Deconstructing language ideologies in L2 study abroad

This study investigates how U.S. college students critically engage with and deconstruct language ideologies during a study abroad (SA) program in German-speaking Europe. Drawing on student questionnaires and diaries, the research explores how immersion in multilingual and multidialectal contexts, paired with explicit instruction on sociolinguistics, challenges learners’ assumptions about standardization, monolingualism, native-speakerism, and raciolinguistic hierarchies. Findings reveal that students developed nuanced understandings of linguistic variation and legitimacy, with racialized learners particularly confronting exclusionary practices that questioned their status as German speakers. The study highlights the transformative potential of SA, showing how learners move beyond commodified notions of proficiency toward a deeper awareness of language as a sociopolitical construct. These insights underscore the need for L2 education to foster critical language awareness as a core pedagogical goal.