Timothy Penn^[1], Agata Podvorska^[2] and Marta Anna Segit^[3], Department of Italian, University of Warwick

 

Abstract

Study abroad is seen as key to developing knowledge of both foreign languages and foreign cultures. However, the position of those temporarily sojourning in a country can make it difficult to integrate into the local society and to develop linguistic and cultural competences to their full potential. This problem is compounded when students struggling to assimilate into the host country's society are forced to find accommodation with other ERASMUS students. Moreover, students having difficulty making ties with local communities seem inclined to socialise with other ERASMUS students who are undergoing similar experiences, due to a feeling which might be termed 'shared foreignness'. This paper will discuss these themes with reference to the experiences of a group of University of Warwick students who studied abroad in Italy in the academic year 2011/12.

Keywords: Study abroad, ERASMUS, Italy, social integration, cross cultural communication, language learning.

 

Introduction

The ERASMUS programme celebrated its 25th year in 2012. During its life time it has 'been opening doors and broadening horizons for higher education students and staff across Europe' (British Council, 2012). The reality is much more complex; given the large number of students participating in the programme, and the enormous variety of available destinations even within one country, student experiences vary greatly.

This study aimed to discover which of the many aspects of a year spent studying abroad contributed to participants experiencing social integration. We also sought to identify some of the internal and external factors which either facilitated or impeded students' integration into Italian society. It emerged from our investigation that not every ERASMUS student manages to integrate into Italian society. There is a tendency for students studying abroad to socialise with people of a similar background, in particular with other ERASMUS students. The habit of socialising with other foreign students can often be driven by a desire to spend time with people who are going through the same experiences and having to deal with the same problems. This tendency might be called 'shared foreignness'.^[4]

 

Background and previous research

Under the ERASMUS programme, which allows for the recognition of university credits earned while studying in a European country other than that of the student's home institution, a significant number of students can study abroad every year. For example, the University of Warwick in the UK sends approximately 400 students a year to other European destinations. This article is the outcome of research carried out by three of those students during their period of study abroad in the 2011/12 academic year. The study was carried out as part of a wider comparative collaborative research project between the University of Warwick and Monash University in Australia. Under the supervision of two academics, Dr Jane Mulcock from Monash and Dr Loredana Polezzi from Warwick, we investigated the experiences of students from the two institutions who had spent time studying abroad in Italy. The study was informed by our supervisors' backgrounds in Cultural Anthropology and in Translation Studies respectively.

This resulted in a multidisciplinary approach drawing on a number of fields, from Cultural Studies to Education. As the project developed, we became interested in investigating the extent to which Warwick students felt that they had been able to integrate into Italian society during their time abroad. This concept shaped the questions we asked of the students and contributed towards the present article.

Research concerning integration during study abroad flourished with the development of exchange programmes (Byram and Feng, 2006: 157), with a number of studies examining its perceived benefits. For example, King and Ruiz Gelices summarise them as 'linguistic improvements, the cultural experience of living in another country, and general personal development' (King and Ruiz Gelices, 2003: 237). Research carried out by Messers and Wolter underscored the cultural and personal benefits of studying abroad, in contrast to economic benefits, as the authors found little improvement in employment prospects (Messers and Wolter, 2007). A more pessimistic view of the value of study abroad is promoted by Amit, who argues that neither its entrepreneurial potential nor the anticipated acquisition of a sense of global citizenship is supported by hard evidence (Amit, 2010). Instead, she holds that the trend towards study abroad is caused by 'a long standing belief in the educational value of travel...[which] appears to be underpinning the faith of some committed advocates of internationalisation that student mobility has an intrinsic formative value regardless of the actual practices and motivations of student participants' (Amit, 2010: 13).

Prior research on study abroad in general and the ERASMUS programme in particular has raised as many questions as it has answered. For instance, an article by Wilkinson touches on interesting issues about the value and importance of housing and socialising in the experiences of students studying abroad. She asks, 'how do students make linguistic and social decisions in the relationships they choose to cultivate overseas? What role does housing play in shaping participants choices and experiences?' (Wilkinson, 2000). The role of social networks in supporting people living abroad, especially those consisting of others in similar situations, is also highlighted by the research of Rice, who noted the contradictions and difficulties inherent in temporarily living or working abroad. More specifically, she found that 'while many recount that they want to feel like locals, some nonetheless seek out work that brings them into contact mainly with other visiting tourists and socialise primarily with other foreigners' (Rice, 2010: 38). This study notes that the intentions of those temporarily staying abroad do not always match their actions, and also shows how integration can be difficult for an outsider.

According to Deardorff's pyramid model of intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2004: 244), the desired outcome for exchange students participating in study abroad is to 'behave and communicate effectively'. This can be achieved through personal traits and skills (such as knowledge and respect for the host culture or language awareness). Being 'interculturally competent' is therefore equivalent to successfully integrating into the host society and culture. However, according to a number of studies on ERASMUS students, intercultural competence does not guarantee that an individual will become integrated, as students often face obstacles that stem from their environment rather than from their personal inability to integrate.

For example, in a limited study of three British ERASMUS students on their year abroad in Italy, Gallucci highlighted the importance of living arrangements and the development of social networks, and their influence on ERASMUS students' success in negotiating and '(re)constructing' a second identity for themselves as speakers of a foreign language (Gallucci, 2011: 180). She finds that 'socialising with flatmates [emerges] as an important factor in [the participant's] expansion of social circles' (Galllucci, 2011: 200) and that participants decide whether to socialise mainly with Italians or other ERASMUS students based on their personal preferences and goals for their period of study abroad (Gallucci, 2011: 200). Additionally, while the ERASMUS experience can contribute to feeling 'more European', it can also '[make them] feel more attached to [their] home country,' due to the participants' 'inability and lack of real interest in adapting to the new cultural contexts' (Gallucci, 2011: 180). Moreover, Gallucci also argues that an unfavourable living situation - one lacking in opportunities to converse in Italian - significantly diminishes the participant's 'language learning motivation and [causes]a loss of confidence in (re)constructing a new linguistic identity' (Gallucci, 2011: 180).

Teichler and Maiworm identify further difficulties for students attempting to integrate: while '66%of the 1998/99 ERASMUS students felt they were well integrated in the social life of the host country', a substantial minority of 18% 'considered having too much contact with people from their own country a serious problem' (Teichler, 2004: 404). This demonstrates that while integration into the host country is possible, a significant number of ERASMUS students still struggle to feel integrated.

Bochner and Hutnik demonstrated that simply living in proximity to people from a different culture did not lead to a substantial number of friendships between British and non British students (Bochner et al., 1985). On the contrary, they hypothesised that 'overseas students typically belong to three distinct social networks, each serving a distinct psychological function: monocultural, bicultural and multicultural' (Bochner et al., 1985:690); each social network plays a different role in helping foreign students adapt to their environment. The authors noted that multicultural networks are a consequence of 'shared foreignness' (Bochner et al., 1985:690).The idea that foreign students spend time together because they are undergoing similar experiences was not fully developed. This notion of shared foreignness helped shape the present article and provided the basis for our research.

 

Methodology

This project was carried out as part of a larger investigation into the experiences of study abroad reported by students from the University of Warwick and Monash University who spent time studying abroad in Italy.^[5] As the project developed, we became increasingly interested in investigating the extent to which Warwick students felt that they had been able to integrate into Italian society during their time abroad. This concept shaped the questions we asked of the students and contributed towards the present article.

As with previous projects investigating participants' reflections on their own experiences in the host country, the study was developed in the form of 'an ethnographically informed case study' (Gallucci, 2011: 3) and was based on the collection and analysis of qualitative data.

The information used in this qualitative study was gathered in two ways. Firstly, we commented on our experiences of study abroad in reflective journal entries, responding to various prompts provided by the two researchers who coordinated the project. We used these to explore various aspects of our time spent abroad. The diversity of our own experiences gave us a greater appreciation of the complexity of the topic.

Secondly, we interviewed students using questions developed in collaboration with the two academics supervising the project. Qualitative data was collected using various interview techniques, including interviews on Skype, via email and face to face. This provided a substantial amount of information about participants' experiences of studying and living in Italy, including key themes such as cultural adaptation, culture shock and homesickness. The interviews took place over a period of six months, with the earlier sessions shaping the questions asked in the later ones. We carried out as many face-to-face interviews as possible at Warwick's Venice centre in March 2012, when all students from the Department of Italian who are spending a year in Italy were required to take part in a three day residential visit.

Of the 24 Italian Studies students spending their year abroad in Italy during the 2011/12 academic year, 19 students were interviewed, including the authors of this study.^[6] Participation was voluntary, with some students either electing not to be interviewed or unable to take part because of logistical or time constraints. After the aims and scope of the project had been explained, the participants signed a consent form to allow the interviews to be used for research purposes. Several participants were interviewed multiple times as the focus of the research developed. The subject group was characterised by a number of significant variants, including their previous knowledge of Italian and their experience with study abroad, resulting in different expectations regarding the year in Italy. During the previous academic year, seven of the participants, including the authors, had been in the advanced Italian language group, two in the intermediate group and ten in the beginners' group, which indicates that knowledge of Italian language and culture varied greatly within the subject group. Moreover, participants were spread out over a large geographical area and studied in vastly different cities, ranging from small towns like Pisa to metropolises such as Milan or Rome. Finally, several of the students had come to Warwick from other EU countries, so they had already had experience studying abroad. Due to the variety of the students' backgrounds and the diversity of their living arrangements, the experiences recorded were heterogeneous.

We acknowledge that this study has a number of limitations. As a qualitative investigation it had relatively few participants, and it was not based on a fixed set of standardised questions, as the focus of the interviews varied from participant to participant. Consequently, it would be unwise to make sweeping generalisations on the basis of our findings. Furthermore, the data we collected is subjective, as it consists of students' personal feelings and impressions. For example, the linguistic improvements reported by the students were self assessed and not measured by language tests. Despite these problems, we believe that our findings can contribute to the understanding of the complexities of studying abroad and its effects on peoples' lives.

 

Definitions

Although the concepts of integration and culture are crucial to an understanding of research on study abroad, these terms are quite problematic. Definitions of integration have commonly centred on time spent with native inhabitants of the host country. For example, Carlson defines integration as 'interaction with host country students, guidance concerning academic and nonacademic areas and climate' (Carlson, 1990: 64). Teichler also focuses on a type of integration characterised by interaction with host country nationals (Teichler, 2004: 404). However, this kind of definition is problematic because it ignores the role of language in integrating into another culture and does not specify the language of communication with host country nationals. For example, a student who speaks English to Italians while studying abroad may be considered less integrated than one who is able and/or willing to communicate in Italian.

Defining integration is further complicated by the fragmentary nature of Italian society, both linguistically and culturally. For example, in a university town such as Pisa, there are a large number of students who originate from different regions. One of the authors of this study predominantly socialised with Italians from Matera and Lecce, both in Southern Italy, during his first months in Pisa. Consequently, he could not be said to be integrated into Pisan society even if he was integrated into one Italian culture.

Since the concept of integration is difficult to define, and there are multiple possible models of what it means to be 'integrated', our approach was to ask our subjects what they understood by this term. This had the advantage of allowing them to clarify their conception of the idea so they were better prepared to discuss it in the interviews. Although we received a variety of answers, there were some common threads linked to language use, acquisition of habits and socialising with Italians. For the purposes of this article we shall understand integration as the participants defined it: spending a significant amount of time not using one's own language but that of the local community. Integration can also be associated with adopting the host country's social, culinary and other habits. This perspective on integration is consistent with Tylor's understanding of culture as 'the complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and [other traits] acquired by man as a member of society' (Morris, 2013: 56-57). Although there have been a number of attempts at narrowing this definition, it is still widely accepted as the meaning of the term (AnthroBase: 2013).

 

Findings

Eleven of the 19 students taking part in the study were living with at least one Italian. Three students also reported that they used Italian to communicate with their non-Italian housemates. Many of the students living with Italians said that their living arrangements were a very good way for them to improve their knowledge of the Italian language and culture. They also observed that living with the natives provided them with the opportunity to experience activities other than those usually pursued by ERASMUS students. In particular, they commented on the differences in the ways people socialise in ERASMUS and Italian culture, stating their preference for the latter.

Olivia,^[7] who was living in a major city in northern Italy with two Italian and two American women, said that while ERASMUS students seemed to 'go out every night and party', Italians preferred aperitivi in bars, where they could sit and talk while enjoying drinks and a buffet. They also 'spent time together talking and going to the movies', which she thought 'was a better option' than clubbing. Similarly, Victoria, another student living with Italians, felt that nothing '[could] beat living with natives of a country in terms of learning about the culture and improving the language.'

However, some of the Warwick students who were not living with Italians did not always socialise with them or benefit significantly from these living arrangements. This is clearly consistent with the tendency noted by Bochner and Hutnik in a study of friendship patterns among international students in an Oxford University student residence, which showed that sharing accommodation does not necessarily lead to cultural exchange (Bochner et al., 1985). In our study, Owen, for example, said that both his Italian housemates had jobs and kept to themselves; the Italians that he did know he had met through extracurricular activities. This illustrates that housing, though important, is not always the only way for students to integrate into another society.

For those students who either chose not to, or were unable to, live with Italian students, a number of reasons, both external and internal, can be suggested. One example of an external factor might be the nature of Italian housing contracts, which are tailored to the needs of Italian students, who often take much longer to graduate than British students. The duration of housing contracts can therefore be several years, rather than the one year period that is usual for student housing at Warwick. This can make it difficult for students to find housing with Italians, who are looking for longer term housemates.

One of the authors of this article experienced for himself the difficulty of finding housing with Italian students; he was repeatedly told 'no foreigners' when enquiring about shared accommodation with Italians. Consequently, he was forced to find housing with other foreign students. He found the local branch of the ERASMUS Student Network very helpful with resolving the housing situation, but they were only able to help find accommodation with other exchange students. Another author of this article, who also found her accommodation through a local student organisation that helps ERASMUS students find housing, spent the year living with students from Belarus, Lithuania and Russia. In consequence, she felt that she was meeting more Eastern European than Italian students, which did not conform to her expectations. While living and interacting with these people presented a new linguistic and cultural experience, she felt that had she been living and spending more time with the locals she would have had a better chance to improve her Italian and learn more about the country. Initially she found it frustrating to have few possibilities of engaging more with Italian speakers. She felt under pressure to socialise with her housemates and their friends, which impeded her efforts to integrate into Italian society by limiting her contact with Italians.

While some students are unable to socialise with Italians, others make a conscious decision not to. This choice might be due to a sense of 'shared foreignness', an unwillingness to leave their comfort zone and speak Italian rather than English. Liam specifically said that he had found it a great support to be living with English speakers, and that living in a house full of Italians would have been so intimidating that he might have considered dropping out. Although this sentiment was not widely expressed, it is nonetheless significant, as it demonstrates the importance of fellow ERASMUS students as an informal support network that could help people to settle in to a different place. Paradoxically, though useful in making this student feel at home, spending time with Anglophones hindered his integration into Italian society.

Similarly, many of the students interviewed during this study revealed that non-Italian friends with whom they could speak English constituted a strong support network that enabled them to feel more comfortable in Italy. As Rice noted in her study of young people working abroad in Edinburgh, 'almost immediately upon arrival these holidaymakers are put in contact with other young people of a similar background and life stage as themselves. These new friends typically serve as companions throughout the duration of the working holiday' (Rice, 2010: 31), or in Chloe's words, 'the ERASMUS thing kind of gets you first'. Although some students subsequently began to socialise more with Italians than with fellow ERASMUS students, there remained a significant number who continued to spend a substantial amount of time with their non-Italian friends. For example, Abigail said that she was still more comfortable socialising with Anglophones and when in difficulty, she felt that she could resort to speaking English.

Even for those students living with Italians, accommodation was not the only, or even the most important, gateway to social interaction with Italians. Students who successfully integrated often did so by making a deliberate choice not to socialise with other ERASMUS students, which allowed them to establish relationships with Italians. For example, Owen made a 'conscious effort to avoid an English speaking environment'. Olivia chose to have as little contact with the local ERASMUS student organisations as possible. This was also the case for Victoria and Charlotte, who drew attention to the problem of people around them compromising their efforts by speaking English upon hearing their foreign accents, which would limit their opportunities to practice their language skills. Charlotte, for example, though living with Italians, socialised with English and German students and said that she found it difficult to speak Italian apart from with flatmates and in lectures: 'Often when you are out and about, if someone hears you speaking English, they will try to speak to you in English, irrespective of your Italian language skills. In this kind of situation you've got a problem, because you don't want to speak in English.' This phenomenon can isolate students from the host society, or discourage them from trying to speak the local language.

Students' experiences of making friends differed greatly, with some reporting spending the vast majority of their time interacting with Italians, while others said that they socialised with both Italians and people of other nationalities. Those who reported spending most of their time in the company of Italians generally had a very positive attitude about their Italian language improvement. However, even students who were living in very similar circumstances had radically different experiences. Amelia, a post-beginner, though staying in a student residence shared almost entirely with Italians, said that speaking Italian still required a lot of effort because everyone spoke English. She had made many ERASMUS friends, which she thought had both a positive and a negative side. On the one hand, she had international friends and had become more aware of different cultures, but on the other hand, in the ERASMUS environment English was the main language of communication, which limits the ability to develop Italian language skills.

In contrast, Max, a post-beginner who was also staying in a student residence occupied predominantly by Italian students and was active in many social groups, including a local five aside football team, said that he spoke Italian 80%-90% of the time and found this to be very beneficial for his language skills. This once again demonstrates that housing is not the only important factor determining students' success in integrating into Italian culture while studying abroad. Natalie, also a post-beginner, said that living with four Italian students she spoke Italian '90% of the time' and that '[her]Italian had improved a huge amount [because she] now could confidently talk to people that [she] met in the street, [her] flatmates, [her] friend's family, etc'. Similarly, Abigail felt that she had made rapid advances in her Italian language abilities, to the point where she was 'thinking in Italian' when at home for Christmas. Owen, who had spent several summers attending language schools in Italy, said that despite socialising mainly with Italian speakers and deliberately avoiding English, he did not feel as if he 'had made a great deal of progress'. He had expected to improve his Italian during the year abroad and wanted to bring it to a 'higher level', but he also wondered whether his expectations had not been 'too high', recognising that language learning is a process that slows down over time.

Although the Italian academic Umberto Eco argued in a newspaper interview that the ERASMUS experience could help to foster a European identity (Riota, 2012), there was no clear evidence that students agreed with Eco's hypothesis at the time they were interviewed in Venice. However, one interesting effect of the year abroad, especially when young people from all over Europe are forced together by their 'shared foreignness', is that while many students may learn less about Italian culture because they associate with non-Italians, they might learn something about the cultures of their Polish, German or French friends instead. In this way, the study abroad experience not only teaches students about Italian culture but often about other European cultures as well.

Some students who reported socialising in mixed groups said that they had expected their year abroad to expose them to both Italian and other ERASMUS students. Victoria, who was living with two Italians and one Spanish ERASMUS student, said that it was 'really great to have both people [she]could learn from, and also someone that was going through the same thing as [her]. 'Abigail said that having someone to talk to in English was 'a way to relax'. Sophie felt living and socialising with people from different countries and backgrounds enabled her to learn more about other cultures. Similarly, Chloe said that she had become more aware of the social and economic ties between the UK and Europe. It seems, then, that studying abroad, even if it does not lead to integration with the local society, can teach participants about the cultures of other ERASMUS students.

While the majority of subjects agreed that they had learned about both Italy and Europe during their placement abroad, their opinions also confirmed Cinnirella's findings that study abroad does not necessarily promote a feeling of European identity (Cinnirella; 1997; 1931). In our interviews, discussions of European identity were among the most contentious topics, with students often having diametrically opposed views on the question of integration and European identity. For instance, Chloe said that she was able to enjoy the diverse company of both Italian and international ERASMUS friends, and to balance the two. When asked about the idea of European identity, she said that the year abroad improved her knowledge of other European nationalities and helped to break down stereotypes. Despite becoming more conscious of the connections between Europe and Britain, she rejected the possibility of having a 'European' identity herself. She felt the ERASMUS experience helped students, including herself, to 'learn to understand and respect each other's ways'. Owen reported that while he had developed an 'attachment to Italy', he found defining himself as 'European' 'difficult', and that he still felt fundamentally British and English.

In contrast, Max, who is British, believed that ERASMUS could foster a sense of European identity for those who socialise with ERASMUS students. Yet, as he had spent most of his time with Italians, he felt that '[he] was becoming Italian'. He saw integration as 'not seeing any or very little of one's own culture'. Because of the ERASMUS experience, he 'changed his habits completely' and was planning to take most of his new Italian habits back to the UK, which is consistent with Gallucci's observations regarding the changes in ['the participants'] lives, mostly concerning their personality, attitudes and habits [that] helped them to 'fit in' into the new contexts' (Gallucci: 179). Max also reported using Italian grammar and expressions when speaking English. He said that his goal for the year abroad was to 'become immersed as much as possible' and that by the end of his year abroad, he wanted to be able to blend in with Italians.

 

Conclusion

Through our research we found that due to the wide range of the subjects' backgrounds and experiences, no universal reason can be provided for students' social inclusion or exclusion on their year abroad. However, it is possible to highlight some internal and external factors which either facilitated or impeded students' integration into Italian society.

The most prominent external factor was accommodation arrangements, which we found could make it either easier or more difficult for the students to integrate. Those who found shared housing with Italians were able to exploit this to meet more locals through their Italian housemates' social networks. On the other hand, students did not necessarily socialise with their flatmates, seeking company both among Italians and their fellow ERASMUS students.

We identified two internal factors affecting students' capacity to integrate. First, acting in favour of integration was the students' determination to become successfully immersed in the host country's language and culture. Those who managed to consistently fulfil that objective by socialising mainly with Italians rather than other ERASMUS students generally felt that they had successfully integrated into Italian society.

However, a significant number of cases demonstrated that the students relied upon social networks constructed of other foreign students. In some of the cases discussed in this article, this might be because the students felt they needed to relax in an English language environment, and, as we have seen, one student said that this kind of social network probably helped him to complete the placement. Consequently, they socialised with other ERASMUS students, either from their own country or other European countries, often using English, rather than interacting strictly with Italians. In some cases this might be attributed to a conscious feeling of 'shared foreignness'. This feeling was an important internal factor potentially having a negative effect on the subjects 'integration into Italian society, as it limited the contact they could have with Italians.

In future, it is important to try to understand the precise factors that allow some students to successfully integrate into Italian society. It would be interesting to focus on the role of language in integration, especially given the substantial number of students who study abroad with little prior knowledge of Italian and still manage to become somewhat integrated. It would be valuable to further investigate the factors influencing the accommodation choices of study abroad participants, given the important role played by accommodation in facilitating integration.

 

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Acknowledgements

Collection of the data used to write this article was made possible by funding from the University of Warwick's Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning. We would also like to thank Dr Jane Mulcock and Dr Loredana Polezzi for supervising our project and providing feedback on various drafts of the article. Finally, we want to thank Sara Wild for proofreading and commenting on the text. Any mistakes that remain are our own.

 

Appendix: Interview questions

1. Describe your prior connections with or interest in Italy and Italian language (e.g. Do you have Italian heritage?)

2. Describe the Italian university where you studying… what do you like most? What do you like least?

3. Who do you live with? How did you find your house mates?

4. Do your living arrangements motivate or discourage you to make efforts to improve your Italian?

5. Who do you socialise with? How did you meet your social group?

6. Describe the main social activities you take part in (e.g. going to parties, communal dinners etc.)

7. What languages do you find yourself speaking on a regular basis? Are you aware of different feelings associated with the use of different languages?

8. What are your views on the concept of European identity? Do you think that this has been affected by your year abroad experience so far? If so, how?

9. What would being 'integrated' look like for you? (i.e. what are your expectations around integration?)

10. Was this what you wanted from your year abroad?

11. According to what you have said about integration is, to what extent do you think you have been able to integrate with Italians and Italian culture?

12. How does this match up with your expectations of the year abroad?

13. What are your views on the concept of European identity? Do you think that this has been affected by your year abroad experience so far? If so, how?

 

Notes

[1] Tim Penn is a final year undergraduate student at the University of Warwick. Currently studying Italian and Classics, he hopes to pursue a career
in Classical Archaeology after graduating.

[2] Agata Podvorska is in her final year of study for a BA in Italian with International Studies at the University of Warwick and recently completed a translation and marketing internship in Wayra's in Madrid.

[3] Marta Segit is a final year undergraduate student at the University of Warwick studying English and Italian Literature and after graduation,
she is planning to continue her studies of languages and the Renaissance.

[4] This term is used by Bochner et al., but not fully developed. See Bochner et al. (1985), 'The Friendship Patterns of Overseas and Host Students in an Oxford Student Residence, The Journal of Social Psychology, 125 (6), 690.

[5] The Monash project was initiated by Australian Cultural anthropologist Loretta Baldassar and shaped around anthropological research methodologies that were then translated into the Warwick Italian Studies context.

[6] The authors were interviewed by Dr Jane Mulcock. All other interviews were conducted by the authors.

[7] All names mentioned in this article are fictionalised in order to protect the privacy of the project's subjects.

 

References

 

 

To cite this paper please use the following details: Penn, T. et al (2013), 'Shared Foreignness: Student Experiences of Social Inclusion and Exclusion during Study Abroad', Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume 6, Issue 2, http://www.warwick.ac.uk/reinventionjournal/archive/volume6issue2/penn Date accessed [insert date]. If you cite this article or use it in any teaching or other related activities please let us know by e-mailing us at Reinventionjournal at warwick dot ac dot uk.