universities, yet many rely on commercial textbooks poorly aligned with learner needs and on loosely coordinated instruction that insufficiently prepares students for academic participation overseas. Research on study abroad and intercultural communication highlights the importance of academic discourse socialization, intercultural competence, and structured reflection supporting successful sojourns (Kinginger, 2009; Jackson, 2020). However, preparation programmes often lack coherence across syllabus design, assessment, and instructor implementation. This practice-oriented session introduces a longitudinal, performance-based curriculum designed to align academic communication training with intercultural and reflective dimensions of overseas study within a coordinated institutional framework.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
The session offers a replicable institutional model for designing and coordinating a two-semester study abroad preparation sequence. It demonstrates how needs-informed redesign can move beyond dependency on limited commercial textbook content towards systemic alignment of syllabus objectives, staged performance tasks, LMS integration, and shared assessment criteria. In doing so, it addresses how institutions can construct coherent, outcomes-driven preparation programmes that maintain instructional consistency while developing academic discourse competence.
Abstract section 5: References
Jackson, J. (Ed.). (2020). The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Kinginger, C. (2009). Language learning and study abroad: A critical reading of research. Palgrave Macmillan.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
Participants will gain a transferable framework for designing or revising study abroad preparation courses. The session will provide models for (1) integrating authentic topics relevant to overseas study contexts, supported by LMS-based listening and shadowing activities as well as on-demand lectures, (2) embedding intercultural competence and reflective learning, (3) staging oral assessments from structured speeches to seminar-style problem solving and persuasive presentations, and (4) coordinating multi-instructor delivery through shared criteria. Attendees will leave with practical tools and design principles for constructing longitudinal, performance-based curricula that prepare students not only linguistically but also academically and strategically for successful international study.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
The presentation documents a four-stage redesign process: (1) analysis of recurring learner challenges observed across cohorts, (2) development of in-house materials structured around progressive oral performance tasks, (3) integration of listening quizzes, shadowing, reflection reports, and on-demand lectures, and (4) implementation across multiple instructors through shared rubrics and coordinated guidelines. Concrete examples of syllabus mapping, assessment architecture, and task sequencing will illustrate how constructive alignment was operationalized across semesters.
| Title | Designing a Performance-based SA Preparation Curriculum |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |