Chapter 6: Community Engagement: Implementation and Success of Service-Learning Programs With Heritage and Foreign Language Students of Spanish

This chapter analyzes the role of using service-learning across the curriculum in different university Spanish classes with heritage and second language students of Spanish. This research looks at both quantitative and qualitative data regarding the benefits and challenges of using service-learning with these learners. The data for this study were gathered over a 4-year period from six different advanced Spanish classes. The data were collected from student responses to service-learning surveys, written reactions in service-learning journals, interviews with the students, and questionnaire data related to their experience with service-learning from the different agencies with whom they worked. The study found that students reported gains in their linguistic proficiency as a result of service-learning. In addition, the students reported and increased awareness as to the needs of individuals and organizations in their communities. It was also found that while differences exist in the results reported by heritage and foreign language students, many similarities can be found in their experiences with a wide variety of community organizations. The students also found service-learning beneficial in providing them direction with both their professional and academic goals. The agencies with whom they worked reported a high degree of satisfaction with the quality of the work and the students.