The Connections Goal Area in Spanish Community Service‐Learning: Possibilities and Limitations

Abstract: Using the National Standards' 5 C's as a framework, the authors examine student success in Spanish community service-learning at making connections across academic disciplines, to information and viewpoints that they encounter in the community, and to concrete social action. We use data from students, instructors, and community partners involved in a community service-learning Spanish course to present three cases: a student who made connections and took action, another who could not make connections beyond her own experience vis-a-vis the concept of poverty, and one representative case of a student who excelled as a student in every traditional context yet did not take action. Key words: Spanish, civic engagement, community-based learning, connections standard, service learning, social action Introduction At the beginning of the 2006 spring semester, most students in our Spanish course on social entrepreneurship were anxious about the community service-learning (CSL) component. Simple things loomed large in their minds: How to get from campus to the community partner organization, what to wear, what to do if they did not know a certain word in Spanish, and how to answer the phone. But by the end of the semester, most students exhibited increased comfort and confidence in their CSL work. In fact, during the next-to-last week of the semester, we asked students "Como piensas concluir esta experiencia trabajando en la comunidad? [How do you plan to conclude this experience of working in the community?]," and their written answers revealed a desire to continue their work in the community after the semester ended. Their plans ranged from "visiting" their community partner in the future, to summertime work with their community partner, to more of a lifestyle change: "No lo considero como una conclusion, pero como un comienzo. Esta fue mi primera experiencia trabajar en la comunidad hispanica y planeo continuar . . . . Me encanto mi tiempo al Centro y tengo muchas gracias [sic] por la oportunidad [de] usar mi espanol y aprender ma s [I do not consider it a conclusion, but a beginning. This was my first experience working in the Hispanic community and I plan to continue. I loved my time at the Center and I am grateful for the opportunity to use my Spanish and learn more]." This article describes a case in which this connection to concrete social action was indeed made and details steps to foster such connections in other CSL courses. Review of Literature Spanish CSL and the Standards for Foreign Language Learning Anecdotal follow-up with our students has shown that intentions rarely translate into actions when they are not fulfilling a course requirement. Our students have been consistently successful at CSL, according to Zlotkowski's (1998, p. 3) widely accepted definition of CSLF"meaningful community service that is linked to students' academic experience through related course materials and reflective activities." In our experience, it is common for students to express a desire to continue with their work in the community after the course has ended, which coincides with studies that connect CSL to "a heightened sense of civic responsibility" (Astin, Vogelgesang, Ikeda, & Yee, 2000, p. 3) or "intended future service" (Metz, McLellan, & Youniss, 2003, p. 199). However, most students do not continue working with their community partners after the course ends. Throughout the United States, there are significant Latino populations that allow for partnerships among Spanish language classrooms and community organizations that serve a Latino client base. While all language instructors strive to implement the five goal areas of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning, also called the 5 C's, no conclusions have been reached as to the effectiveness of the traditional classroom environment for the teaching of four of these areas: Communication, Cultures, Connections, and Comparisons (Allen, 2002; Jeffries, 1996; Kadish, 2000; Savignon & Sysoyev, 2005). …