Our contribution draws on quantitative data from a longitudinal mixed‐methods study to uncover different patterns of social contacts of study abroad (SA) students and the relationship of these social contacts with (a) language use, (b) target language development, and (c) contextual variables. Data were obtained by means of online questionnaires pre, during, and post sojourn. English oral proficiency gains were measured using the Oral Proficiency Interview by Computer (OPIc) test before and after the stay. Latent profile analysis yielded four profiles of social contacts, which differed in terms of the degree of integration into the community of locals or international students. Students with distinct profiles differ significantly with respect to language use but not in terms of language gains. Regression analyses indicate that comparable progress in oral proficiency was made by students across profiles of social contacts and also by those in an English as a lingua franca (ELF) context suggesting that different SA context and networking patterns are conducive to second language (L2) gains.

中文翻译：

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留学学生在不同语言环境下的社会交往及其与英语使用和发展的关系


我们的贡献利用纵向混合方法研究的定量数据来揭示出国留学 (SA) 学生的不同社会接触模式以及这些社会接触与 (a) 语言使用、(b) 目标语言发展和 ( c) 上下文变量。数据是通过逗留前、逗留期间和逗留后的在线调查问卷获得的。入住前后的英语口语能力提升情况通过计算机口语能力面试 (OPIc) 测试进行测量。潜在概况分析得出了四种社会接触概况，它们在融入当地人或国际学生社区的程度方面有所不同。具有不同特征的学生在语言使用方面存在显着差异，但在语言收益方面却没有显着差异。回归分析表明，不同社会交往背景下的学生以及英语作为通用语言 (ELF) 背景下的学生在口语能力方面取得了可比的进步，这表明不同的 SA 背景和网络模式有利于第二语言 (L2) 的收获。