Leanne Cameron, IRC/ELI Service Learning Presentation 2013
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Transcript of Leanne Cameron, IRC/ELI Service Learning Presentation 2013
Socially Responsible Citizens: !Service-Learning as a Language Learning Motivator Leanne Cameron, M.A.
• 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
Presentation Overview
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
Refugee Resettlement
Matching Grant Program: 6 months of support through a rese5lement agency Job placement
Apartment, schools, transporta)on English language instruc)on
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
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
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
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
“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
Service Learning
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)
Service-Learning
"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 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
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)
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
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)
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?
Research Questions
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)
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
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)
Length of Service at IRC
Question #1
1. "Overall, volunteering at IRC was a posi)ve experience for me.” Mean: 4.5 (n = 26, SD = 1.1)
Questions #2-4
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)
Open-Ended Response Foci 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Impacted personal English learning
Impacted thinking about learning
Developed skills or abili)es
Impacted social awareness or perspec)ve
Lacked change or results
Impacted reason to improve English
Impacted personal "inspira)on"
General comments on experience
Impacted self-‐expression or confidence
Impacted thinking about value of English
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
Concrete Focus: Personal English
Concrete Results: Skills
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
Abstract Results: Confidence
Abstract Results: Global Citizenship
“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)
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.
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
Application for Different Contexts
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.”
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.”
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.”
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 [email protected].
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.