This study investigated the impact of service learning using quantitative and qualitative methods. Forty-one First Year Experience and capstone students completed the Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire (CASQ) at the term's beginning and end. Although the CASQ total and subscores did not differ, capstone students scored higher on CASQ…

Teachers who participate in learning and teaching abroad enhance their intercultural competence, develop more globally informed and critical perspectives on education, and improve their foreign language and teaching skills. However, most of the research on teacher study abroad has been conducted with pre-service rather than in-service teachers. To…

This chapter discusses a case study based on six-week teacher placement in a bachelor program. The placement, which provides training to students who will become primary school teachers in the future, is treated at the same time as a research project in which data are collected from participants' reflective journals. The purpose of the study is to…

In second-language reading (L2), the amount of opportunity to practice the second language is vital to reading proficiency. Also, research informs us that pupils' performance in reading is enhanced to a great extent by the amount of reading they do out of school. The amount of reading pupils engage in outside of school also tends to positively…

Detailing the integration of Spanish language teaching in an authentic setting, this article contributes to empirical research on the positive value of community-engaged learning in foreign language pedagogy. "Reading to Play, Playing to Read" is an innovative model for community-engaged teaching that combines learning goals from…

The growth of Latinx populations in the United States has resulted in an increasing number of community-based service-learning (CBSL) opportunities. In particular, the steady growth in Spanish-English dual-language schools and the accompanying staff shortages position elementary classrooms as meaningful settings in which to develop relationships…

Research has identified the essential proficiencies students should possess to be successful, but they are often not incorporated in the ESOL classroom. As a result, many teachers lack access to adequate instructional strategies to guide ELs to academic success. We argue in this article that, to provide a strong foundation and a bright future for…

As a result of a university partnership, elementary students at two midwest Catholic elementary schools have been provided with exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) from pre-service teachers. To investigate students' attitudes and learning of Spanish, researchers interviewed second and fourth graders. The students' parents and pre-service…

Although the number of emergent bilinguals (EBs), also known as English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. K-12 schools is growing at an increasing rate, K-12 mainstream teachers remain predominantly white and monolingual and receive little training for working with such learners. In addition, many states mandate "English-only" policies…

Now more than ever, teachers of world languages are encouraged to become intercultural mediators in their communities and classrooms. This study describes the impact of an innovative community-based teacher education program for developing participants' interculturality. Building on narrative methods of investigation, we explore the potential of…

Service-learning projects, especially the ones focused on the community, and on the Hispanic community in particular, need to be based on real felt and documented needs, and the outcomes need to be assessed in order to decide the worth and possible sustainability of the projects. This paper will focus on service-learning samples from my courses,…

The service-learning Spanish translation course (Spanish 315: "Spanish in the Business World") taught at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in the fall of 2010 and spring of 2012 provided an ideal context for the students to connect with the Hispanic community in our geographical region. Once the connection through service…

We report on the service-learning component of a Spanish-language Saturday school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for elementary-aged Spanish-language heritage learners and also examine the newly forming Latino community served by this innovative program. The US Spanish-speaking population is growing throughout the country, resulting in greatly increased…

Following observations and interviews with transnational children that have one or more years of school in the United States and are now in school in Mexico, it was determined that the Mexican public school system has no mechanism in place to offer them the support they need. Therefore, I collaborated with Mexican university students to seek…

The 2012 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages focused on ways to integrate culture into every facet of the World Language classroom. This publication presents a refereed volume of selected papers based on the theme and program of the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Those who attended the…