Margaret A. DuFon is an Assistant Professor in Linguistics at California State University-Chico. As a result of her own language learning abroad in both Spain and Indonesia, she became interested in investigating the acquisition of pragmatic competence through language socialization via interactions with host culture members during a sojourn abroad. Eton Churchill is an Assistant Professor of English at Kanagawa University in Yokohama, Japan. He has twenty years teaching experience in foreign languages and has accompanied students abroad on several occasions. His research interests include pragmatics, sociolinguistics, study abroad and the role of interaction and context in language learning.

Examining the overseas experience of language learners in diverse contexts through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, studies in this volume look at the acquisition of language use, socialization processes, learner motivation, identity and learning strategies. In this way, the volume offers a privileged window into learner experiences abroad while addressing current concerns central to second language acquisition.