Intercultural competence development via service-learning in Spanish for the professions

Abstract

With an overview of the concept of service-learning in Spanish-language courses, this article will examine the following four principal areas to help educators prepare individuals for effective intercultural communication in their prospective fields: (1) role of intercultural competence development across disciplines and in service-learning programs, (2) interdisciplinary approaches to service-learning program development, (3) connect two types of learners (heritage and foreign language learners) in Spanish for the Professions courses to linguistic and ethnic minority challenges to seek solutions to growing disparities across professional contexts through active classroom-to-community connections, and (4) empirically examine the benefits of service-learning with a primary focus on heritage language learners in two university courses (Spanish Interpretation and Translation) that involve the establishment of diverse global and local community partnerships that bridge the classroom with the community and seek to eradicate disparities. Results suggested that students (N = 19) in the service-learning programs thought these programs positively affected intercultural competence and linguistic skills development. Study limitations are explored with suggestions for future research.