The Analysis of a Short Study Abroad Program at ICU

With the popularity of studying abroad on the rise, a closer look at the effectsof ICU’s SEA Program were taken into consideration for this study. Due to avariety of changes having occurred since Watanabe’s (2000) study of the SEAProgram, an updated look at the program was deemed necessary. The TOEFLITP pre-test and IELTS post test scores of 333 students in the ELA Programwere statistically analyzed. Special attention was paid to any differences inEnglish gains between the students who had participated in the SEA Programand those who had not. In addition, a comparison of the test scores between thestudents who had experienced homestay was made with the scores of thosewho had stayed in a dormitory. While a small effect was found in the firstcomparison, there did not appear to be a statistically significant difference inthe second comparison. The effect of further variables on the gains in Englishin connection with the SEA Program should be considered in the future