The Impact of Study Abroad on the Professional Lives of World Language Teachers

This article adds to the limited body of research on study abroad for experienced world/foreign language teachers. It describes a 3-week institute sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities that took place in Lyon, France, during summer 2007. The study examines the institute's impact on a wide spectrum of the professional lives of the 30 teacher participants. Following a qualitative research paradigm, the study reports on the teachers' perspectives of further development of their proficiency in French and the expansion of their knowledge of cultural products, practices, and perspectives of France and Lyon. The study describes the curricular and instructional changes teachers made due to their participation and reports on the impact of the institute on their professional lives outside the classroom.