IMPLEMENTING SERVICE-LEARNING TO CHINESE LANGUAGE COURSES: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University by Bailu Li In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2019 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana ii THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL STATEMENT OF DISSERTATION APPROVAL Dr. Wei Hong, Chair School of Languages and Cultures Dr. Ann Abbott University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Department of Spanish and Por- tuguese Dr. Margie Berns Department of English Dr.
Atsushi Fukada School of Languages and Cultures Approved by: Dr. William Head of the School Graduate Program iii To my parents, husband, and children iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to everyone who supported me academically, professionally, and personally through this doctoral process. Many have walked with me and encouraged me in this Ph. journey and I am grateful.
Their support made this degree and dissertation possible. My heartfelt gratitude to my committee: to chairperson, Dr. Wei Hong, for the encouragement, commitment, expertise, and laughs. I am honored to have worked alongside you.
Your positivity, concern for others, and belief in your students have influenced me in this long journey; to Dr. Ann Abbott, for sharing your expertise and insights in service-learning and for your inspiration of service-learning with im- migrants in my future research; to Dr. Margie Berns, my thesis and dissertation committee members, for your encouragement and patience, and for everything I have learned about sociolinguistics from you; to Dr. Atsushi Fukada, for your words of encouragement, your guide of technology-advanced teaching and learning, and for your careful reading and speedy feedback.
I would also like to thank Dr. Darcy Lear, from whose keynote speech in CIBER Business Language Conference (2012) that I first found this inspirational idea of service-learning that I set out upon this venture. This study could not have taken place without my students, community partners and college staff. Specially thanks to Ye Sun and Joni Hipsher.
Each of you con- tributed to the completion of this study, and I am grateful for the time you share and the support you offer. I also want to thank my dear friends – Ying, Ping, Luyang, Siyan, Nan, Yuanyuan, Mingming. You have encouraged my heart with your precious gifts of authentic friendship, unfailing support, joy and countless words of wisdom. Also, a sincere thank you to Elanie for her diligent proofreading of my paper.
v Last but not least, I wish to thank my family for their support. To my father and mother, Jianqiang Li and Xianxing Bai, whose love, patience, and support gave me the foundation to live full, healthy, and meaningful lives. My dad, especially, instilled in me the work ethic necessary to persist through this Ph. program; to my husband, Fengyuan Li, who has provided the steady support without which the journey would not have been possible.
He also helped me to stay grounded and to persist through the final stages; to my parents-in-law, to their unweaving support of the family, and finally, to my daughters, Katherine and Brianna, as the most beautiful gifts I have received, for the love, happiness, and support you bring to me. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES. x LIST OF FIGURES .1 Overview of the Study .2 Statement of the Problem .3 Purpose of the Study .5 Significance of the Study .6 Organization of the Study. 5 2 THEORITICAL FOUNDATIONS AND RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES .1 Theoretical Foundations of Service-Learning .1 Experiential education and Service-Learning .2 Critical Theory, Transformative Learning, and Service-Learning 12 2.2 Service-Learning Roots in Higher Education .3 Definition and Distinctions .4 Two Essential Elements of Service-Learning: Reflection and Reciprocity 24 2.5 Best Practices of Service-Learning .6 Challenges of Service-Learning .7 Service-Learning and Language Acquisition .1 Service-Learning and Spanish .2 Service-Learning in the English as a Second Language (ESL) and Teaching English as a Second Language (TOSEL) Context .3 Service-Learning in Other Languages/Cultures: Russian, French and German .4 Conclusions and Limitations of Previous Study .5 Service-Learning and Chinese Language .8 Service-Learning Research Scale: The Public Affairs Scale (PAS) .1 Students Enrolled in CHNS Level VII .3 Service-Learning Component .4 Credibility of the Study .1 Students’ Service and Language Background .1 Language Background and Exposure .2 Expectations about the Service-Learning Experience .3 History of Students’ Community Service .4 Chinese Language Experiences both Formal and Informal .5 Motivations to Take Chinese Courses .6 The Impact of Chinese and the Future Role of Chinese .2 Descriptive Statistics of the Study Sample .3 Qualitative Evidence from the Study Sample .1 Personal and Interpersonal Growth .3 Meaningful Civic Engagement .1 Discussion in Relation to Research Question 1: Benefits of Service- Learning .2 Discussion in Relation to Research Question 2: Language and 5Cs .3 Discussion in Relation to Research Question 3: Variables of Students 113 5.
122 6 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS .1 International Service-Learning (ISL) .2 Service-Learning and LSP .4 Service-Learning and Heritage Speakers .6 Pre-service Teacher Programs. 187 ix C PUBLIC AFFAIRS SCALE. 190 x LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1 Research Questions and Sources of Data .3 Student Demographics II .4 Student Demographics III .5 Student Demographics IV .7 Service-learning Projects and Partners .1 Descriptive Statistics for the Three Subscales of the Public Affairs Scale at Pre- and Post-survey .2 Paired Samples Test Results for the Three Subscales .3 Chi-Square Tests for Community Engagement - Gender Pre-survey .4 Chi-Square Tests for Community Engagement - Gender Post-survey .5 Chi-Square Tests for Community Engagement - Race Pre-survey .6 Chi-Square Tests for Community Engagement - Race Post-survey .7 Chi-Square Tests for Cultural Competence - Gender Pre-survey .8 Chi-Square Tests for Cultural Competence - Gender Post-survey .9 Chi-Square Tests for Cultural Competence - Race Pre-survey .10 Chi-Square Tests for Cultural Competence - Race Post-survey .11 Chi-Square Tests for Ethnical Leadership - Gender Pre-survey .12 Chi-Square Tests for Ethnical Leadership - Gender Post-survey .13 Chi-Square Tests for Ethnical Leadership - Race Pre-survey .14 Chi-Square Tests for Ethnical Leadership - Race Post-survey .15 Themes and Sub-themes in Qualitative Data .1 Public Affairs Scale Rating. 190 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 2.1 Kolb Learning Cycle .2 Distinctions among Service Programs.
23 xii ABBREVIATIONS ACTFL American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages CSL Community Service-Learning CFL Chinese as a Foreign Language ELT Experiential Learning Theory ESL English as a Second Language GSL Global Service-Learning ISL International Service-Learning LSP Language for Special Purposes MLA Modern Language Association SSP Spanish for Special Purposes TESOL Teach English to Speakers of Other Languages HL Heritage Language HLL Heritage Language Learners PAS Public Affair Scale xiii ABSTRACT Li, Bailu Ph., Purdue University, May 2019. Implementing Service-Learning to Chinese Language Courses: A Comprehensive Study. Major Professor: Wei Hong. Service learning has been proposed as a widespread educational movement that merges academic work with real-life community service activities that encourages students to reflect and think critically about their experiences.
As a pedagogical tool for second language acquisition, the greatest benefit of utilizing service learning activities results in the fact that it creates connections to the target language commu- nity and provides authentic experiences for target language use (F. Although service-learning has been extensively implemented into language programs such as Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL), it is still in its infancy with Chinese second language learners. This dissertation examines the effects and outcomes of service-learning involve- ment on the advanced Chinese learners towards language acquisition, cultural un- derstanding, and community engagement. The study was conducted in a Midwest university with 30 students from a variety of educational and cultural backgrounds.
The data was collected through pre-/post-survey, observation and reflective jour- nals. Findings indicated that the service-learning experiences enhanced and enriched students’ Chinese language learning. Additional benefits to the students included increasing their knowledge of Chinese culture and history, developing a higher mo- tivation for community engagement and transformative learning, and forming con- nections to people and community beyond the classroom. However, differences were also found in students’ service-learning experiences and outcomes based on gender, race, and cultural backgrounds.
Future directions of Chinese service-learning in the xiv emerging fields were discussed as promising avenues for future Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) research and practice.1 Overview of the Study Over the past several decades, civic engagement has become burgeoning and inte- gral goals in higher education (American Council on Education). Colleges are consid- ered catalysts for community change with college students being critical contributors of community engagement for their campuses (Plodinec et al. Creating civic- minded higher education institutions and communities call for dynamic and reciprocal relationship. Service-learning can be a powerful means used to promote civic responsi- bility on campus and throughout the community.
Service-learning is “a highly flexible and adaptable practice that works across an immense variety of institutions, faculty, disciplines and students. It can accommodate different goals and manifest divergent institutional strategies. In a particular community setting, the content taught and discussed in the classroom can be addressed and implemented so that academic work and community service are achieved together (Speck, 2001). The prevalence of service-learning in higher education has grown substantially since the 1990s (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996).
Service-learning, as a powerful strategy to learn and foster civic engagement, has been proven to provide evident benefits for the students who participated (e. Astin & Sax, 1998; Eyler et al. The service-learning principles of instruction, curriculum, and the building and developing of a community provide a lens through which one can understand the over- arching themes of service and educational experiences (Keith, 1997). Instruction of service-learning addresses the importance of alternative learning styles, engagement in real-world tasks, and collaborative work that enhance student engagement and motivation.
The curriculum enhances in-class and relevant knowledge while connect- ing learning and research opportunities through provoking, culturally relevant ideas. 2 Last but not least, the building and developing of a community can enhance mu- tual respect and mutually beneficial relationships for the university and community (Plante, 2015). Among the service-learning practices throughout the disciplines, language teach- ing has gradually gained popularity in connection with service-learning. For foreign language learners, there is not enough evidence to show that students acquire the new materials sufficiently for language improvement through learning with the textbook- alone approach (Wong & Van Patten, 2003).
The teaching profession is continually exploring new options for addressing the issue and the effectiveness of different peda- gogy in the classroom and beyond. Minor (2002) stressed the importance of real and meaningful context to learn a language well. Springer & Collins (2008) also asserted that many language learners are eager to participate in personal and professional ac- tivities after having achieved a certain comfort level in the newly acquired language. Service-learning has the potential to fulfill the students’ academic, civic and com- municative needs.
Students feel challenged both affectively and cognitively in their service-learning courses due to the fact that they apply the foreign language they learn in class to a real-life situation, which, in return, stimulates them to assess and reflect not only on the language acquisition, but also on their own personal assump- tions, values and beliefs (Bippus & Eslami, 2013). Service-learning has been shown to provide distinct benefits for students in a linguistic and cross-cultural setting. Advo- cates have noted linguistic gains not only in students’ acquisition of the language but also in their motivation of language learning, comprehension of the corresponding culture, and an attitude change toward native speakers of the language (e., Sax, 1999; Eyler & Giles, 1999; Vogelgesang & Astin, 2000). Students who take part in service-learning activities have higher motivation, earn higher academic achievement, and become more involved in their communities.
They are also more aware about their civic and ethical responsibilities, as well as the sociocultural contexts in which they live (Reinke, 2004; Simons & Cleary, 2006).2 Statement of the Problem Interest in learning Chinese has surged in the past decade as China’s economy is more and more engaged in global market.
