Study abroad programs provide excellent opportunities for language students to accelerate their language studies and acquire cultural capital (Byram & Feng, 2006) in foreign contexts. Research on students returning from study abroad programs and culturally different classrooms however, has revealed that this is not always the case. One recommendation is for language teachers to focus on developing digital literacies (Kinginger, 2011) in order to bolster a more positive academic and culturally-inclusive study abroad experience. In light of the reported poor digital literacy levels among first-year Japanese students (see Lockley 2011; Murray & Blyth, 2011), the researchers of this ongoing study are attempting to determine if these findings also apply to Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management students at their private university in Tokyo, and if so, does it restrict them from accessing and engaging in different educational cultures and social settings while studying in a foreign context?

Reference:
Cote, T., & Milliner, B. (2017). Digital literacies in the Japanese university context: preparing for a study
abroad program. In J. Colpaert, A. Aerts, R. Kern & M. Kaiser (Eds.), CALL in Context Proceedings (pp. 183-190). Belguim: The University of Antwerp. 
https://www.academia.edu/33759556/Digital_literacies_in_the_Japanese_university_context_preparing_for_a_study_abroad_program