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Examining speech samples from 75 American university students learning 1 of 3 languages (Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish), this article reports on a study of second language (L2) learners’ oral fluency development and its relationship with their gains in holistic proficiency ratings during a semester abroad. In study abroad research, there is a need for large‐scale studies that systematically investigate learners’ L2 development (Kinginger, ; Rees & Klapper, ). To address this need, the project used a quantitative design involving learners of 3 languages from multiple cohorts and diverse sending and destination institutions. Results from an analysis of 600 speech samples from 150 pretest and posttest Simulated Oral Proficiency Interviews (SOPIs) showed significant increases in speech rate as well as differences between the 3 language groups. The study also investigated the relationship between holistic oral proficiency ratings and fine‐tuned fluency measures and found some limited relationships between them. These findings can provide methodological suggestions for researchers interested in L2 fluency development among study abroad students and implications for foreign language educators and policy makers to promote study abroad and language learning.

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What has emerged from what might be called the second generation of study abroad research is the questioning of some of the most long-standing beliefs about the study abroad experience itself. The belief that: (1) the amount and frequency of contact that students have with native speakers will increase their language gain; (2) that study abroad assures immersion experiences for students; and (3) that homestay is the richest and most important source of L2 learning are what motivates this study. The purpose of the research described in this article is to help clarify the extent to which either prior assumptions or recent criticism, which casts doubt on these assumptions, may have been exaggerated or if indeed, there is a balance between the two.

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