부산대학교 도서관

Summary: This dissertation is the result of an ethnographic investigation conducted over the course of 13 months, 4 months in Paris, France and 9 months in the U.S. pre- and post-sojourn. The primary methods of data collection were narrative interviews, participant-observation, and participant journaling. This study offers a detailed description of the interconnections between sojourner stress, communication, and identity as students experienced them. Specifically, students used 9 types of talk across the sojourn to help them manage adjustment stress: Advice, superficial/introductory talk, information sharing, comparison, humor, story telling, gossip, complaint, and supportive talk. Using aspects of Burgoon's (1978) expectancy violations theory, I suggest that some student stress is the result of unmet expectations in four major areas: Academic/language expectations, social expectations, cultural/value expectations, and travel/cultural experience expectations. External sources of expectations came largely from their study abroad program, other students, friends/family at home, their host family, and their home university. Further, using Kim's (2001) integrative theory on communication and cross-cultural adaptation I suggest that the more adjustments students made through communication the more functionally fit they became across time. The result was positive identity transformations including a sense of being a "global citizen" and increased feelings of confidence and independence. Based on the reported findings, this study concludes with practical suggestions for future study abroad coordinators and directions for future research.