研究ノート

Beyond the Classroom: Creating Condensed
Culture Shock and Culture Learning Experiences
Through Experiential Learning and ServiceLearning
Jon DUJMOVICH
要旨経験及び実践から得られる学習は，日本の大学生，とりわけ海外での学習の機会や手段を持たない者にとって，現代英語を学ぶ上において必要不可欠なものである。事実，すべての学習者，例えば海外生活を経験した者にとっても，この種類の学習方法は大変有益なものとなり得る。日本の学生達は，教室という形式的な構造から離れた場において英語を使う機会が与えられ，日本人以外の英語話者との交流の中に身を置くことで，未知の，あるいは彼等自身では得難いと思われていた世界への扉を開いていく。大学における指導というのは，要約や構造化といった方法により，学生達に異文化での摩擦や衝撃を経験させる機会を与えることであり，それはまた見逃すことの出来ない教育の機会でもある。
本論文は，本学の現代国際英語（CIE）を専攻している14名の学生達が，2012年と2015年に開催された日本外国語教育協会（JALT）の全国大会でのインターンシッププログラム，並びに2015年大学対抗マーケティング大会（MSJ）への参加を通じた彼等の所感と，参加した研究者からの観察論が述べられている。この実践から提供される学習機会は，学部による指導のもと構造化されフィードバックされるものである。また本論文では，ス
チューデントジャーナルで報告されているような，これらのイベントへの参加を通じて発生した異文化学習について検討する。
学生達の声に耳を傾け思いを巡らせることを促すこうした民族誌的な学術研究の事例は，外国語学習への動機付けや，その実践的な活用といった点で，学術機関の外の世界における言語習得の可能性に新たな光を投じるものであり，教育者達においても，さらなる識見を提供する重要な手掛かりとなるであろう。

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言語と文化 No. 36

キーワード：サービス・ラーニング，経験及び実践から得られる学習，
エスノグラフィー，民族誌，モチベーション，動機付け，
インタレクチャル・コンピテンシー，異文化における行動特性，国際化，グローバル人材，グローバル30，リンガフラン
カとしての英語，カルチャー・バンプ，カルチャー・ストレス，カルチャー・ショック，国内における異文化体験，コンデ ン ス ド・ カ ル チ ャ ー・ シ ョ ッ ク， 全 国 語 学 教 育 学 会，
JALT

Abstract
Experiential learning (Kolb, 1984) and service-learning (Furco, 1996) are
important elements of any modern English language educational experience forJapanese university learners who do not have the opportunity or means to study
abroad. In fact, all learners – even those who have experienced overseas stays –can greatly beneﬁt from these types of learning situations. When given the chance
to communicate using English outside the formal classroom constructs, andinteract with non-Japanese English speakers in the public sphere, Japanese
university students enter a world of opportunities either previously unknown, or
perhaps viewed as unattainable. For university instructors, a window ofopportunity to expose students to culture stress and culture shock in a condensed
and structured manner is an educational chance not to be missed. This paper
follows 14 students from the Contemporary International English (CIE) major at
Aichi University through their experiences as interns at the Japan Association for
Language Teaching's (JALT) national conferences in 2012 and 2015, participationin the intercollegiate Marketing Competition Japan (MCJ) 2015. Learning
opportunities are provided in this service-learning model through a structured,
mindful, feedback-reﬂection loop, and under the guidance of an instructor. This
paper will explore the intercultural learning that occurred through participation inthese events as reported in student journals. By listening and reflecting on thestudentsʼ voices, educators can gain new perspectives on learning, motivation, andthe practical use of second language in domestic intercultural experiences beyond
the classroom.

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Beyond the Classroom

Keywords: Service-learning, experiential learning, internship, ethnography,
motivation, intercultural competency, internationalization, Global
Jinzai, Global 30, English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), cultural bumps,
culture stress, culture shock, domestic intercultural experience,
condensed culture shock, Japan Association for Language Teaching(JALT)

Introduction
At Aichi University on the Toyohashi campus, the inaugural classes for undergraduatesin the Contemporary International English (CIE) major commenced in the spring semesterof 2012. CIE, one of the new majors in the Faculty of Letters, has a freshman 1 ) student
cohort ranging from twenty-ﬁve to thirty students each year and a current teaching facultyof five full time professors. There is an intimate learning environment with small classsizes, typically less than 30 students in core courses and less than 20 students in department
elective courses and seminars. Interaction amongst faculty and student cohorts is encouraged
in many forms and often dialogue continues into lunch hours or into the evening at thelanguage café in the Language Center.
Outside the classroom, use of web-based learning tools such as Moodle keep students
and faculty engaged with course content and CIE general affairs. CIE students and faculty
also connect via popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Line to continue
English discussions from class or share more personal information with one another.
Special events such as meetings, parties, sports, and hikes are regularly organized to further
foster the bonds within the department and provide opportunities to interact using English.
Through various offerings promoted by CIE and Aichi University, students from thedepartment are advised to attend study abroad programs in conjunction with universities in
inner circle native English speaking countries (Kachru, 1992) like Canada, Australia,
England, and the U.S.A in order to improve English language skills and interculturalcompetency. Frequently students take advantage of such offerings in spring of their secondor third years at school and will make arrangements to travel together with university
cohorts on these programs. Sometimes students arrange their own experiences abroad that
may take the form of a short home stay in an English speaking country, English study in an
English official language country such as the Philippines, or excursions to nearby Asian― 199 ―

愛知大学

言語と文化 No. 36

countries traveling with friends or family that may involve limited English or second
language use. Often the CIE students return from these programs and excursions withincreased motivation to speak and learn English, and/or increased English language abilities
and greater intercultural awareness.
Unfortunately, there are some learners and administrators in Japan that are still
mistakenly under the impression that memorizing a country fact-book and overseas
experience in and of itself is enough to develop a global mindset, master a second language,or improve intercultural competencies. This is simply not the case. Interculturalcommunicative knowledge, skills, and behaviors must be mindfully developed and nurtured
over time with great care. Recognizing and acknowledging the bulk of the interculturalcommunicative development occurs within the learner’s day-to-day routine andenvironment, instructors can then begin to explore methods and means to maximize
intercultural contact and provide second language experiences within the limitations of thelearner’s environment. Domestic intercultural experiences with non-Japanese immigrants,
foreign workers, and international students are practical and realistic opportunities forintercultural interaction.
Kawamura (2016) notes “training in intercultural competence development entails
intercultural experiences, not necessarily overseas experiences” (p. 14). In this sense, it
becomes necessary for department instructors, university administrators, and the learners
themselves, to seek out domestic intercultural experiences in addition to international
experiences in order to obtain adequate opportunity for intercultural and English language
development. Kawamura adds “knowledge and skills that enable individuals to be sensitive
to other cultures and modify one’s viewpoints and course of actions are necessary both inand outside of Japan today” (p. 16). This seems to be in agreement with recent “Global
Jinzai (Global Human Resources)” initiatives for tertiary education outlined in a strategy
report for the Prime Minister’s ofﬁce by the Council on Promotion of Human Resource for
Globalization Development (2012). Amongst the strategic goals for tertiary learners
outlined in the report there is an emphasis on linguistic (English) and communication skills,
knowledge and understanding of other cultures, and developing a sense of Japanese identity.
Although the Prime Minister’s idea of Japanese identity may not exactly match the national
zeitgeist, the idea of grounding one’s identity by exposure to cultural differences andsimilarities is valuable.
This recent state-mandated initiative has meant many universities have had toreevaluate language programs. As Yonezawa (2014) states:― 200 ―

Beyond the Classroom

The nationwide campaigns and movements for fostering ‘Global Human
Resources’ certainly changed the perspectives and attitudes of universities,
industries, and even the students, more for being active in gaining international
experiences through university education to be better employable in a globalizedlabor market. (p.50)

This is especially true of the CIE major as it aims to familiarize students with English
as a Lingua Franca (ELF) theory and practice to “develop an understanding for the diversityof the language and the cultures that engendered this diversity” and assist students to“acquire the skills they need to communicate with people from all over the globe andprepare them for careers in global society” (http://www.aichi-u.ac.jp/foreign/english/
undergraduate_toyohashi_letters.html). CIE is an active major with faculty that, in addition
to instruction using traditional classroom methodology, does much in promoting learning
through experience both internationally and in the domestic arena. In so much as possible,
instructors seek opportunities for learners to experience using English as a medium ofcommunication in everyday life situations, which can be a daunting task in a diversitychallenged rural Japan. Nevertheless, embracing this type of experiential learning as a
crucial element in the educational philosophy of the major is a milestone.
Experiential learning is generally understood as the learning process occurring throughactive experience and active reﬂection on that experience (Kolb, 1984; Kolb & Kolb, 2009;
Patrick, 2011). For example, volunteering may be a form of experiential learning provided
the learner is actively engaged in the experience and goes beyond merely doing the activity
but also reflects and contemplates the experience in the context of learning anddevelopment. Similarly, various types of language competitions and speech contests
provide learners with opportunities to experience real life challenges and pressures thatprovide rewards and setbacks necessary for learning to grow and progress.
With elements and activities in various course syllabi, CIE instructors provide
opportunities and avenues to connect with the community and integrate experience withcourse content. For instructors, the current CIE curriculum provides possibilities for faculty
to explore new frontiers in language learning and contemporary world English language
usage that can be directly applied to the learning process. CIE instructors seem to embrace
the idea that Kolb (1984) puts forth in that:― 201 ―

愛知大学

言語と文化 No. 36...one’s job as an educator is not only to implant new ideas but also to dispose ofor modify old ones. In many cases resistance to new ideas stems from theirconﬂict with old beliefs that are inconsistent with them. If the education process
begins by bringing out the learner’s beliefs and theories, examining and testing
them, and then integrating the new, more refined ideas into the person’s belief
systems, the learning process will be facilitated. ( p. 29)

Even though experiential learning may occur through Aichi University and CIE
sanctioned study abroad programs, English language social events, or class assignments,
these activities lack an ofﬁcial curriculum-grounded learner-reﬂection element and thus it
cannot be said that experiential learning, as previously described, is part of the ofﬁcial CIE
curriculum. To date, there is not a true experiential learning component that is required
within the program, nor is there a component offered in any CIE elective course.
Nevertheless, despite the absence of ofﬁcial guidelines or policies, CIE instructors continue
the practice of intertwining experience with curriculum at a grassroots level, and in someinstances true experiential learning becomes part of the program repertoire. Examples ofthis to be explored later are CIE student internships in the Japan Association for Language
Teaching national conferences 2012 and 2015, CIE student participation in theintercollegiate Marketing Japan Competition 2015, and various other CIE student
volunteering activities. As well as being experiential learning opportunities for students,
these volunteer activities and internships provided students with a chance to experience a
service-learning model under the guidance of CIE faculty.

Service-Learning
Service-learning has enjoyed its popularity as a legitimate instructional method grow inrecent decades and is now a mainstream educational component in many tertiary educational
institutions across North America. In Japan, until recently few universities have adopted thepractice. However with the establishment of the Global 30 project in 2009 implemented to
attract international students to Japanese universities (Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology-Japan, 2011), service-learning has suddenly become au
courant. Then, what exactly is service-learning and what does it entail?

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Beyond the Classroom

Andrew Furco (1996) clearly distinguished service-learning from other experiential
educational learning methodology by the “intention to equally beneﬁt the provider and therecipient of the service as well as to ensure equal focus on both the service being provided
and the learning that is occurring” (p. 5).

Service )RFXV Learning

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Figure 1: Distinctions among service programs (Furco, 1996. p. 10).
In Furco’s model, volunteerism and internships are activities that remain largely out of
the realm of service-learning as they tend to gravitate to polar opposites either by focusing
on providing a service to a recipient as in the case of volunteerism, or focus on learning with
beneﬁts directly to the provider of the experience as in the case of internships.
It is my contention, however, that these activities may not necessarily be exclusively
outside the realm of service-learning. By purposefully incorporating student internships andvolunteer experiences into regular course assignments that allow for ample student selfreflection and self-evaluation, while providing a generous amount of service to acommunity, an educator can draw both volunteer and internship experiences from theirpoles towards a centered service-learning model. Student journaling, presentations, andpeer/instructor-guided reflective discussions are just a few example activities that can be
included in the course to transform student volunteer experiences into service-learning
experiences. As far as internship programs are concerned, incorporating elements in classassignments that apply the knowledge gained from the experience in service to thecommunity brings the experience closer to the service-learning model.

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愛知大学

言語と文化 No. 36

CIE students, Study, and Service-Learning Settings
We now have an opportunity to see how the students in CIE are engaged in service
learning, and if the students are finding service-learning a valuable component in their
university education. Furthermore, we can gain insight into the beneﬁts to the communities
or groups the students are engaged in service-learning with. Through analyzing student
feedback journals, instructors and administrators can access student experiences and gain
valuable insight into the intercultural experiential learning process beyond the classroom. It
is my hope that in turn, this may assist faculty and administration in policy formation withregards to future inclusions of intercultural service-learning components within university
departments and majors, particularly those involved with English as a second language. An
ethnographic method of recording and reporting student domestic intercultural service
learning experiences seems to breathe life to the issue, “affording a window to peoples’
ambiguities, dilemma, strategies, and resourcefulness as well as a host of other experiences,
ethnographic research tends to be interesting in many respects” (Prus, 1994, p. 27).
The students that participated in the aforementioned experiential activities were all
asked to maintain personal journals, written in their native language, reflecting daily on
feelings or thoughts regarding the experiential learning activities they were involved in.
Upon completion of the “service” students were then asked to reﬂect again on their journals
and provide a written English account of their experiences for this study. At this point itshould be noted the student passages that follow will remain true to the student voices inthat they will be transcribed as they appeared in the student reflection assignments witherrors in spelling and grammar uncorrected.
Students also had personal interviews with the researcher prior to commencing theexperiential learning activities, and upon submitting the journal reflections following thecompletion of the activities. These personal interviews varied in length of time fromapproximately 10 minutes to 90 minutes in length. The interview contents were recorded
solely by means of interviewer notes as requested by the participants and will beparaphrased in their reporting. Finally, participants were encouraged to intertwine and theirexperiences into their CIE class assignments in so much as possible in order to bring theexperiential learning model towards service-learning. The students found creative ways todeepen their learning in CIE courses by using their experiences as: content for presentation
assignments in English Focus I- IV and Communication Skills I- IV classes, subjects for― 204 ―

Beyond the Classroom

written assignments in Basic Composition classes, critical incidents for Oral Strategies andListening Strategies classes, and for general discussion in these and may other classes
throughout the academic year following the experiences.
Fourteen students participated in this service-learning project (see Table 1), ten of themin the JALT conference 2012 in Hamamatsu, one of them in the JALT conference 2015 in
Shizuoka, and three of them in the MCJ 2015 in Tokyo. All of the learners were inenvironments where the working language was English and all were in contact with otheruniversity students from around Japan, foreign students, and many non-Japanese educators.
One of the instructor tasks in considering experiential activities to offer the students is thequality of intercultural experience, or the authenticity of the experience. In this case, acentral aim of this service-learning experience was to offer an English language
environment that also provided an impactful intercultural experience with as diverse groupof people as possible within Japan. It seems that more than one participant noticed theimpact as JALT conference participants said: “I have never seen so many foreign people inJapan. I was surprised it” (T.A.), “I was surprised at the number of people who come fromanother country” (R.M.), “Many people came from many universities” (T.M.), “I was very
surprised, everyone spoke English ﬂuency and their English was very good…I felt as if I
was in a foreign country” (T.Y), “I thought foreign people were friendly and cheerful. I havenever been in this situation so I had a good time” (S.W.), “I have never gone abroad tostudy, so it was so fresh for me to talk to many foreign professors” (M.K.). Regarding the
MCJ experience, the team leader wrote that he “prepared for our project for three months.
I’ve talked with Canadian teacher almost every day during my preparation” (N.I.).
Table 1. Student Information
Contact
Hours

Student

University
Year

Male /
FemaleService-learning
Experience

N.I.

4th

M

MCJ 2016 (teamleader)

N/A

A.S.

2nd

F

MCJ 2016

N/A

M.I.

3rd

F

MCJ 2016

N/A

M.K.

3rd

F

JALT 2015

30 + hrs.

N.K.

3rd

F

JALT 2012

25 + hrs.

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愛知大学

言語と文化 No. 36

Y.M.

2nd

F

JALT 2012

30 + hrs.

S.Y.

2nd

F

JALT 2012

30 + hrs.

T.W.

3rd

M

JALT 20129 hrs.

T.Y.

3rd

F

JALT 2012

30 + hrs.

T.M.

3rd

M

JALT 2012

30 + hrs.

S.W.

3rd

F

JALT 2012

30 + hrs.

N.S.

3rd

F

JALT 2012

20 + hrs.

R.M.

2nd

F

JALT 2012

30 + hrs.

T.A.

3rd

M

JALT 2012

20 + hrs.

• Contact hours are the self-reported hours spent engaging in activities directly
associated, and within the service-learning context.
Overall the students reported having positive experiences, some mentioned difﬁculties
initially communicating using English. Students cited various obstacles in their second
language communication: “I realized that my vocabulary was so poor” (N.I.), “I always
become shy when I talk in English because of my few vocabulary or wrong grammar”(R.M.), “I didn’t have my strong conﬁdence of my English” (T.Y), “I concentrated to listen,sometimes I couldn’t understand” (T.M.), “They spoke too fast for me…sometimes I
couldn’t make myself understood” (N.S.). These ﬁndings probably would not surprise most
ESL instructors in Japanese universities, but what may come as a surprise is that the students
showed common characteristics associated with culture shock such as physical andemotional stress, anxiety, and temporary disorientation. Perhaps brought on by being placedin unfamiliar intercultural settings that required the participating students become
comfortable with much higher levels of ambiguity than they were accustomed to in their
daily lives. Y.M. said “I couldn’t understand what I should do. I want more concretely
content and indication”. Some students reported actual physical symptoms of stress at theprospect of using English and speaking in public: “I was very worried because I was the ﬁrst
time in an English-only environment. As a result I had a headache on the ﬁrst day” (N.K.),“When I speak in public my voice is getting weak without smile…I was tense very much”(M.I.), and “I tensed up in the rare environment” (T.Y.).
“Culture shock basically refers to a stressful transitional period when individuals movefrom a familiar environment into an unfamiliar one” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012, p. 93).

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Beyond the Classroom

In this respect I believe students experienced an accelerated, hyper-transitional culture shock
period adjusting to their service-learning environments where stages of culture shock wereexperienced at a fast and furious rate in a limited timeframe. The students may have felt amild cultural stress with the intense and condensed barrage of cultural bumps theyexperienced. “A cultural bump occurs when an individual from one culture ﬁnds himself or
herself in a different, strange, or uncomfortable situation when interacting with persons of adifferent culture” (Archer, pp. 170-171). In fact, we may be able to say that the experience
provided students with a taste of what it would be like to enter a foreign culture and sufferfrom culture shock in the form of a condensed culture shock experience.
Revisiting N.K.’s experience of physical pain and emotional anxiety on the ﬁrst day,she had this to say about the rest of her contact experience:
A headache was gone on the second day, and I became able to hear English little
by little. I want to be able to communicate as more people. It was a really goodexperience! I had a great time and made so many friends! What I finished allschedules and felt most…I thought that English communication talked with many
people and learned how to communicate English. It is the most important toexperience. I felt that English was not a thing to study on a desk. (N.K)
It seems N.K. managed the cultural stress situation and transitioned through culture
shock to adjust and enjoy the intercultural experience. Discussing this topic with N.K. in
the post-service interview involved unpacking the experience framed by the ABC model ofculture shock, affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham,
2001). N.K. affectively coped with the stress by giving her body a rest and reﬂecting on theexperience. N.K. started the second day determined to change her behavior by “listening
better” using the skill set she learned in Listening Strategies and other CIE classes, andcontinued harnessing listening skills throughout the third and final day of the internship.
Furthermore N.K. made the cognitive decision to evaluate her experience, shift cultural
frames and perceptions, empathize, and learn from the cultural bumps she encountered.
Later in the self-reﬂective journal N.K. commented that the “Japanese was shy and didn’t
give many opinions. Compared with Japanese interns, foreign interns gave many opinions
positively. Some foreign interns seemed to be troubled with this situation. Then I felt
intercultural”.
The students involved with MCJ had a much different intercultural experience.

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言語と文化 No. 36

Although the process of entry and competition was done in English, intercollegiate teams
involved were comprised mainly of Japanese students. The judges were Japanese also, andall spoke very ﬂuent English. Much fewer foreign students and foreign instructors attended
MCJ than did the JALT conferences. That said, the Aichi university team worked closelywith a Canadian instructor as their coach for a period of three months leading into thecompetition, meeting almost daily during weekdays for about an hour and often longer. In
addition, individual team members sought meetings with the coach on and off campus forpractice and advice, and on occasion met all together off campus. On the day of thecompetition the team met in Tokyo, ate meals together, spent the day of the competition
together, and travelled home together. This drawn out interpersonal-interculturalcommunicative experience also provided challenges for students to overcome cultural
bumps and manage cultural stress. M.I. spoke of various cultural bumps during her postservice interview such as how the Canadian coach’s approach was more “friendly andinformal” than a Japanese coach may have been. M.I. also spoke of her own cultural desire
to have group consensus at each stage of the process and how that sometimes conflictedwith the coach’s style. M.I. wrote in her reﬂective journal “sometimes, our opinion was
different, so it was difﬁcult to understand together.” A.S. often remained silent during team
conﬂict, choosing to follow culturally appropriate conventions as the youngest member ofthe group in doing so. A.S. wrote:
In the stage of the plan concept and create slides, there were conﬂicts between
members or our coach and a proposal was not settled easily. There was struggle
and difﬁculty of proceed different from classes in the process work hard to try to
make great one in the state of fumbling which is correct or what is necessary.
However, through doing many task together, I felt the growing the understanding
each other with members and coach. This big team challenge was one of myprecious time in university life. The contest participated casually gave me a lot ofvarious learnings and experiences. (A.S.)
It is difficult for the reader to get a clear understanding of what A.S. is trying tocommunicate from the passage above, but one does get a sense that A.S. transitioned
through some interpersonal and intergroup difﬁculties to reach a positive outcome, similar
to what contact theory suggests (Allport, 1954). In an international meta-analysis of 515
studies on intergroup contact theory, Pettigrew and Tropp (2011) concluded universally that

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Beyond the Classroom

prejudices and conﬂict were typically lowered, while trust was built through these intergroupcontact experiences. While only a small group of four members only, the MCJ Aichi
University team was diverse in many ways including age, gender, race, and nationality. It
could be said that in much the same way as students experienced a condensed culture shockat the JALT conferences described earlier, the MCJ students experienced a mini intergroupcontact encounter that mimicked favorable conditions for a positive intergroup contact tooccur.
In so far as English language is concerned, N.I. the MCJ team leader reported several
areas in which he experienced language improvement such as writing – “I learned a lot how
to write a business letter in English” (N.I.), presentation skills – “actually, I practiced ourpresentation at least 50 times until it becomes automatic, it was a good opportunity to know
our skills of presentation” (N.I.), reading – “reading skill was improved a lot because I readmany English business article and books to get to know business strategy and ideas. It wasgood for broadening my horizons” (N.I.). When speaking of his listening improvement, N.I.
even offered some advice based on his experience:
I have prepared for our project for 3 months. I’ve talked with Canadian teacher
almost every day during my preparation. I’m sure my listening skill was
improved a lot. A good exercise to practice is to sit down with a team member ora teacher and practice simply giving feedback to them of what I heard them say. I
noticed that it gets much easier to focus on their words when I am not worrying
about how I will respond. (N.I.)
By offering this advice, presumably to other language learners, N.I. has unknowingly
engaged in a service to others, bringing his experience closer to the service-learning model.
M.I. goes farther speaking about being a trailblazer and perhaps an inspiration to others:
I think this experience is beneficial for others like school, friends, and family,
because it was ﬁrst time for Aichi university, so we could give a chance to next
students. When my family listened to that I would participate in competition,
they were excited and expected. My friends said ‘You are hard to study, so I also
want to challenge something like you’, so I think this can give people inﬂuence.
(M.I.)
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言語と文化 No. 36

English, greater intercultural competency, and an increased integrative motivation to acquire
English language competency because of the experience. Here is what four of the learners
had to say:After the internship, I felt I learned to deal with something in English more than
before. Thanks to this experience, I improved not only my English skill and also
my adjustability against someone and something. (M.K.).
Truly, I’m poor English and my weak point, especially speaking skill is too bad.
But after participated in JALT, my thinking was change. Only one day, I got more
conﬁdent and awareness that hard to deal with speaking in English was fade away
(T.W.).
I have never been in this situation so I had a good time!! I could enjoy my workand learned cross-cultural communication a little. Three days I speak in English alot, when I went back home at the station I talked to someone in English. I
thought I want to speak English more ﬂuent and I want to know everyday English
around my life. (S.W.)
I want to know various cultures and thought more. In this internship, I met someinternational students. I talked them and had a good time. They study English
and Japanese hard, and speak well. When I listened their story, I feel that I haveto study more. Thanks to them I am studying English harder than before. (T.M.)
Although this is only a small sampling of student experiences, it is clear that theseexperiential learning and service-learning had a positive impact on their English language
and intercultural education.

Conclusion
There is no doubt from the student feedback that there were positive outcomes fromthese experiential learning and service-learning occasions described in this paper. It thenbegs to question, why has there not been an abundance of these types of opportunities being
offered to students? Kawamura (2016) also asks:― 210 ―

Beyond the Classroom

Why can’t Japanese higher education start training their students by incorporating
domestic internationalization projects into their internationalization
programming? Why does Japan solely focus on sending Japanese youth overseas
and inviting international students? As part of an ongoing effort to expose
Japanese youth to people with different cultural values and assumptions, why
don’t Japanese universities take more initiatives to create welcoming communities
for non-Japanese individuals residing in Japan? ( p. 15)

Perhaps the student experiences presented in this paper can give voice to the missed
opportunities and illuminate the potential for Japanese universities to provide quality
domestic intercultural experiences as part of internationalization programming andcurriculum. Certainly there is evidence of perceived benefit by the learners as shown
through the cases presented previously, but much more research needs to be done in order toanalyze and evaluate detailed benefits. One thing is clear, Japanese universities need torecognize domestic intercultural experiences as a valuable component to theirinternationalization programs and initiatives and incorporate these experiences into corecurriculum. Furthermore, this also appears to be a viable means in which instructors canprovide simulated or condensed culture shock experiences to learners in Japan while doing
service to professional organizations they belong to. This is an important derivative because
the instructor can also become actively engaged in service-learning as well. It may be worth
consideration for tertiary education institutions in Japan to promote more such learning
activities and experiences for learners.
Endnotes
1 ) The term “freshman” in this case refers to the new students entering the department in theirsecond year of university. From the ﬁrst year all students at Aichi University are considered to
be in one cohort and not active in major program, though they may have a major declared andaccepted.

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