Career entry of modern languages graduates: The long term impact of study abroad on graduate identity
Career entry of modern languages graduates: The long term impact of study abroad on graduate identity
For students of modern languages, study abroad (SA) is a significant opportunity for linguistic, sociocultural and personal development. Less is known about the durability of these developments, once students progress to graduate careers. This paper reports a study of 33 specialist languages graduates from a UK university, 3 years post-graduation, who had previously participated in a longitudinal study tracking their development through a 2-semester stay abroad. The follow-up study gathered further data on personal biographies and career pathways, on maintenance of skills in the language studied, on social and professional uses of other languages, and on beliefs relating to language identity. This paper offers insights into the career entry and related identity development among UK languages graduates, including the ongoing impact of SA. We highlight the challenges involved in supporting participants’ maintenance of a long-term multilingual identity and meeting societal needs for committed languages specialists
Modern languages, Careers, Language and identity
Mitchell, Rosamond
de2eabed-7903-43fa-961a-c16f69fddd7e
11 December 2019
Mitchell, Rosamond
de2eabed-7903-43fa-961a-c16f69fddd7e
Mitchell, Rosamond
(2019)
Career entry of modern languages graduates: The long term impact of study abroad on graduate identity.
Creativity criticality and conformity in higher education: Society for Research in Higher Education International Research Conference 2019, , Newport, United Kingdom.
11 - 13 Dec 2019.
6 pp
.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
For students of modern languages, study abroad (SA) is a significant opportunity for linguistic, sociocultural and personal development. Less is known about the durability of these developments, once students progress to graduate careers. This paper reports a study of 33 specialist languages graduates from a UK university, 3 years post-graduation, who had previously participated in a longitudinal study tracking their development through a 2-semester stay abroad. The follow-up study gathered further data on personal biographies and career pathways, on maintenance of skills in the language studied, on social and professional uses of other languages, and on beliefs relating to language identity. This paper offers insights into the career entry and related identity development among UK languages graduates, including the ongoing impact of SA. We highlight the challenges involved in supporting participants’ maintenance of a long-term multilingual identity and meeting societal needs for committed languages specialists
Text
SRHE 2019 submission
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Published date: 11 December 2019
Venue - Dates:
Creativity criticality and conformity in higher education: Society for Research in Higher Education International Research Conference 2019, , Newport, United Kingdom, 2019-12-11 - 2019-12-13
Keywords:
Modern languages, Careers, Language and identity
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 437202
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/437202
PURE UUID: 5390eecc-af09-4904-a77f-1fbe0f22246e
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 21 Jan 2020 17:36
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:31
Export record
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
