Multilingual Learners and Leaders

Adrian J. Wurr

Experiential education programs encompass a wide range of curricula, from traditional internships, classroom-based learning in labs and teaching practicums to the community-based learning afforded by volunteering. As shown in Figure 1.1, internships and field experiences primarily serve as pre-professional training and career development opportunities for students. At the other end of the experiential education continuum, volunteer programs such as Alternative Spring Break provide direct-service opportunities for students to make a difference in their communities. The locus of activity often shifts between campus and community over the life of a project; most programs also move back and forth along the continuum over time. Indeed, almost any experiential education project can be crafted to emphasize outcomes at one end of the spectrum or the other in order to meet its defined goals.

This chapter will describe lesser-known programs in the United States that engage students of different ages and backgrounds in experiential learning activities that are most often described as service learning (SL), but that may share qualities with other types of experiential education. The purpose is to provide readers with a better sense of the range and scope of projects that are possible in different educational settings, while also introducing some of the supporting research and scholarship. All cases work with linguistically and culturally diverse populations to highlight the beneficial effects of engaging people from diverse backgrounds in meaningful activities toward a common goal.

Literature Review

Learning outcomes

Earlier reports involving English language learners (ELLs) in SL provided some evidence of the ways in which language learners benefit from volunteering in the community, including positive outcomes in social, cognitive and affective domains. In the social domain, learning about the target culture (Bippus, 2011; Bippus & Eslami, 2013; Heuser, 1999; Seltzer, 1998; Steinke, 2009) is perhaps most prevalent and is supported by the social turn in language-learning theories. Cognitively, gains in academic writing skills (Hamstra, 2010; Wurr, 2002, 2009) are most often cited, given the frequent use of written reflection and the early adoption of SL by composition scholars (e.g. Adler-Kassner et al., 1997; Deans, 2000; Deans et al., 2010). Gaining a 'confidence to contribute' (Whittig & Hale, 2007) is frequently cited as a main outcome in the personal domain for ELLs who participate in SL (e.g. Bippus & Eslami, 2013; Perren et al., 2013; Rueckert, 2013; Steinke, 2009).

Recent research reports provide additional support for the proposition that SL can potentially enhance learners' knowledge and use of all language skills. Askildson et al. (2013) found that international students enrolled in an intensive English summer program that included SL improved their English language proficiency at a rate that was three times greater than traditional classroom-based instruction:

According to this model, a standard intensive English program with the equivalent 25 hr of instruction per week and a total of 200 hr of instruction over 8 weeks should result in an average gain of 20 points. The pre- to posttest gains in the present study are more than three times greater than this predicted outcome and suggest the potential of a robust facilitation effect. (Askildson et al., 2013: 424)

Study Abroad and Intensive English Programs (IEPs)

An IEP program that I helped to administer at the University of Idaho involved international students in SL projects while studying abroad in the United States. The Central American Youth Ambassador (CAYA) program is one of several educational exchange programs sponsored by the US Department of State to bring aspiring youth leaders from around the world to study in America while participating in civic engagement and leadership programs. The goal of these programs is to create change agents who will have a positive impact on their communities while also fostering positive relations with future foreign leaders.

The first six months of the program were devoted to intensive English language lessons for the students at a neighboring college while they lived with American families in the community. The second half of the students' year in the United States was devoted to specialized training in social entrepreneurship, leadership and civic engagement. Custom university classes and community-based field experiences focused on sustainable agricultural practices, since the university and the students' hometowns were in agrarian settings. For example, one course taught by an education graduate focused on climate change and environmental systems. Students researched the topic online, attended guest lectures by university and community experts and volunteered on a local farm that promoted sustainable agriculture. The students also visited local nurseries and community gardens to better understand sustainable agriculture supply chains and volunteered with the largest environmental non-profit in the area, The Palouse–Clearwater Environmental Institute, helping with tree planting and wetland restoration projects. In the summer, CAYA students assisted with lessons at the...