An exploration of life experiences during study abroad: a case study of bilingual students and their process of intercultural adaptation

Abstract

This qualitative case study investigates intercultural adaptation during a studyabroad (SA) of undergraduate bilingual Catalan/Spanish students, focusing specifi-cally on life experiences which resulted in inflection points in that process of adap-tation. Data were collected through a pre-departure questionnaire, individual in-terviews conducted before and after SA, and narrative diaries collected during thesojourn. The results point to the complexity and the nuances of the adaptation pro-cess, the diversity of life experiences that may affect adaptation (Bennett 1993) andthe need to expand existing explanatory theoretical models.