In the 21st century, there has been a growing interest in the novel term, “English as a lingua franca” (ELF) (e.g., Berns, 2008; Jenkins, 2006; Kirkpatrick, 2010; Seidlhofer, 2005) and an equally large interest in the role of study abroad contexts on L2 speaking proficiency, L2 writing behavior, sociolinguistic competence, social identity, as well as language learner beliefs (e.g., Hernandez, 2010; Howard, Lemee, & Regan, 2006; Lee, 2007; Sasaki, 2007; Virkkula & Nikula, 2010). However, all these studies have overlooked the possible relationship between two current issues- language learners‟ beliefs and their experiences in study abroad contexts, specifically, those communities in which English is used as a lingua franca. In this respect, the present study with 53 Turkish Erasmus exchange students aimed to investigate the relationship between Turkish exchange students‟ study abroad sojourns in ELF contexts and the beliefs they hold about English language learning. The data were collected mainly through three instruments: language learner belief questionnaire, study abroad perception questionnaire and controlled journals, and then analyzed both quantitatively (by using descriptive statistics, paired samples t-test, and Pearson product correlation analysis) and qualitatively (by using thematic analysis). The quantitative and qualitative results of this study have revealed that students‟ pre and post beliefs concerning English language learning are both strongly related to their perceptions of study abroad experiences, which evidently suggests that a) learners begin their study abroad adventures with already developed beliefs, and these beliefs affect their perceptions of the study abroad sojourns, and b) learners develop their unique perceptions out of their study abroad experiences, and these perceptions influence their belief systems. However, the findings also have shown that Turkish exchange students‟ overall beliefs remained almost the same across pre and post study abroad, which suggests that short-time periods spent abroad make observing any significant changes in learner beliefs harder. Concerning the results above, this study implied the importance of; a) fostering positive beliefs about language learning, b) holding intensive orientation programs prior to study abroad, and c) familiarizing the students with the novel term “ELF” and with the reality of “ELF communities”.

Includes bibliographical references leaves 99-112.

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Kaypak, Eda