Panel with R. Feldman, M. L. Parra, A. Barili, September 25, 2015

Forming Global Citizens: Volunteering locally and abroad

Language and Service Abroad: A meaningful experience?
Richard Feldman, Second Language Studies, Cornell University
After defining service learning and discussing some recent initiatives at Cornell, I’ll describe two approaches to language teaching and service learning: one where an abroad program was refocused on student agency and volunteerism, and a second where one-credit language “jumpstart” courses have been added to existing abroad service programs. I’ll relate these efforts to Cornell’s goal to provide “meaningful” international experiences to half its students.

Latino Students as Journalists: Learning, serving and writing about the community
María Luisa Parra, Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
This talk focuses on the linguistic and community experience of Latino students taking the service learning course Spanish for Latino Students II: Connecting with communities at Harvard University. Following the Global education framework (Boix-Mansilla and Jackson 2011), this course explores issues of global significance for Latinos as it aims to a) expand their Spanish language range through journalism techniques and b) foster their global competence (investigating the world, recognizing different perspectives, communicating ideas, and taking action: Boix-Mansilla and Jackson 2011: xiii) through community engagement.

Volunteering Locally and Abroad: A Continuum of Learning
Amelia Barili, Spanish Language & Literature, UC Berkeley
How can we motivate students to dedicate themselves to learn a language? How can we assist them in transferring knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom¬¬¬ ¬to real-life situations responding to the needs of a broader community? How can we integrate in one course volunteering locally and preparing students to volunteer abroad, so that the two experiences inform each other? What type of courses can we offer abroad that would include service learning? This presentation will answer these questions through examples from the course I am teaching this fall, Volunteering, Global Education and Good Writing, from a new Education Abroad Program course with service learning, as well as from perspectives of colleagues who collaborate on creating opportunities for learning languages through volunteering.

Friday, September 25, 2015
3 – 5 pm
B-4 Dwinelle Hall