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This paper reports the results of a study of vocabulary development by learners of Japanese, during a year abroad in Japan. The particular feature of this study is that it compares the performance of two cohorts, studying in the same UK university and in degrees in Japanese, in which the period of study abroad is undertaken at different points of the degree — respectively in year 2 and year 3. Their performance is compared at three points in time: before and after the period of study abroad, and one year after return. The group going to Japan at a lower proficiency level (i.e. study abroad in year 2) appears to benefit more in terms of absolute gains (although the two groups appear to perform rather similarly when their potential gains, i.e. gains against the test’s ceiling, are considered). The two groups’ gains in the following year are considerably smaller than during the period abroad but remarkably similar to each other; however, these gains take place at different instructional levels. The implications are discussed for the timing of periods of study abroad in BA programmes.
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