Service-Learning: Taking Language Learning into the Real World

Service-Learning: Taking Language Learning into the Real World Author(s): Gresilda A. Tilley-Lubbs, Richard Raschio, Ethel Jorge, Silvia López Source: Hispania, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Mar., 2005), pp. 160-167 Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20063111 Accessed: 02/02/2009 09:24 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aatsp. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hispania.

http://www.jstor.org

:

Service-Learning

Taking

into the Real World

Learning

Language

Gresilda A. Tilley-Lubbs Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Richard Raschio University

of St. Thomas

Ethel Jorge Pitzer College Silvia L?pez Beloit College Introduction At the AATSP

in Chicago in 2003, several service-learning Annual Conference practi tioners congregated following the last of several service-learning sessions. As they shared experiences, frustrations, ideas, goals, and excitement, the idea emerged to plan a workshop for Acapulco in 2004. The entire process was an organic outgrowth resulting from deep communication among the group of people who continued the dialogue throughout the year. Ethel By means of electronic communication, Richard Raschio, Gresilda Tilley-Lubbs, a two to with sessions that Silvia committed and L?pez presenting workshop follow-up Jorge, would

allow

they made

the

conversation

and finalized

to continue

the plans

the

throughout

that evolved

conference.

As

into the presentations

the

four

collaborated,

that took place at the

conference.

It is necessary to include the emergence of the workshop and sessions in order to articulate in the AATSP. the excitement that has been part of the growth of the service-learning movement a in with the Brazil members in 2002, meeting faculty representing variety of academic Beginning situations from high school through higher education have continued to meet and brainstorm about how to include the community in their language classrooms. The excitement has increased as growing numbers of faculty members have decided to include service-learning in their Spanish and Portuguese classes. Each time service-learning practitioners meet, the final result of the meeting is to plan for the next time they can come together from various geographical locations to share ideas. The workshop and sessions described herein represent the fruits of the discussion begun in Chicago; the plans for New York 2005 included in the concluding statements represent the results of the conversation begun inAcapulco. Service-Learning:

Taking

Language

Learning

into the Real World

In the workshop,

the participants had the opportunity to learn about the history of service learning by examining the definition, as well as the guiding principles and current theory of Tilley-Lubbs,

Gresilda,

"Service-Learning:

Richard Taking

Raschio, Language

Ethel

Jorge, and Silvia L?pez into the Real World"

Learning Hispania

88.1

(2005):

160-167

? 161 Forum Raschio, Jorge, L?pez Pedagogical Tilley-Lubbs, as a methodology. the historical and theoretical information, the Following service-learning presenters shared briefly about the programs they lead in their individual institutions. The participants then chose to work in small groups with the presenter whose program most closely related to the projects they had inmind. Some of the participants were already involved in service learning projects, and others were new to field and interested in learning how to begin programs. In the two follow-up sessions, whose summaries follow in this article, Jorge provided principles for developing service-learning or community-engaged language learning classes or programs, and L?pez discussed how service-learning projects can and do meet Standards for Foreign Language Learning as defined by the American of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The History

and Definition

the goals outlined by the Council on the Teaching

of Service-Learning

shared a brief history of service-learning, which can be defined as the joining Tilley-Lubbs of two concepts: community action and knowledge situated in academia. This coupling of human and academia needs in connection with educational community through meeting genuine roots 1970s in the of the and with the advent of the Southern has its activism 1960s growth Peace and VISTA. The larger issues of social Education Board the Corps, (SREB), Regional justice and social policy informed these early programs (Stanton, Giles, and Cruz 2-A). Service-learning replaces the traditional paternalistic, one-way volunteer or community service with service based on the grassroots needs of the community. Sigmon (1979), an SREB the "principles for service-learning" that form the backbone of current service-learning programs. He stated that the "served control the service(s) provided," thus making them "better able to serve and be served by their own actions." At the same time, "those who serve are also learners and have significant control over what is expected to be learned" (3). Service-learning provides activities that require the learner towork in a group, addressing the practitioner,

formulated

needs and tastes of the people being served. Because of the nature of service-learning situated in the community, people of different ages, cultural backgrounds, and viewpoints about daily living are encouraged to interact with each other and to develop reciprocal relationships. Due to the relational aspect of the community/academic partnership, participants develop "habits of the heart" (Howe in Pardo iv-v) that tend to affect their perspectives after the end of the service learning

experience.

is also based

Service-learning theories

of Dewey

and

Freir?.

Since

in the emancipatory, many

service-learning

experiential, projects

are

and democratic situated

learning

in communities

whose inhabitants represent marginalized populations or organizations whose aim is to serve those same populations, students are encouraged to interact with people with whom they would normally not relate. Similarly, the community participates in the education of the university students, creating an experience of learning that "transcends the walls of the classroom" (Tilley Lubbs 207). In this way, service-learning espouses learning that takes place outside institutions, based on the life experiences of the learners, comprised of both the served and the servers. Service-learning prepares students for life in the community and the wider society. The Rationale Raschio presented the rationale for service-learning, describing it in terms of community based education based on community action. He further expounded on the concept of service learning as experiential education that engages students in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development (Jacoby et al. 5). Referring to the model developed by the Florida International University ("Four Things"), Raschio

continued the discussion of ways that service-learning experiences reflect the needs of the real world while at the same time fostering the development of the intangibles in education and

162 personal

Hispania development:

88March 2005 empathy,

personal

values,

beliefs,

awareness,

self-esteem,

self

responsibility, and an enhanced sense of caring for others. In addition, service-learning provides structured time for students to reflect on their service and learning experiences by writing, reading, speaking, listening, and creating in both small and large groups as well as in individual work. is a teaching/learning method that connects meaningful community-service Service-learning confidence,

social/civic

experiences with academic learning, personal growth, and/or development of civic responsibility and intellectual curiosity. Since many universities are committed to meeting the diverse and a of the in needs fosters the student tradition of service to changing community, service-learning the public welfare and an energetic, thoughtful approach to the challenges of contemporary life. The benefits to students are numerous, ranging from improving student engagement with subject matter to encouraging a variety of learning styles, from improving the process and prod ucts to giving students a sense of personal involvement. Engaging students in service-learning provides a sense of personal involvement, while improving observation and research skills. The union of the academy and the community promotes retention of learning and understanding, as well as critical analysis from a practical point of view. Students who participate in service for reflection on experiences, learning have mechanisms helping students understand the community and related social and political issues. Raschio also presented the benefits to faculty who choose to engage in service-learning in their courses, sharing his adaptation of the service-learning handbook from Augsburg College increases the instructor's engagement with course con (Littlefield). Including service-learning as as can increase collegiality across disciplines and well revision. tent, syllabus Service-learning conversations about teaching. Courses situated in service-learning provide opportunities for re search and scholarly activity in addition to grant opportunities for the institution and its programs. Service-Learning

1: Opportunities

for Mentoring

and Development

and Tilley-Lubbs moderated the first follow-up session, whose goal was to provide a forum inwhich teachers new to service-learning as well as experienced practitioners could come together to discuss and to develop the ideas the participants of the service-learning workshop had identified. All workshop participants were invited to attend this extra opportunity, but a number of new participants also attended these follow-up sessions. Raschio began the session with a presentation of "best practices" for service-learning. He Raschio

discussed general concepts related to the development of valuable service-learning experiences for all participants beginning with "Three Keys to Success" from Campus Compact, which urges us: 1) to plan, 2) to select highly relevant community experiences, and 3) tomake clear connec tions between the community experience and the content of the course inwhich the experience is to be implemented. Raschio then discussed some practical issues thatmust be resolved in order for the experience to go smoothly and for students to understand what is expected of them during the project. He presented a set often questions that provides the participants with a ready-made template for planning a community-based learning experience. This guide for planning was followed by a Practice." This for success: "OTIRE: 5 Critical Elements of Effective Service-learning model highlights the five basic tasks that help to insure a successful and meaningful project for all parties: students, faculty, and community partners. The elements are: Orientation, Training, and Evaluation. The OTIRE model contains an expanded concep Implementation, Reflection tualization of the element of reflection, which is often considered to include mostly emotional reactions to an experience. In this model, reflection includes the emotional component, but goes on to provide students with opportunities to process the experience at two other levels: learning and thinking. Students react to questions that help them relate their experiences in the project with the course content on several levels in an effort to show that they fulfilled the goals of the course.

model

This aspect

is important to underscore,

because

in service-learning,

credit is not given for the

?

Forum 163 Pedagogical to the service students that service. Rather, it is given for relevant learning garner. project helps We need to ensure thatwe provide students opportunities for proving they have learned what we want them to learn after having engaged in this special learning environment. After participants shared a brief description of their projects, a lively discussion ensued that encompassed several aspects of community service projects in the world language classroom. One major issue that emerged was how to avoid paternalism. Since community-based learning involves pairing with community partners, the nature of the relationship between academic and community stakeholders must be addressed. This relationship should reflect an "I-thou" sense of equality rather than an "I-it" perspective that leads to a superior role of the academic participant in the relationship. In order to have a successful project with community participants it is essential that they are given, and accept, an equivalent level of participation in all aspects of the project. Tilley-Lubbs,

Raschio,

Jorge,

L?pez

The experience must be mutually beneficial. that students need to be given a more active role Some participants also mentioned conceptualization of the project. Often students feel that a project has been imposed upon and that they need to find the "right" mind-set in order to get through the process. Involving as much as is feasible in the establishment of the goals, processes, and evaluation criterion

in the them them for a

project tends to create a sense of ownership in the activity. Another issue of concern was how to link service and learning in existing or emerging projects. Service is the context through which students encounter the various learning oppor tunities that the teacher has set forth. These learning events must reflect the learning goals of the course, or the portion of the course towhich they are related. Some practitioners have referred to service as another textbook for a course, one that contains the information the student must extract and process at various levels along the cognitive scale. Learning results from carefully designing activities that students must complete during the service they perform. Students do not simply help at amigrant medical clinic by performing intake services; they obtain information, react to their experiences, make observations and interview the people in the clinic in order to become more knowledgeable about a course component, such as Social Service Issues Related to the Presence in the United States. The learning component is enhanced because the students Hispanic are able to relate the course's academic goals to the real-life experiences they gain while par component of their course. ticipating in the Service-Learning In all, this session took on a life of its own as participants shared their experiences and concerns related to service in the community. One issue that remained unresolved was the most appropriate name in Spanish and English for this type of relationship between academia and community partners. Perhaps this conundrum is appropriate at this juncture in our profession as we strive to identify the many possible forms this rich field of endeavor might take in the future. Service-learning,

the Standards

for Foreign

Language

Learning,

and the Curriculum

The overall purpose of this session was to communicate and discuss how service-learning projects can and do meet the goals outlined by the Standards for Foreign Language Learning developed by theAmerican Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). To avoid any assumptions as to how audience members define service-learning and to distinguish and service, volunteer clarify how it differs from other forms of experiential learning?community offered three definitions used and organizations schools ism, internships, externships?L?pez by around the country. The definitions suggest that service-learning consists of a collaborative effort between

schools and communities that create learning experiences upon which students critically These experiences are tied to and go beyond the classroom, attempting to bring about changes and/or address needs identified by and/or with community members. Moving cultures, connections, through each of the Standard's 5 Cs?communication, talked about how service-learning projects provide op comparisons, and communities?L?pez portunities for students to attain these goals. Students completing their service-learning projects among Spanish-speaking persons both communicate in Spanish and have opportunities to provide reflect.

164

Hispania 88 March 2005

and obtain information. Often required to keep a reflective journal and give class presentations on their service, students also meet the goal of "express[ing] feelings and emotions, and ex course the with instructor and classmates. By the end of their changing] opinions," particularly a students better frequently possess service-learning projects, understanding of another culture, what Latinos/Latinas believe, the attitudes they hold, and the culturally-embedded ways inwhich they act. Depending on the nature of their service-learning activities, students can also meet the goal of making connections between what they are learning in the community and what they are such as sociology, anthropology, religious studies, studying in courses in other disciplines, education, and political science, to name a few. For instance, students working in health clinics not only acquire specialized vocabulary but also learn about health issues.related to Latinos/ Latinas.

comments

Students'

in journals,

papers,

course

evaluations,

and

correspondence

reveal

that their service-learning projects allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of their native tongues and cultures through comparisons, thereby attaining the fourth C. They might compare family values, religious beliefs, foods, social events, and attitudes towards materialism. At the core of service-learning is the fifth C, communities, where students put into practice and expand their knowledge of material being covered in their classrooms. That students are "becoming life long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment" is evident when they willingly complete more hours of service than are required and/or continue their work, even though the course has ended. With the potential to address the Standards for Foreign Language Learning, service-learning is gaining ground in many schools, particularly in institutions of higher learning. As it does, Spanish programs and departments will need to consider carefully how best to create these opportunities for students, their role within the curriculum, and how to assess and sustain them, topics for future AATSP Models

sessions.

of Service-Learning

That Work

The goal of this session was to provide some principles or general lessons about how to engage with communities through our curriculum, what some people might call "best practices" for developing

service-learning

In this presentation, the follow-up

or

Jorge continued

community-engaged

the dialogue

classes

language-learning

that began in the workshop

or programs.

and continued

into

sessions.

Jorge brought examples from two successful models of partnerships, one building capacity and the other building community. Capacity building referred to programs mediated by com that aim to be sustainable beyond the learning centers and social organizations munity-based duration of our involvement, and that build the organization's capacity to improve or expand its services. For example, the Pomona Day Labor Center, a Pitzer College Core Partner since 1998, provides a legal site for temporary/day workers in the city of Pomona to gather and act collectively to ensure safe and fair working conditions. Pitzer students help educate the large number of day laborers still gathering on street corners as to the advantages of the Center's approach; teach ESL assessment and a network of health care services for laborers classes; develop a health-care-needs and their families; organize citizenship drives; negotiate labor disputes with employers; and hold educational workshops regarding workers' rights. Another example, HOPE, with its affiliate Hug House, is a nonprofit agency serving home less and economically disadvantaged people in the west end of San Bernardino County. HOPE offers a wide range of referral, support, and educational services free of charge tomeet the basic needs of homeless individuals and families. Hug House focuses on homeless school-age children, many of whom are not enrolled in public school because of their transient lifestyles. With Pitzer's assistance, HOPE developed a 90-day transitional housing program that helped stabilize the client base and enabled more effective, on-going programming. Pitzer projects have included computer training, job training, and literacy programs. Students and faculty also helped design a curriculum

for Hug House

specifically

tailored to the needs of homeless

children aged 4 to 14.

?

Forum 165 Pedagogical to programs of community engaged language learning, partner Community building referred ships with community members, often unmediated by organizations, which evolve through the development of strong personal relationships. These partnerships usually outlast the participation of specific students, and are long enough to see individual students through their entire careers at Raschio,

Tilley-Lubbs,

Jorge,

L?pez

the college and beyond. An example of this type of model is the Community-based gram at Pitzer. In this program students, hosted by the female head of the household, visit the homes of immigrant Mexican families and, in the context of their everyday

Spanish Pro ^promotora, lives, discuss contemporary issues, explore the community, and participate in family activities. While the pro gram was not set up to provide service, it does so by fostering reciprocity among diverse social networks that would not be in contact otherwise. The community-based Spanish program connects the assets and knowledge of two different cultural and socio-economic students in Claremont, California and resi communities?college dents of a Spanish-speaking in nearby Ontario, a city of 163,000 east of Los neighborhood Angeles with a rapidly growing Latino population. The presenter, Prof. Ethel Jorge, is the director of the program at Pitzer College, and Prof. Gresilda Tilley-Lubbs, the moderator of the session, directs a very similar program inVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Some of the principles that have been derived from over five years of operating the Community-based Spanish Program at Pitzer were shared and discussed: the context requires extensive fieldwork and cogent applied research by Understanding the faculty. The program structure and pedagogical design require that personal relationships and connectivity be central elements. The College has to commit itself to a long-term relationship with a particular communi ty, involving quite a few years, not just several semesters. All the participants and the outcomes continue to change and evolve, sometimes in unex pected ways. In the case of Pitzer College, a program structure unmediated by community service organization bureaucracies allowed for the development of stronger and more fluid relationships, which, in turn, abetted this process of change and evolution. This is not to suggest that an unmediated approach is always the right one. In such an unmediated program the faculty is central, requiring a high degree of time and emotional

investment.

This dependence on the individual faculty's central role has potential negative conse quences if s/he is no longer involved. Also, there may be difficulty in attracting external funding because agencies are concerned about the program's sustainability. The faculty's close attention to individual participants requires amodest program scale. The small scale and the direct relationship among students and community partners created the possibility ment

among

for students to develop

and transmit a culture of ethical engage

themselves.

An essential element of this culture included a safe space for exploring of

race,

class,

and

the boundaries

privilege.

this space appears unstructured to those unfamiliar with the underlying Paradoxically, it actually has a complex and subtle structure and pedagogical design. but organization, This structure depends on collaborative decision-making in by all the constituencies volved, implying that the program coordinator share power and be flexible. It is necessary to communicate and listen to build trust in order to continue to communi cate, listen, and build trust. Some points were

further elaborated

through the participants'

The need for respectful community

engagement

discussion:

is expressed

in long-term commitments

H?spanla 88 March 2005

166

and collaborative decision-making. One cannot successfully enter communities from the top down. A possible way to ad dress this is to invigorate the development of projects that grow from field-based courses into meaningful partnerships with community organizations and individual community members.

The presenter defined this type of activity, in the case of the program used as an example, as language-learning that can (but does not have to) involve direct service. This community-engaged of communities of native speakers, and considers the impact of the contributions values process and economic issues on language learning. The participants historical, cultural, socio-political, had an informal and active discussion of these principles and reflected on the kinds of engagement that could fit each institution and its particular circumstances. The presenters expect that this discussion will definitely be continuing in our organization. The Process,

Benefits,

and Challenges

the workshop, the participants became engaged in the process of planning a service learning project to incorporate in their own courses. Some of the participants also attended the two sessions that followed the workshop, and by the end of the series, the following list of benefits of in the classroom using service-learning emerged as the result of brainstorming. Service-learning During

fosters language learning by providing a practical application for language. Also heightened is the informed by the community. Perhaps most importantly, acquisition of cultural knowledge in who students service-learning projects in the Latino community tend to develop a participate sense of civic engagement that can shape their world perspective. inherent in adapting to pedagogy Also discussed were the challenges including service can from the resistance be administration, whether at learning. At the level of the academy, there area level. From the point of view of the experience the institutional or the departmental/content included providing transportation and dealing with safety issues. On a itself, the challenges deeper level, the challenge is to avoid developing a program that fosters a paternalistic attitude in the

Next

students.

Steps

In future workshops, the facilitators plan to create more hands-on activities thatwill lead the participants through the creation of their own courses. The possibility of providing preparation materials was discussed, thus providing the participants with the foundation for service-learning in order to begin the workshop with a knowledge base of the theory and rationale that inform in the language classroom. service-learning For the AATSP Annual Conference 2005 inNew York, the facilitators intend to have ses sions that center on the implementation of service-learning programs as well as on sharing ideas for writing articles that focus on service-learning, including information on journals thatwelcome such articles. Participants will also be provided with materials prior to the workshop that enable assessment so they will have an idea of where they want to begin them to begin a community-needs their projects. the Acapulco workshop, the participants became so interested in sharing ideas and own circumstances that the presenters sacrificed some goals, such as discussing their describing future plans for service-learning on a broad scale. For the conference inNew York, the facilitators invite all interested participants to join them in dialogue about issues such as exploring inter disciplinary projects, language across the curriculum, implementation of projects, research, and During

assessment/evaluation

of

service-learning.

At theworkshop and at each session, Tilley-Lubbs circulated a list thatwill form the basis for to continue the a listserv that will provide a forum for those interested in service-learning

? 167 Forum Raschio, Jorge, L?pez Pedagogical Tilley-Lubbs, in language classes. Readers who are conversation about the inclusion of service-learning interested in participating should email for information on becoming part of the list. Conclusion In conclusion, Raschio provided a statement that sums up the rationale for including service learning in the second language classroom: People have stated that the university is charged with maintaining the integrity of our democ racy by creating an engaged citizenry. An engaged citizen participates in the improvement of society through a sense of mutual gain. A democracy can survive only if its citizenry knows a sense of mutual gain. A democracy can survive only if its citizenry knows how to value the di versity that composes it, and works to turn differences into new opportunities that reflect and serve the common good. Our students cannot become engaged citizens unless the academy provides them with the tools and the opportunities to practice social engagement that includes becoming caring citizens who in turn will value the results evidenced in social improvements that are the fruits of their efforts. These engaged citizens then will go on to demand such engagement of the next generation. The cycle of engagement needs to begin sometime. Itmight as well begin with us. Service-learning is perhaps one of the best tools with which to serve this end.

REFERENCES American

Council

on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. 1November 2004. . Creed." The Curriculum Studies Reader. Eds. David J. Flinders and Stephen

John. "My Pedagogic Dewey, New York: Routledge, "Four Things

Faculty Want

1997.

J. Thornton.

17-23.

to Know

About."

1 November

2004.

Volunteer

Action

Center,

Florida

International

University. . Trans. Myra Bergman Ramos. Freir?, Paolo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

New York: Continuum, 1970. inHigher Education. San Francisco: 1996. Jacoby, Barbara, et al. Service-Learning Jossey-Bass, at Augsburg College: A Handbook for Instructors. Victoria M. Community Version 2. Littlefield, Service-Learning MN: Augsburg 1996. Minneapolis, College Center for Faculty Development, in the Classroom: Practical Issues." Service-Learning. Ed. Joan Schine. National Pardo, Winifred. "Service-Learning 96. Part I. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1996. 90-104. Society for the Study of Education Yearbook Three Principles." Synergist Sigmon, Robert L. "Service-Learning: (1979). 9-10. A Movement's Pioneers Reflect on Stanton, Timothy K., Giles, Dwight E., and Cruz, Nadinne I, Eds. Service-Learning: Its Origins, Practice, and Future. 1999. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, A Study of Cross-Cultural Gresilda A. "Crossing the Border through Service-Learning: Tilley-Lubbs, Relationships." Diss.

Virginia

Polytechnic

Institute

and State U,

2003.