Is Service Learning Valuable to the University Spanish Major? Examining Students’ Motivation, Acquisition, and Attitude in a Spanish Service Learning Course

Abstract

Service learning courses have seen a sharp increase in a variety of disciplines in universities internationally. Language classes, in particular, enjoy the advantages of offering students exposure to the languages and cultures about which they are studying. With the rise in the number of Spanish speakers around the world, university instructors are realizing the benefits of using service learning (SL) as a means to connect students with the community while putting them in direct contact with the target language (Bettencourt, 2015). Because of the variations of Spanish spoken worldwide due to the diversity of Hispanic populations and cultures, educators can also observe whether students recognize differences between the Spanish with which they come in contact during a SL course and the textbook Spanish they are exposed to in the classroom. Based on the outcome of a Spanish SL course, this study examines how SL affects students’ motivation towards learning Spanish, as well as their recognition and learning of a Spanish variety different from what they may have been exposed to previously. Additionally, the research determines if students recognize, and in turn, react towards the Spanish variation spoken by participants in the SL project. The overall objective the researcher sought to determine with this study was if SL is beneficial to the curricular demands of Spanish language programs.