Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: A Sustainable Model for Community Colleges

Authors

Jorge Grajales-Díaz, Piedmont Virginia Community CollegeFollow

Author Bio(s)

Jorge Grajales-Díaz is a Professor of Spanish at Piedmont Virginia Community College. He recently completed an Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Virginia, where he focused on Second Language Acquisition. His research interests include teaching and learning second languages (L2) in immersive environments and exploring adapting sustainable short-term study abroad programs for community colleges. He is an avid reader of fiction, history, and philosophy. He also loves being around nature and can be found jogging along the many surrounding trails of Charlottesville, VA.

Abstract

This study employed qualitative methods to explore how the UVA in Valencia Summer Program 2019/ 2021 approached instructional practices (e.g., in-class and out-of-class immersive learning activities, homestays, pre-program services, including use of L2 and culture learning strategies) to identify those features of the program design that Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) could reproduce in a new short-term study abroad designed to expand its students’ oral proficiency and cultural awareness. The study used data from Zoom interviews with faculty, administrators, and L2 participating students. The findings address the study’s purpose in describing how the UVA in Valencia Summer Program 2019/ 2021 facilitates language and culture learning abroad and point to several recommendations suitable to the PVCC context and, by extension, other colleges in the VCCS.

Recommended Citation

Grajales-Díaz, J. (2025). Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: A Sustainable Model for Community Colleges. Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, 28 (1). Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol28/iss1/7