29.483, Review: Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Bloom, Gascoigne (2017)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-29-483. Mon Jan 29 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.483, Review: Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Bloom, Gascoigne (2017)

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Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2018 13:13:13
From: Joshua Pope [joshua.pope at doane.edu]
Subject: Creating Experiential Learning Opportunities for Language Learners

 
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/28/28-1330.html

EDITOR: Melanie  Bloom
EDITOR: Carolyn  Gascoigne
TITLE: Creating Experiential Learning Opportunities for Language Learners
SUBTITLE: Acting Locally while Thinking Globally
SERIES TITLE: Second Language Acquisition
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2017

REVIEWER: Joshua Pope, Doane College

REVIEWS EDITOR: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

In “Creating Experiential Learning Opportunities for Language Learnings:
Acting Locally while Thinking Globally,” Melanie Bloom and Carolyn Gascoigne
define a research gap in experiential learning, considering that most foreign
language students do not study abroad for extended periods of time, making
local immersive contexts important to investigate. Experiential learning is a
way to gain such immersion. They present theory that defines experiential
learning as the “connection between education and personal experience” (p.
xii, original Dewey, 1938, p. 24). In addition, relevant frameworks such as
Furco’s (1996) continuum of experiential education, which demonstrates types
of experiential learning based on focus on service or on curriculum and
sociocultural theory (SCT) are presented. The latter is included because
social interaction is the site of linguistic development, mediated externally,
inherent in experiential learning. They conclude the introduction by
describing the three parts of the book: community engagement (Chapters 1-5),
professional engagement (Chapters 6-9) and other unique experiential learning
opportunities (Chapters 10-13).

Chapter 1, “Multilingual Learners and Leaders” by Adrian J. Wurr informs on
examples of “lesser-known programs” for experiential learning in
linguistically and culturally diverse environments. He presents research that
shows service learning (SL) participation leads to higher L2 proficiency,
learning about the target culture and even academic writing through
reflections. One example is the Central American Youth Ambassador program, in
which students take six months of L2 English coursework, followed by six
months of training in social entrepreneurship, leadership and civic
engagement. By the end, students are able to creatively use English in various
contexts and they see themselves as change agents and community leaders.

Josef Hellebrandt’s focus in Chapter 2 (“Community Engagement in Spanish
Departments at US Colleges and Universities: Where Is It?”)  is more specific
than Wurr’s in that he focuses on community engagement in Spanish departments.
He investigated the types of pedagogies of community engagement using
information found on websites of departments at institutions that focus on
curricular engagement.There were a total of 78 courses at 65 institutions.  He
found that 18% of these programs had information about coursework dedicated to
community engagement of any type on their websites. He found this number to be
quite low but then reflected on why this data may not be completely indicative
of reality. Websites may not be up to date or instructors may not communicate
the presence of community engagement to those responsible for web content.

Annie Abbott wrote “Civic Engagement and Community Service Learning:
Connecting Students’ Experiences to Policy and Advocacy”  to inform curriculum
developers of important policies that apply to immigrant communities.
Following a list of potential resources (speakers, books and interactions with
other disciplines), Abbott details policies that affect immigrant communities.
Since a large amount of immigration law is under federal jurisdiction, more
attention is given to defining the roles of the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, the difficulties pursuing the legal path to obtaining a visa and
Obama-era policies meant to allow undocumented students to attend collegeat
in-state tuition rates and to protect their families (DACA). She also quells
beliefs that undocumented immigrants do not pay taxes. When discussing state
and local policies, the author focuses on struggles to obtain official
identification, which is needed to get a job, and on sanctuary cities that
choose not to offer extra assistance and information to federal officials.
Importantly, Abbott recognizes the ever-evolving nature of immigration law.
This evolving nature is particularly true given Trump-era immigration. The
chapter ends with a model of how instructors and students can stay informed.
She advocates for inquiry-based learning that involves students asking
questions, investigating, creating and discussing ideas and points of view and
reflecting.

In Chapter 4 (“Service Learning as an Ecological Resource: Providing Learning
Opportunities for Mixed Second and Heritage Language Classrooms”), Cecilia
Tocaimaza-Hatch and Laura C. Walls discuss SL in higher education curriculum
as a unique benefit because of the social environment and interaction inherent
in effective experiences. SL makes up for the lack of full sufficiency of the
classroom to provide opportunities to develop completely communicative
competencies, providing an authentic and new context of communication. It is
an environment that can promote learning and civic responsibility, personal
and interpersonal development and cultural awareness. In short, the authors
argue that language learning occurs as a result of interpersonal activity in
an accessible environment.

The authors present two projects from mixed second and heritage language
courses. In the first, students translated signing for a zoo, a project that
led to lexical growth, especially for science-related topics. After the
translations were complete, students visited the zoo to interact with the
target audience. Students reported a heightened sense of civic responsibility
since they were working on a real-life task. The second project had the
learning objectives of increasing L2 writing abilities and social and cultural
investment in Latino immigrant communities. Students volunteered weekly as
tutors at a community center. Student outcomes were various with heritage
learners focusing on the writing process and serving their communities while
L2 learners also reflected on having more access to native speakers of
Spanish, content vocabulary and personal development. Tocamaiza-Hatch and
Walls end with pedagogical implications, recommending instructors tailor SL
projects and reflections to student population (i.e., L2, heritage or mixed)
and to provide sufficient structure to the experience so students do not get
lost in chaos.

In “Experiential Learning for L2 Students: Steps Toward a French
Service-Learning Program in the Community”, Frédérique Grim discusses a
well-developed program she and her colleagues carry out and provides guidance
on how to adapt and implement similar SL programs elsewhere. They created a SL
program in which students of French taught language to children. Students
created lessons, implemented and reflected on lesson plans, attended trainings
and a carnival throughout the 10-week program. Even though Grim and her
colleagues found the project to be time consuming in terms of establishing
contacts and supervision, they observed their students getting valuable L2
practice, teaching experience and experience with community involvement. Even
though this project does provide SL experience and L2 teaching practice, it
does not involve authentic native speaker interaction, something difficult to
find for some L2s.

Carolyn Gascoigne’s chapter (“Externship Opportunities for French: An Initial
Response to Pedagogical Climate Change”) begins Part 2 (professional
engagement) and has two apparent goals: (1) to summarize a shift in
pedagogical orientation towards experiential learning in higher education and
(2) to present one way she has filled the gap for experiential learning in
French. In order to fulfill the first goal, she highlights publications that
call for some form of education that gets learners out of the classroom,
experiencing and applying knowledge actively rather than learning passively.
This leads to experiential learning in which knowledge is formed and reformed
through experience. Gascoigne focuses on professional engagement, through what
she calls an externship, shorter and less extensive than an internship. In the
externship, students enrolled in a third-year French course that paired
in-class meeting time with the 22-25 hour “externship” as a tutor, translator
or an assistant for a business or immigrant services agency. The in-class
sessions were for guest speakers and language activities. After the semester,
students reported positive experiences, placing high value on each component
of the course. 

Melanie Bloom’s chapter (“Developing Internship Programming for Second
Language Students”) aims to supply information guiding internships meant for
second language students. She uses previous research to demonstrate that
internships can be associated with L2 linguistic gains, as well as increases
in cultural knowledge and knowledge of linguistic variation. An internship can
be seen as an important experience in SLA because it can situate learning in
communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Learning is connected to the
social contexts. Students learn to work in their given context in the target
culture, becoming a participant of the community of practice. 

After addressing legal concerns such as pay, work hours and structure, Bloom
discusses making connections. She advises beginning with one’s own
university’s career center or other body that governs internships and then
seeking out community partners a year in advance. In-person meetings with
partners are useful to establish needs and goals related to logistics and and
communication methods. The field experience is not the only important aspect
of the internship. Bloom describes the instructor’s duties to properly screen
and place students, create an in-class setting to frame and support the
project and assess students in collaboration with the on-site supervisors.

In “Mentors’ Perspectives on Professional Internships: Rewards, Challenges and
Future Directions”, Carmen King de Ramírez and Barbara A. Lafford present
mentors’ perspectives about language-focused internship experiences. Their
research centered on the mentors’ motivations to host interns, expectations
and challenges as well as the tasks they ask interns to complete. Participants
worked in fields in which Spanish is used professionally. Participants’
motivations came from what they saw as benefits to their organizations and to
the interns. Organizations benefited because the interns were motivated and
educated, had time to commit and had skills that could potentially be retained
permanently. Mentors also liked that internships allow interns to integrate
themselves into the target community, work on their communication skills and
build professional relationships. 

Each mentor required a high level of Spanish from their interns since many
were required to work in communication, marketing or education. The authors
argue that these reported tasks should inform teaching. In addition to
communication skills, mentors expected professionalism from their interns.
Differences between mentors’ and interns’ expectations were one of the main
challenges mentors faced. Typically this manifested as interns expecting
something different than the reality, which can lead to discouragement.  

In Chapter 9 (“Internship Programs: A Platform for Locally-based Cultural
Immersion Programs”), Leticia T. McDoniel demonstrates how to set up a
cultural immersion program via internship. Such programs aim to focus on
skills employers want to find in job candidates: leadership, teamwork and
communication. McDoniel adds intercultural competence. The practical component
of the experience concerns the internship itself, establishing or using
existing relationships with local companies, ensuring 80% target language use
and advertising to students. The academic component involves assignments
towards a course credit that include presentation and reflection. Using Sides
and Mrvica’s (2007) postmodern model of internships, knowledge is socially
constructed; interns are members of the community of knowledge builders. They
experience language and culture in local, immersive contexts, in its
communities. McDoniel also warns of the principal potential pitfalls such as
students withdrawing unexpectedly. To address this challenge, she recommends
instructors be exceptionally clear to students about expectations. 

Brigid Moira Burke’s chapter “Using Expeditionary Learning Design for
Secondary and College-Level World Language Curriculum and Instruction”
advocates expeditionary learning which involves students completing much
active research, critical thinking, fieldwork, contact with the target
community and a culminating event for assessment. Burke establishes that a
world language curriculum using expeditionary learning must be linked to real
world problems that affect the target culture; interaction is key to
understanding said culture and community.

Burke features practical suggestions and examples on using and teaching others
to implement expeditionary learning strategies. She focuses on her pre-service
undergraduate language teachers and graduate teaching assistants, all of whom
were enrolled in her teaching methods course. These students were charged with
creating an expeditionary learning experience. For example, one undergraduate
group created a unit about migrant farm workers in the US that also involved
working for five to seven weeks at a migrant Head Start program. Students
studying this unit would undergo in-depth investigation to learn about migrant
farmers (daily lives, family characteristics, languages) and illegal
immigration. The culminating activity would be a night to honor migrant
farmers. 

In “Creating Placemaking in Cajun Louisiana: A Multidisciplinary Approach to
Teaching and Learning Environmental, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in the
United States”, Jessica S. Miller focuses on creative placemaking, which is a
conscious, multidisciplinary effort by people from numerous groups to come
together in order to strategically shape the physical, social and/or cultural
components of a place. This chapter presents Arnaudville, Louisiana which has
undergone a renowned transformation honoring its French and Cajun roots.
Miller uses Arnaudville while teaching, connecting environment to language and
culture. In her class, students learn historical and cultural information
about Louisiana. Halfway through the course, she takes her students to
Louisiana so that they can interact with people, witness Cajun life and
experience how it connects with the physical environment. Students leave this
course with an increased appreciation for the French language, Cajun peoples,
and interdisciplinary learning. 

Miller concedes it is not feasible to have such an involved experiential
learning situation in all language classes but she does provide guidance in
implementing smaller scale creative placemaking. The key is interdisciplinary
partnerships, using the target language to discuss themes like global
challenges and science and how they connect to the target culture. For
example, when teaching about food in the target language, instructors can
bring in questions related to sociology and geography to provide students with
chances to learn about food in the community. A food expert familiar with the
target culture could speak, especially if they would also benefit from the
interaction. 

Chapter 12 (“Engaging Students through Foreign Language Campus Housing: A Case
Study of a Small German Language Program”) by Sabine Marina Jones discusses 
L2 acquisition in on-campus foreign language housing where students ideally
speak in the target language while in their residences and at related events.
Her example is the German language house at Oberlin College. The house is
staffed by native speaking faculty and teaching assistants and a residence
assistant who is an upper-level German student. Students of all German
proficiencies live and speak the L2 in the house and at sponsored events,
although some interdisciplinary activities may be in English.

Student survey responses were positive. Jones reports that student motivations
for moving into the German house included the desire to interact in German and
to be a part of a community. One of the principle motivations for leaving the
house, besides aging out, was the presence of some students who could not or
would not participate in German immersion (Note: Oberlin’s residential office
places some non-German students in the building). Jones recommends seeking
support from the language department, communication with the residential
office, finding financial support and being prepared for residents reluctant
to use the L2. She also mentions that heritage speakers can be a welcome
addition in foreign language housing because they can thrive as the experts
and are frequently looked up to by the L2 residents.

In “Language Camps: By Teaching We Learn”, Jacqueline Thomas presents two
models of summer language camps, one of which allowed upper-level students to
teach younger students. This teaching model allows for learning while
teaching. Students further learn course content (language) and how to prepare
and deliver a lesson. 

Thomas includes a description of the overnight camp she helped run. This camp
invited high school students of French to her campus for multiple days of
classes and cultural activities and games. While this was a success,
particularly in student opinion and evaluation, it was labor and time
consuming. Therefore, the next camp was a day camp. Elementary school students
came to campus for four hours a day for two weeks. Thomas’s Applied
Linguistics students taught the students in order to apply the SLA theories
they were learning. Each day, the children attended linked language class and
cultural activities. The author concludes her chapter with ten steps for
planning a language camp.

The final four pages of the volume’s text are Bloom’s concluding thoughts on
the state of researching and using experiential learning in curricula and
future directions of research. It is clear that the use of experiential
learning is becoming more common in language programs because it can lead to
increases in linguistic proficiency, cultural awareness and sensitivity and
strength in community relationships. Future research should investigate types
of linguistic gains, differential effects according to L2 proficiency levels
and types of cultural gains. 

EVALUATION

The purpose of this volume was to present methods of implementing experiential
learning in a curriculum. Each approach is meant to be grounded in theory and
previous research. Throughout the volume it is clear that each author
recognizes the application of previous work to experiential learning and how
experiential learning relates back to theory. For example, Tocaimaza-Hatch and
Walls structure their chapter using well-established resources like Dewey
(1938) to define SL and its applications to second language acquisition and
heritage language learners (i.e., Barreneche, 2011; Lear, 2012). Next, typical
of most chapters, the authors present real SL projects that can be adapted to
other instructor and student needs. In some chapters, previous research is
rather light but this is reflective of at least two reasons: (a) the practical
goal of the volume and (b) the large research gap, as mentioned by Bloom.

Bloom and Gascoigne divided the volume into three parts. The first and second
parts include papers that revolve around a cohesive theme (service learning
and internships, respectively). The papers in Part 1, in particular, draw on
much of the same theory and previous research, leading to a comprehensive view
of community engagement in foreign language curricula. After reading Parts 1
and 2, a reader will have a well-developed concept of the two types of
experiential learning. Part 3 is titled “Experiential Learning in Other Local
Contexts.” Therefore, it cannot be faulted for not being as cohesive as the
other parts. Its goal is to be varied.

My final topic of evaluation is what can be considered the volume’s biggest
strength: its utility. The numerous examples of experiential learning projects
(service learning, internships, foreign language housing, language camps and
more) are all presented in ways that are easy to understand, adapt and
implement. In fact, I adapted my course syllabi while preparing this review.
The scopes of projects vary from unit-length (i.e., Grim) to semester-length
(i.e., Gascoigne) to large-scale (foreign language housing by Jones). Because
of this diversity in project scope, not every chapter will be applicable to
all readers but each still fulfills its purpose. Their recommendations about
planning, implementation and reflection make this volume an essential tool in
building experiential learning into a language curriculum.

REFERENCES

Barreneche, G. (2011). Language learners as teachers: Integrating
service-learning and the advanced language course. Hispania, 94(1), 103-120.

Burke, B.M. (2017). Using expeditionary learning design for secondary and
college-level world language curriculum and instruction. In M. Bloom & C.
Gascoigne (Eds.), Creating Experiential Learning Opportunities for Language
Learners: Acting Locally while Thinking Globally (183-204). Bristol:
Multilingual Matters.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Touchstone.

Furco, A. (1996). Service-learning: A balanced approach. In B. Taylor (Ed.).
Expanding Boundaries: Service and Learning (2-6). Washington, DC: Corporation
for National Service.

Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situation Learning: Legitimate Peripheral
Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lear, D. (2012). Languages for specific purposes curriculum creation and
implementation in service to the U.S. community. Modern Language Journal
96(Focus Issue), 158-172.

Sides, C.H. & Mrvica, A. (2007). Internships: Theory and Practice. Baywood’s
Technical Communications Series. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company.

Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. & Walls, L.C. (2017). Service learning as an ecological
resource: Providing learning opportunities for mixed second and heritage
language classrooms. In M. Bloom & C. Gascoigne (Eds.), Creating Experiential
Learning Opportunities for Language Learners: Acting Locally while Thinking
Globally (53-71). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Joshua Pope is Assistant Professor of Spanish at Doane University. His
research interests include language learning during study abroad and language
pedagogy.





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