The Handbook of Informal Language Learning

17Language Tourism and Second Language Acquisition in Informal Learning Contexts

MONTSERRAT IGLESIAS

Introduction

Maria, a 19‐year‐old who studies law in Barcelona, Spain, has always been interested in jazz. She plays the trumpet and often dances swing with her friends. She adores classic jazz songs, and would love to understand and sing them, but unfortunately she is not proficient in English. Although she studied English at primary and secondary school, classes were not particularly instructive, and her family could not afford any private language school or study abroad (SA) stays. She feels now the urgent need to speak English, not just because of her personal interests, but also because she would eventually like to work for an international human rights organization.

She has had a temporary job at a fast‐food outlet throughout the last academic year, which has allowed her to hire the intermediary services of an au pair agency. She is now staying for the whole summer in Bristol, UK, where she is living with a host family. She takes care of two little children in exchange for accommodation and meals, as well as some pocket money. Her host family is very nice – they usually have dinner together and sometimes go with Maria on weekend excursions and sightseeing tours of Cardiff, Bath, or London. Unlike most of the au pairs she knows, she has decided not to enroll in any language school due to her previous frustrating language acquisition experience. Instead, she spends all ...