Service Learning
Some ThoughtsService Learning is the interpolation of community service and academic pursuits. Research shows that students learn more when they are able to apply, in a practical way, the things they learn in the classroom. Whether the Service is local or abroad it creates important connections between the academy and the community. Students who participate in these courses are more motivated to learn, more likely to develop their language skills, and better able to apply what is learned in the classroom not only to the course-related service, but also to their own career development. Projects may be long or short-term, but they must have a clear connection to the topics covered in the course. In language and culture courses, it is easy to see the value of getting students involved in communities in which they have to interact with people, use their language skills, and begin to see the world from the perspective of the community with which they are working. Even short programs that take students abroad to work on service projects have value in enhancing their comfort level in the language, boosting their confidence in their ability to communicate, and increasing their vocabulary. The most important learning experience, however, comes from seeing first-hand the evidence of the things they have learned in class, such as the results of poverty and the effects of historical events on the current reality.
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