Learning and Residence Abroad in Practice

This report represents one of the major elements in the output of the LARA project. It presents the findings of the LARA consortium and shows how the adoption of new or modified approaches to fundamental questions and the use of appropriate materials can have a major impact on the effectiveness of a stay abroad. It argues that the key to a proper realisation of the potential of periods of residence abroad lies in integrating them - academically, linguistically and educationally - as completely as possible with the rest of the course.

The report also contains pointers and introductions to the other outputs of the project, which take the form of printed teaching and support materials, audiotapes, video, supplementary reports and Web-based materials.

It begins with a consideration of the present situation regarding residence abroad in modern language degrees and follows through a series of questions concerning all aspects of the student's experience:

1. The present situation
2. Aims and objectives
3. Where should the period(s) abroad come in the course?
4. What should the students be doing while abroad?
5. What practical preparation do the students need prior to going abroad?
6. How can the students be given responsibility for their own learning?
7. How should the students be supported and their progress monitored while they are abroad?
8. How should the student's level of attainment be assessed?
9. How should the subsequent parts of the course build on the period abroad?
10. How should the period abroad be accredited within the degree as a whole?
11. Special needs
12. Specialists in disciplines other than languages
13. Current issues
14. Conclusion