Empowering University Students in Intercultural Communication Course: A Service Learning ApproachA Service Learning Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 The Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Women, Ain Shams University, Egypt

2 Assistant Professor in Linguistics, Program of Translation and Simultaneous Interpreting in English, Faculty of Al-Alsun and Applied Languages, King Salman International University, Egypt

Abstract

This paper introduces an in-depth qualitative study investigating the profound effect of Service Learning (SL) on teaching/learning Intercultural Communication courses to university students. These courses develop students’ cognitive and behavioral skills and foster their social and cultural awareness. Regarding the methodology, the experience draws on the four stages of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (1984/2015): 1) Concrete Experience, 2) Reflective Observation, 3) Abstract Conceptualization, and 4) Active Experimentation. The study chose two authentic civic action projects: an outreach campaign about stereotypes and bias, and an awareness theatrical show about cultural perceptions and their impact on thoughts and behavior. Hence, the study tries to answer two research questions: (1) what effect does SL have on students’ intercultural course competencies? (2) how far does Kolb’s experiential learning model apply to the Intercultural Communication curriculum? The results revealed that implementing SL into Intercultural Communication courses promotes students’ capability to contextualize cultural concepts in real-life situations, increase comprehension of cultural variations, and bridge the gap between academic material and practice. It also presents a systematic framework for applying SL to Intercultural Communication courses. The study limitation was the small number of students, accordingly, it encourages other educators to apply the presented framework to larger groups.  

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References

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