This document summarizes a presentation on using service-learning to motivate language learning. It introduces the International Rescue Committee refugee resettlement program in Sacramento and its English language institute partnership with Sacramento State. The presentation reviews research showing mostly anecdotal evidence that service-learning benefits language learners. It then proposes a research project to study how tutoring refugees through the English language institute impacts students' language motivation and investment in their L2 identity.

1. Socially Responsible Citizens: !
Service-Learning as a Language
Learning Motivator
Leanne Cameron, M.A.

2. Presentation Overview
•
Introduc)on
to
Program
•
Interna)onal
Rescue
Commi5ee
in
Sacramento
•
English
Language
Ins)tute
&
Service
Learning
•
Review
of
Past
Research
•
Research
Project
•
Discussion
of
Results
•
Applica)on
&
Discussion

3. International Rescue Committee





www.rescue.org
Nonsectarian,
non-­‐profit
US-­‐based
NGO
Founded
at
the
request
of
Albert
Einstein
to
support
the
refugees
fleeing
the
Third
Reich
in
the
1930s
Interna/onal
work
(44
countries):
disaster
relief,
educa)on,
rights
advocacy:
women,
vic)ms,
and
human
rights,
etc.
Domes/c
work
(22
US
ci)es):
refugee
rese5lement

Logo
and
informa,on
used
by
permission

4. Refugee Resettlement
o
Refugee
status
&
op)ons
available
o
14
million
worldwide
o
2010:
203,000
need
rese5lement
(UNHCR);
only
80,000
places
existed,
72,914
were
placed

Matching
Grant
Program:
6
months
of
support
through
a
rese5lement
agency
 Job
placement
 Apartment,
schools,
transporta)on
 English
language
instruc)on

5. IRC in Sacramento




Volunteer-­‐run
ESL
Program
started
in
2011
Twice
a
week:
1.5
hours
with
an
ESL
instructor,
1.5
hours
of
tutoring
Challenge
#1:
Volunteer
reten)on
Challenge
#2:
Training
volunteers
to
work
with
very
low-­‐level
speakers

6. English Language Institute
•
Intensive
English
Program
at
Sacramento
State,
primarily
interna)onal
F-­‐1
students
•
Eight
week
sessions,
five
sessions/year
•
Eight
levels
from
literacy
to
low-­‐advanced,
pre-­‐university
•
•
Popula/ons:
Korean,
Saudi
Arabian,
Chinese,
Taiwanese,
various
other
groups
Current
popula/on
approx.
175

7. 10-­‐15
hours
required
as
a
part
of
Level
6/7
Listening
&
Speaking

Reflec)on
through
two
presenta/ons
and
on-­‐going
discussion

Service Learning & ELI

8. Service Learning
“Service-­‐learning
is
a
form
of
experimental
educa)on
in
which
students
engage
in
ac/vi/es
that
address
human
and
community
needs
together
with
structured
opportuni)es
inten)onally
designed
to
promote
student
learning
and
development.”
Jacoby,
1996,
p.
5

9. ELI Tutors at IRC



52
ELI
students
have
served
as
tutors
since
August
2011
All
completed
a
minimum
of
four
tutoring
sessions
(1.5
hours
each)
Also
hosted
short-­‐term
groups
as
tutors
(Korean
university
students
and
Hubert
H.
Humphrey
Fellows)

10. "Community
service...can
be
a
transforming
experience.
Many
students,
growing
up
in
middle
class
homes
in
suburban
neighborhoods,
have
had
li5le
to
do
with
the
world
revealed
to
them
when
they
embark
on
programs
taking
them
into
social-­‐service
organiza)ons,
hospitals,
and
inner-­‐city
schools,
and
they
can
derive
deep
sa/sfac/on
from
combining
their
own
studies
with
the
well-­‐being
of
their
communi)es.
They
can
also
learn
new
ways
of
looking
at
the
world,
and
through
the
formal
language
learning
process,
share
their
experiences
with
others."
(Tonkin
et
al,
2004,
p.
5)
Service-Learning

11. Service-Learning Advantages
Concrete
Advantages
 Hands-­‐on
skill
building:
develops
“the
ability
to
synthesize
informa)on,
crea)ve
problem
solving,
construc)ve
teamwork,
effec)ve
communica)on,
well-­‐
reasoned
decision
making,
and
nego)a)on
and
compromise”
(Jacoby,
1996,
p.
20)
 Resume
building:
Work
within
the
field
can
be
listed
along
with
coursework
to
demonstrate
real-­‐world
experience

12. Service-Learning Advantages
Abstract
Advantages
 Interpersonal
skills:
“develop
students'
apprecia)on
of
human
differences
and
commonali)es
and
to
teach
individuals
to
live
peacefully
and
produc)vely
in
communi)es”
 Global
ci/zenship:
“helps
par)cipants
develop
a
deeper
understanding
of
the
issues,
as
well
as
how
values
and
norms
are
socially
constructed
and
the
causes
of
social
injus)ce”
(Jacoby,
2004,
p.
22)

13. ESL & Service-Learning Research



Visible
gap
in
the
research
Gap
#1:
Primarily
anecdotal
(Russell,
2007)
 Applica)on
of
service-­‐learning
as
an
opportunity
that
"allows
students
to
address
complex
problems
in
complex
semngs"
(p.
771)
Gap
#2:
Exis)ng
research
presents
situa)ons
that
don’t
involve
direct
contact
between
ELLs
and
target
popula)on

14. Connection to Motivation



Gardener
&
Lambert
(1972):
Instrumental
vs.
integra)ve
mo)va)on
Dornyei’s
(2005,
2009)
L2
Mo)va)onal
Self
System
 “Future”
or
Possible
selves:
what
one
might
become,
what
he/she
wants
to
become,
and
is
afraid
to
become
Norton
(2002):
Investment
 Learners
are
“constantly
organizing
and
reorganizing
a
sense
of
who
they
are
and
how
they
relate
to
the
social
world”
and
this
L2
iden)ty
“is
constantly
changing
over
)me
and
space”
(p.11)

15. Research Questions
What
abstract
or
concrete
results
did
par)cipants
report
based
on
the
experience?

In
what
ways,
if
any,
did
these
results
appear
to
relate
to
language
learning
mo/va/on?
•
Applica'on:
What
factors
of
the
experience
can
be
recreated
in
different
contexts
for
similar
results?
•

16. Population & Methodology




45
tutors
contacted;
did
their
service
between
August
2011
and
January
2013
36
were
my
past
students
Contacted
by
email
with
Survey
Monkey
page
Results
reported
as
anonymous

Open
February-­‐April
2013

57%
response
rate
(n
=
26)

17. Survey Questions

Likert
Ques/ons
[4]
 5
point
scale
 Measured
for
mean
and
standard
devia)on
then
plo5ed

Open-­‐Ended
Ques/ons
[4]
 Analyzed
through
the
constant
compara,ve
model
(Glaser
&
Strauss,
1967)
 Coded
and
combined
into
11
foci
to
comment
on
the
perceived
value/lack
of
value
in
the
experience

18. Demographics (n =26)
Saudi
Arabia
(11)
 South
Korea
(9)
 Taiwan
(2)
 China
(2)
 Iran
(1)
 Albania
(1)

Male
(14)
 Female
(12)
 Average
age
of
21
 No
past
volunteer
work
(8)
 Past
volunteer
work
in
US
or
abroad
(18)


19. Length of Service at IRC

20. Question #1

1.
"Overall,
volunteering
at
IRC
was
a
posi)ve
experience
for
me.”
 Mean:
4.5
(n
=
26,
SD
=
1.1)

21. 2.
"Volunteering
at
IRC
mo)vated
me
to
work
hard
at
learning
English.”
Mean
(n
=
26,
SD
=
1.2)
3.
"Volunteering
at
IRC
improved
my
own
understanding
of
English.”
Mean
(n
=
26,
SD
=
1.2)
4.
"Volunteering
at
IRC
improved
my
perspec)ve
on
learning
English.”
Mean
(n
=
26,
SD
=
1.2)
Questions #2-4

22. Impacted
thinking
about
value
of
English
Impacted
self-­‐expression
or
confidence
General
comments
on
experience
Impacted
personal
"inspira)on"
Impacted
reason
to
improve
English
Lacked
change
or
results
Impacted
social
awareness
or
perspec)ve
Developed
skills
or
abili)es
Impacted
thinking
about
learning
Impacted
personal
English
learning
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Open-Ended Response Foci

23. Concrete Results: Language
Focused
on
the
results
of
their
own
language
use
(including
remembering,
prac)cing,
or
learning)
and
improving
or
refreshing
their
English
skills
 Men)oned
by
all
26
respondents


Connec/on
to
Jacoby
(2004)
 Hands-­‐on
skill
building
 Resume
building

24. Concrete Focus: Personal English

25. Concrete Results: Skills

26. Abstract Results: Perspective
Focused
on
internal
change
in
perspec/ve:
change
in
beliefs,
mo)va)onal
factors,
ability
to
cri)cally
analyze
a
situa)on,
while
helping
refugees
claim
this
as
well.

 Connec/on
to
Jacoby
(2004)

 Interpersonal
skills
 Global
ci)zenship

27. Abstract Results: Confidence

28. Abstract Results: Global Citizenship

29. “They
are
constantly
organizing
and
reorganizing
a
sense
of
who
they
are
and
how
they
relate
to
the
social
world.
Thus,
an
investment
in
the
target
language
is
also
an
investment
in
a
learner’s
own
social
iden/ty,
an
iden)ty
which
is
constantly
changing
across
)me
and
space.”
(Norton,
2000,
p.
18)

30. Limitations



Posi/ve
bias
within
respondents
(more
likely
to
respond
to
the
survey
request)
Researcher
bias
as
instructor
and
IRC
ESL
Program
Coordinator
Limita/ons
of
using
the
Likert
scale
(i.e.

31. Application for Different Contexts
Research
Ques/on
for
Applica/on
What
factor
of
the
experience
can
be
recreated
in
different
contexts
for
similar
results?
My
answer:
INTERACTION
allows
for
investment

32. Interaction: Requires English Usage


“Before
I
did
it,
English
was
just
one
way
to
get
good
grade.
However,
I
realized
English
is
the
way
to
communicate
with
each
other.”
“Teaching
or
transferring
the
informa)on
I
have
to
someone
else
improves
my
own
understanding
of
the
thing.”

33. Interaction: Confidence

“Since
I
am
not
a
na)ve
speaker,
I
considered
myself
as
a
small
person
in
the
US.
The
people
who
I
met
grew
me
up
internally.
They
needed
me
and
there
was
something
I
could
help
them
with
my
English
skills
even
though
my
English
was
not
perfect…
Now
I
can
show
my
opinion
by
speaking
a
second
language.
The
immigrants
always
showed
me
their
respecta)on
and
it
made
me
so
much
proud
of
myself.”

34. Interaction: Investment in the “Other”


“I
felt
the
li5le
effort
I
put
made
someone’s
life
a
li5le
bit
easier.”
“It
was
my
first
)me
to
meet
refugees.
I
had
scary
image
of
them…
But
through
this
experience,
it
was
totally
changed.
They
were
just
common
people.”

35. Get Involved!



Learn
more
about
the
IRC
at
www.rescue.org.
Join
TESOL’s
Refugee
Concerns
Interest
Sec)on
for
ongoing
news
about
refugees
&
English:
h5p://tesol.org/connect/
interest-­‐sec/ons/refugee-­‐concerns
Contact
me
at
Leanne.Cameron@rescue.org.

36. References



Dörnyei,
Z.
(2005).
The
psychology
of
the
language
learner:
Individual
differences
in
second
language
acquisi)on.
Mahwah,
NJ:
Lawrence
Erlbaum.
Gardner,
R.C.,
&
Lambert,
E.E.
(1972).
A?tudes
and
mo,va,on
in
second
language
learning.
Rowley,
MA:
Newbury.
IRC
at
a
Glance.
Interna)onal
Rescue
Commi5ee.
(2013).
Rescue
and
refugee
support.
Interna,onal
Rescue
CommiDee
(IRC).
Retrieved
from
h5p://www.rescue.org/irc-­‐at-­‐a-­‐glance

Jacoby,
B.
(1996).
Service
learning
in
higher
educa,on.
San
Francisco:
Jossey-­‐Bass
Publishers

Norton,
B.
(2000).
Iden,ty
and
language
learning.
Harlow,
England:
Longman
Pearson.




Norton
Piece,
B.
(1995).
Social
iden)ty,
investment,
and
language
learning.
TESOL
Quarterly,
29(1),
p.
9-­‐31.
Number
of
refugees
at
an
all-­‐)me
high
(2013).
EuroNews.
Retrieved
from
h5p://
www.euronews.com/2013/06/19/world-­‐refugee-­‐day/
Russell,
N.
(2007).
More
than
teaching:
Connec,ng
ESL
students
to
their
community
through
service
learning.
Phi
Delta
Kappan:
June.
Tonkin,
H.
(Ed).
(2004).
Service-­‐learning
across
cultures:
Promise
and
achievement.
Portland,
OR:
Interna)onal
Partnership
for
Service-­‐Learning
and
Leadership.