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Deepening Learning And Inspiring Rigor: Bridging Academic And Experiential Learning Using A Host Country Approach To A Study Tour, Susan O. Long, Yemi S. Akande, Roger W. Purdy, Keiko Nakano

Susan O Long

American students are increasingly incorporating study in a foreign country into their college educations, but many participate in short-term programs that limit their engagement with any more than the superficial aspects of the host culture. This article describes a short-term study abroad course for American students to Japan in which the authors drew on an “emic” host country model of group travel in an effort to combine high academic standards, personal growth, and deepened engagement with Japanese culture. The authors first consider the history of study tours in U.S. study abroad and then look at an alternative model provided by …