Language Teacher Research

Preparing Advocates: Service-Learning in TESOL for Future

Mainstream EducatorsJESSIE L. MOORE

Elon University

Service-learning pedagogy can provide future educators ameaningful introduction to the field of TESOL and the Englishlanguage learners (ELLs) it serves. This article briefly describesone approach to integrating service-learning into an Introduc-tion to TESOL course and presents research findings on TESOLstudents’ learning outcomes, which included a better under-standing of TESOL practices and a sense of advocacy for ELLs.doi: 10.1002/tesj.97

The [service-learning] experience completely shattered manyfalse perceptions that I’d been exposed to about the nature of[ESL] students and programs. (TESOL student)

Today’s education majors face increasingly diverseclassrooms, regardless of the grade level or content area they planto teach. Yet, many of these future teachers are ill-prepared towork with English language learners (ELLs) in mainstream classesor to partner with English as a second language (ESL) teachers.How, then, within the time constraints of education degreeprograms, can future educators experience a meaningfulintroduction to the field and the ELLs it serves? The service-learning pedagogy described in this article provides thisintroduction. What’s more, the pedagogy often inspires TESOLstudents to become advocates for ELLs and their families.

RESEARCH ISSUEAt Elon University, English education majors are required to takea one-semester Introduction to TESOL course. Although most

TESOL Journal 4.3, September 2013 555© 2013 TESOL International Association

students do not plan to teach ESL, the degree program recognizesthat majors will work with ELLs in their mainstream Englishclasses. The course introduces a range of concepts, from secondlanguage acquisition to language policies to day-to-day strategiesfor supporting ELLs in content area classrooms. Threadedthroughout the course is an extended service-learning project.Students serve in local ESL classrooms and reflect regularly ontheir experiences and connections to course content; reflections arefacilitated by written assignments and oral discussions. Studentsdevelop materials for their cooperating ESL teachers, applyingwhat they learn about TESOL theories and research to fillexpressed needs in partnering classrooms.

The Introduction to TESOL course is required for Englisheducation majors but also attracts students from other educationprograms and those interested in teaching English abroad.Following a reciprocal service-learning model, the class partnerswith local ESL programs, where TESOL students serve at leastonce a week for a total of 20 hours (minimum) across the semester.Service hours allow students to see TESOL theories in practice,and the array of programs enables students to compare theirexperiences working with different groups of ELLs.

Over the past 5 years, TESOL students have served in ESLclasses in local elementary, middle, and high schools; in after-school programs with large populations of ELLs; in communitycollege ESL classes; and in adult ESL conversation classes.Although I often place students in grade levels they anticipateteaching, alternate placements sometimes are necessary to meetthe needs of our service-learning partners and to accommodateschedules and transportation.

Beyond partnering with ESL classrooms, TESOL studentscomplete several activities that integrate service-learning into thecourse (see Moore Kapper, Clapp, & Lefferts, 2007, for moreinformation):

• Students write weekly reflections about their service-learning and addressprompts designed to connect those experiences to the week’s coursematerials.

• The class devotes time each week to discussing students’ service-learningexperiences, relating them to TESOL theories and practices.

556 TESOL Journal

• Students write profiles of the ESL programs, analyzing them as rhetoricalsituations. They investigate learners’ characteristics, stakeholders’ goals, lan-guages represented, purposes for learning/teaching English, and other con-textual factors.

• Students create materials for the ESL classrooms based on real needs. Stu-dents’ projects and corresponding reflections are archived and accessible tostudents and cooperating teachers.

Anecdotal evidence in my TESOL class suggested that studentsmake connections between service-learning observations and thecourse. This article presents formalized research on the studentlearning outcomes. Results illustrate the potential of service-learning both to bring the field’s content to life for future teachersand to inspire advocacy for a student group the future teacherslikely did not encounter during their own K–12 education.

BACKGROUND LITERATUREBringle and Hatcher (1995) describe service-learning as

a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in whichstudents (a) participate in an organized service activity thatmeets identified community needs and (b) reflect on the serviceactivity in such a way as to gain further understanding ofcourse content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and anenhanced sense of civic responsibility. (p. 112)

Other definitions of service-learning echo the importance ofboth carefully organized service, which is integrated into thecurriculum and coordinated with community partners, andstructured reflection (Campus Compact, 2003). Kuh (2008)highlights this service–reflection duality when he identifiesservice-learning as a high-impact educational practice, writing:

A key element in these programs is the opportunity studentshave to both apply what they are learning in real-world settingsand reflect in a classroom setting on their service experiences.These programs model the idea that giving something back tothe community is an important college outcome, and that work-ing with community partners is good preparation for citizen-ship, work, and life. (p. 11).

The American Association for Higher Education asserts thatservice-learning “helps foster civic responsibility” (as cited in

Preparing Advocates 557

Campus Compact, 2003, p. 7), and the Corporation for Nationaland Community Service suggests that it can “increase thecitizenship skills of participants of any age or background” (ascited in Campus Compact, 2003, p. 8). As these scholars andorganizations suggest, academic service-learning has the potentialto prepare students to identify their civic roles in theircommunities. Nevertheless, Kirlin (2002) cautions that the long-term impact of service-learning on students’ future civicengagement is tentative and merits further study.

The multiple conceptions of what counts as service-learningleads to “multiple monikers—academic service learning,community-based service learning, field-based community service—in an attempt to differentiate between programs and emphasizewhat is of primacy” (Butin, 2003, p. 1676). In this article, I use theterm academic service-learning to highlight a dual commitment toservice with community and to students’ academic learning;additionally, the course I describe carries an AS-L distinctionsignifying that the course

helps students gain a better understanding of course content byputting it into practice. Service-learning engages students inreal-life settings, working on community issues to connect class-room learning with societal issues. An effective service-learningcourse involves students in a meaningful community projectcombined with reflection to process the learning gained fromfield experience. (Kernodle Center, n.d.)

Faculty at Elon University who wish to designate their coursesas academic service-learning must submit an application for eachindividual course; the application is reviewed by a university-levelfaculty advisory committee for academic service-learning, andcourses are reevaluated regularly to ensure that they continueto meet the expectations articulated in the quotation above.

Several studies examine service-learning projects for studentsenrolled in ESL programs (Kincaid & Sotiriou, 2004; Minor, 2002),for modern language majors (Beebe & De Costa, 1993), or for pre-service teachers (Cooper, 2002). Others focus on teachers from awider range of degree programs (Fitzgerald, 2009) or other typesof field experiences for pre-service teachers (Hutchinson, 2013).Three studies are particularly relevant to the current research.

558 TESOL Journal

Caro and Quinn (2011) provide a helpful summary of prior studiesexamining the impact of service-learning in teacher preparationprograms; they highlight service-learning’s potential to changefuture teachers’ understanding of unique student groups, teachingdispositions, and pedagogical approaches. Honadle and Kennealy(2011) suggest that service-learning has the additional benefits ofhelping students connect with other stakeholders and identifytheir own roles in community action. However, as Bringle,Clayton, and Price (2009) note, mutually beneficial service-learningpartnerships require ongoing renegotiation and work throughoutthe experience. The following study suggests that the specificlearning outcomes for TESOL students make the time investmentworthwhile.

PROCEDURESBecause service-learning is integral to the course, this studyexamines 22 students’ perceptions of the experience and how itsupported student learning. Most of the student participants wereEnglish education majors pursuing teacher licensure in highschool English, whereas a handful of others were middle gradesteacher licensure candidates or students interested in teachingEnglish internationally. Following Caro and Quinn’s (2011) lead,this study focuses explicitly on the impact of service-learning,addressing the overarching question: What are students’perceptions of service-learning in Introduction to TESOL, andwhat do their perceptions suggest about their learning associatedwith the experience?

During the Fall 2008 and Fall 2010 semesters, I collectedmultiple forms of data within the context of my course as aScholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) research project.1

SOTL research “involves systematic study of teaching andlearning” (McKinney, 2004, p. 8) using qualitative or quantitativemethods, including teachers’ systematic collection of and reflectionon course materials and teaching notes in course portfolios,

1 Since I am the only faculty member at my institution who teaches this course, I could not avoid col-lecting data from my students. To ensure the ethical treatment of participants, I secured approvalfor the study from the Institutional Research Board and I did not analyze data for research pur-poses until after I had submitted grades.

Preparing Advocates 559

interviews, focus groups, classroom observations and recordings,surveys, pre- and post-tests, and content analysis of student work(McKinney, 2007). Because SOTL strives “to understand howteaching (beliefs, behaviours, attitudes, and values) can maximizelearning and/or develop a more accurate understanding oflearning” (Potter and Kustra, 2011, p. 2), data collection oftenfocuses on already occurring classroom practices and products.For that reason, most data sources in this study reflect standardcomponents of the course. For instance, students’ weeklyreflections, service-learning project proposals, and final service-learning projects with explanations of how the projects reflectTESOL best practices all became potential data.

I extended data from these classroom artifacts with additionaldata sources. A volunteer functions inventory, adapted from Claryet al. (1998), administered pre- and post-service, examinedstudents’ perceptions of service experiences, measured on a7-point Likert scale (see the Appendix). Weekly discussionsfocused on service-learning experiences, and video recordingsallowed me later to reexamine these discussions from aresearcher’s perspective, rather than as a faculty participant. Myinstitution’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching andLearning also conducted a mid-semester focus group.

I coded the reflections, student projects, weekly discussionrecordings, and focus group notes for students’ references toperceptions of service-learning (broadly), perceptions of ELLs,perceptions of ESL classes, perceptions of ESL teachers,connections between service-learning experiences and coursecontent, strategies for working with ELLs, their own attitudesabout ELLS and their preparation to teach this student group, andteaching strategies identified in the ESL classrooms that studentsthink could be applied in other teaching contexts.

To adhere to the space constraints of an article, the followinganalysis focuses on a subset of three salient data sets: three sets of22 students’ reflections (pre-service, mid-term, and post-service),the modified Volunteer Functions Inventory, and videotaped classdiscussions. The students’ reflections responded to prompts abouttheir assumptions about TESOL, English language learning, andservice in an ESL classroom (pre-service); their service-learning

560 TESOL Journal

experiences, including any challenges or rewards, in comparisonto their initial assumptions (mid-term); and teaching strategiesthey identified, changes in their assumptions about ELLs, andtheir self-identified learning outcomes from the service-learningexperience (post-service).

RESULTSGiven the small number of participants (22 students, or 55% of thetotal course enrollment during the research project), results arepresented as descriptive, not generalizable, but they offer insightinto how service-learning enhances the preparation of futureteachers to better support ELLs.

Perceptions of Strategies for Working with ELLsIn pre-service reflections, students understandably expressedconcern about their preparation to work with ELLs. Studentsnoted:

• I don’t know how an ESL class works. I feel unprepared for volunteering.Luckily, I suspect that by the time we go to placements, I’ll feel a bit moreready.

• While I am usually confident in classroom environments, I do not feel verywell-prepared for teaching in an ESL classroom. However, I have only beento one TESOL class, so I imagine I will not feel unprepared for long.

This anxiety was paired with students’ excitement:

• I just feel a blend of hopeful anxiety and sincere excitement. This should bean interesting experience!

• I have not had much experience with the field, but I am especially excitedto work in an ESL classroom because it will be a new and fascinatingencounter for me.

Students’ comments suggest, though, that they positioned ELLs asan other, with whom they would have encounters in the discretespaces of ESL classrooms. Few students, at this early point in thesemester, anticipated working with ELLs in mainstream classes—especially their future content classes.

By mid-semester, TESOL students sometimes felt challenged bywhat they saw as discrepancies between their cooperatingteachers’ practices and TESOL course content, but they quickly

Preparing Advocates 561

identified classroom activities that echoed textbook readings andclass discussions, bringing content to life:

• When we started reading [with ESL students at the service-learning site], Inoticed strategies that were discussed within the Cary reading [a TESOLclass text]. [The teacher] pointed out the title of the chapter and asked ques-tions and had students infer what this could mean. She then had the firststudent read and stopped the student after two paragraphs and started toask questions. . . . [The teacher] was guiding the students through the read-ing.

• I have never been in a service learning class before and it has provedbeneficial to apply what I learn in readings and discussion to real lifesituations, as well as apply what has happened in real life situations tomy readings and discussions. I have felt completely engaged with thecurriculum.

• This experience is crucial to the class. The textbooks are excellent resourcesbut they do not serve the same capacity as being in the classroom. I havenever seen textual information come to life the way that it does for thisclass. What I read about in the textbook comes to life in my service learningclassroom.

By the end of the semester, TESOL students praised theircooperating teachers’ strategies and identified several connectionsto TESOL course content:

Without my service-learning experience, I would have neverimagined the impact ESL programs have on students through-out our country. I also would have never been able to estimatejust how many students it affects in our country. Being able toapply what you learn in the classroom allows for a much morerewarding experience. There were several concepts I did notunderstand in class that I picked up much more easily afterbeing in a classroom.

As this quotation from a TESOL student’s reflection suggests,service-learning provided helpful illustrations of textbook contentand enabled students to apply what they were learning to aspecific ESL context. The modified VFI results reinforce thisinterpretation; students’ perceptions that volunteering allows themto learn through hands-on experience increased from an averageof 6.096 pre-service to 6.139 post-service, although the difference isnot significant (p = 0.617).

562 TESOL Journal

Perceptions of ELLs, Their Families, and ESL ProgramsTESOL students’ perceptions of ELLs, their families, and ESLprograms also changed during the semester, and TESOL studentsattributed that shift to their service-learning. Students’ early-semester comments above reveal that they have had limitedexperience with ELLs and “don’t know how an ESL class works.”Several TESOL students commented in recorded class discussionsthat in their own high schools they did not cross paths with ELLssince ELLs were not mainstreamed in their sections (oftenadvanced placement or other college preparatory sections) ofrequired classes.

By mid-semester, TESOL students were identifying with theELLs at their service-learning sites and taking an interest in theirwell-being and progress:

My experience in the ESL classrooms has been rewarding andthought-provoking. . . . The stories have become regular dinnerconversation [with] my family. My education friends are alwaysinterested to hear what happened with “our kids” on their off-days.

In the TESOL class, our meetings often started with TESOLstudents comparing notes about their experiences, askinghow ELLs had done on subsequent activities in the ESLclassrooms, and relaying comments from the ELLs to theTESOL students.

By the end of the semester, students’ reflections suggested aneven more substantial transformation in how the TESOL studentsviewed ELLs and ESL programs. Not only did they see service-learning as essential to understanding the course content, but theyalso suggested that it changed their assumptions about ELLs andillustrated the need for ESL programs:

• Another of the most beneficial concepts that I experienced this semester,hands down, has been getting to know real ELLs and learn more aboutthem. I learned that they are real people with real families, with real happi-ness and real struggles. Going into this experience, I honestly had no cluewhat to expect. I was nervous because I had absolutely no experience withELLs, TESOL, or the populations the field serves.

• Because of the service-learning, I believe I will not only be a better and moreaware teacher and citizen, but a stronger advocate for ELLs!

Preparing Advocates 563

• One thing that’s been really eye-opening for me is that I know that I didn’tknow anything about TESOL before this, but while I’ve been in this classand shared some of my experiences with other education majors, I haveseen how much they don’t know. I think people should know about it.

While it’s very rewarding to see students identify service-learning as the cause for their sense of advocacy, the modified VFIresults do complicate these results. Students’ perceptions of thesocial value of volunteering increased slightly, with studentsnoting that people they know share an interest in communityservice (increasing from an average of 4.762 pre-service to 5.194post-service, p = 0.223). TESOL students also suggest that serviceis important to people they know best (increasing from an averageof 4.429 pre-service to 4.861 post-service, p = 0.478) and to whomthey are close (increasing from an average of 4.952 pre-service toan average of 5.206 post-service, p = 0.333). Notably, many of thestudents take multiple classes together and self-identify as friends,so to an extent these measures reflect what students perceive as anincreased commitment to service by their own TESOL peers.

Yet students indicated less interest in learning about othercultures following the service-learning experience. Students’ pre-service average of 6.14 for the inventory item “People in myculture could learn a lot from people in other cultures” decreasedslightly to an average of 5.89 post-service (p = 0.579). Similarly,students’ own interest in learning more about the particulargroups they were serving decreased very slightly from a pre-service average of 5.76 to a post-service average of 5.61 (p = 1.000).Perhaps the TESOL students felt service-learning enabled them tolearn so much about the local ELLs (as the comments abovesuggest) that they were self-assessing as having a smaller deficit ofculture knowledge than they had at the beginning of the semester.Nevertheless, TESOL students’ concern for the group they servedincreased slightly (5.86 pre-service to 5.94 post-service, p = 0.7428).

REFLECTIONAnalysis of these data sets suggests that service-learning helpsTESOL students see how they can implement TESOL theories andpractices with real students. More significantly, the data chart a

564 TESOL Journal

shift in TESOL students’ perceptions of ELLs, as the TESOLstudents move from identifying ELLs as an other with whom theywould have encounters in the discrete spaces of ESL classrooms toseeing ELLs as potential students in their future content classes.With this familiarity came a sense of advocacy that echoesHonadle and Kennealy (2011), although, acknowledging Kirlin’s(2002) cautions, future studies should examine the longitudinalimpact of service-learning on students’ self-identification asadvocates.

The data presented above highlight service-learning’s potentialto prepare future mainstream educators to be better partners withESL teachers and programs. Implementing service-learning in aTESOL class requires a few key strategies. First, faculty must set atone of partnership; although TESOL students contribute theirtime as they serve in partner classrooms, community partners alsocommit time preparing volunteer schedules and reflecting withTESOL students on their experiences. TESOL students need to seetheir faculty modeling reciprocity and a commitment to ensuringthat the experience is mutually beneficial.

Second, service-learning requires a shift in how faculty allocatecourse time. Partnerships take time to develop, requiring faculty todevote additional class prep time to identifying partners,negotiating needs and service commitments, and checking-in withpartners throughout the semester. Students need time with theirpeers and faculty to reflect on service-learning experiences.Initially, faculty might fear cutting content to make room for theseservice activities and corresponding reflections, but as the studentquotations highlight, service-learning becomes an alternate sourceof course content. Students see course material reinforced andbring new questions back to the TESOL class for exploration anddiscussion. Furthermore, committing time to service-learning canparlay into new research projects and other opportunities, leadingBringle et al., (2009) to suggest that the time be viewed as aninvestment with multiple positive outcomes.

Finally, weekly writing and class discussions that integrateservice-learning are critical to moving beyond service to service-learning (Bringle & Hatcher, 1995; Campus Compact, 2003; Kuh,2008). These reflective components scaffold student learning and

Preparing Advocates 565

help TESOL students connect their experiences in the ESLclassrooms to the TESOL theories and practices covered in otherparts of the TESOL curriculum.

Ultimately, integrating service-learning into a TESOL class isworth the time and effort it requires. As the students’ commentsshow, it helps them to identify ELLs as “real people.” It bringswhat students “read about in the textbook . . . to life in . . . servicelearning classroom[s].” Most important, it helps future educators,many with no prior experience working with ELLs, move fromanticipating a minimalist role in ELLs’ educations to being self-described advocates for these students, their families, and theireducational opportunities.

THE AUTHORJessie L. Moore is an associate professor of professional writingand rhetoric and the Associate Director of the Center for EngagedLearning at Elon University, Elon, North Carolina. Her researchfocuses on high-impact practices, multi-institutional researchstrategies, service-learning and civic engagement pedagogies,second language writing, and writing transfer.

REFERENCESBeebe, R. M., & De Costa, E. M. (1993). Teaching beyond the

classroom: The Santa Clara University Eastside Projectcommunity service and the Spanish classroom. Hispania,76, 884–891. doi:10.2307/343926

Bringle, R. G., Clayton, P. H., & Price, M. F. (2009). Partnerships inservice learning and civic engagement. Partnerships: A Journal ofService Learning and Civic Engagement, 1(1), 1–20. Retrieved fromhttp://libjournal.uncg.edu/ojs/index.php/prt/article/view/415

Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1995). A service-learningcurriculum for faculty. Michigan Journal of Community ServiceLearning, 2(1), 112–122.

Butin, D. W. (2003). Of what use is it? Multiple conceptualizationsof service learning within education. Teachers College Record,105, 1674–1692. doi:10.1046/j.1467-9620.2003.00305.x

566 TESOL Journal

Campus Compact. (2003). Service-learning definitions andprinciples of good practice. In Campus Compact, Introduction toservice-learning toolkit: Readings and resources for faculty (2nd ed.,pp. 7–10). Providence, RI: Campus Compact.

Caro, R., & Quinn, J. (2011). Face-to-face: Changing future teachersthrough direct service learning. Partnerships: A Journal of ServiceLearning and Civic Engagement, 2(2). Retrieved from http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ojs/index.php/prt/article/view/437

Clary, E. G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R. D., Copeland, J., Stukas, A. A.,Haugen, J., & Miene, P. (1998). Understanding and assessingthe motivations of volunteers: A functional approach. Journalof Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1516–1530. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516

Cooper, T. C. (2002). An ESOL methods course in a Latinoneighborhood. Foreign Language Annals, 35, 414–426. doi:10.1111/j.1944-9720.2002.tb01881.x

Fitzgerald, C. M. (2009). Language and community: Using servicelearning to reconfigure the multicultural classroom. Languageand Education, 23, 217–231. doi:10.1080/09500780802510159

Honadle, B. W., & Kennealy, P. (2011). Using service-learning &civic engagement to educate students about stakeholderanalysis. Partnerships: A Journal of Service Learning and CivicEngagement, 2(1). Retrieved from http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ojs/index.php/prt/article/view/433

Hutchinson, M. (2013). Bridging the gap: Preservice teachers andtheir knowledge of working with English language learners.TESOL Journal, 4(1), 25–54. doi:10.1002/tesj.51

Kernodle Center for Service Learning and CommunityEngagement. (n.d.). Academic service-learning: Students.Retrieved from http://www.elon.edu/e-web/students/servicelearning/aslstudents.xhtml

Kincaid, N. M., & Sotiriou, P. (2004). Service-learning at an urbantwo-year college. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 31,248–259.

Kirlin, M. (2002). Civic skill building: The missing component inservice programs? PS: Political Science and Politics, 35, 571–575.

Preparing Advocates 567

Kuh, G. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, whohas access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC:Association of American Colleges and Universities.

McKinney, K. (2004). The scholarship of teaching andlearning: Past lessons, current challenges, and future visions.In C. Wehlburg & S. Chadwick-Blossey (Eds.), To improvethe academy: Vol. 22. Resources for faculty, instructional,and institutional development (pp. 3–19). Bolton, MA: Anker.

McKinney, K. (2007). Enhancing learning through the scholarship ofteaching and learning: The challenges and joys of juggling. SanFrancisco, CA: Anker.

Minor, J. (2002). Incorporating service learning into ESOLprograms. TESOL Journal, 11(4), 10–14.

Moore Kapper, J., Clapp, L, & Lefferts, C. (2007). TESOL incontext: Student perspectives on service-learning. In A. J. Wurr& J. Hellebrandt (Eds.), Learning the language of global citizenship:Service-learning in applied linguistics (pp. 141–162). Bolton, MA:Anker.

Potter, M. K., & Kustra, E. (2011). The relationship between scholarlyteaching and SoTL: Models, distinctions, and clarifications.International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,5(1). Retrieved from http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n1/essays_about_sotl/PDFs/_PotterKustra.pdf

APPENDIX

MODIFIED VOLUNTEER FUNCTIONS INVENTORY FORTESOL

Inventory Administered to StudentsDirections: If you have done volunteer work before or arecurrently doing volunteer work, then, using the 7-point scalebelow, please indicate how important or accurate each of thefollowing possible reasons for volunteering is to you. If you havenot been a volunteer before, then, using the 7-point scale below,please indicate how important or accurate each of the followingreasons for volunteering would be for you.

568 TESOL Journal

1Not at all important/accurate for you

2 3 4 5 6 7Extremely important/

accurate for you

Rating Reason

1. Volunteering can help me get my foot in the door ata place where I would like to work.

2. My friends volunteer.3. I am concerned about those less fortunate than

myself.4. Lifestyles in other cultures are just as valid as those

in my culture.5. People I’m close to want me to volunteer.6. Volunteering makes me feel important.7. People I know share an interest in community

service.8. No matter how bad I’ve been feeling, volunteering

helps me to forget about it.9. I am genuinely concerned about the particular group

I am serving.10. I am not interested in the values and customs of

other cultures.11. By volunteering, I feel less lonely.12. I can make new contacts who might help my

business or career.13. Doing volunteer work relieves me of some of the

guilt over being more fortunate than others.14. I can learn more about the cause for which I am

working.15. Volunteering increases my self-esteem.16. Volunteering allows me to gain a new perspective on

things.17. People in my culture could learn a lot from people in

other cultures.18. Volunteering allows me to explore different career

options.19. I feel compassion toward people in need.20. Others with whom I am close place a high value on

community service.21. Volunteering lets me learn through direct “hands on”

experience.22. I feel it is important to help others.23. I respect the values and customs of other cultures.

Preparing Advocates 569

APPENDIX (Continued)

1Not at all important/accurate for you

2 3 4 5 6 7Extremely important/

accurate for you

Rating Reason

24. Volunteering helps me work through my ownpersonal problems.

25. Volunteering will help me succeed in my chosenprofession.

26. I can do something for a cause that is important tome.

27. Volunteering is an important activity to the people Iknow best.

28. Most people would be happier if they lived likepeople in my culture.

29. Volunteering is a good escape from my own troubles.30. I can learn how to deal with a variety of people.31. Volunteering makes me feel needed.32. Volunteering makes me feel better about myself.33. Volunteering experience will look good on my

resume.34. Volunteering is a way to make new friends.35. I can explore my own strengths.36. I want to learn more about the particular group I am

serving.

Question Groupings Used for AnalysisCareer Questions: 1, 12, 18, 25, 33Social Questions: 2, 5, 7, 20, 27Values Questions: 3, 9, 19, 22, 26Cross-Cultural Understanding Questions: 4, 10, 17, 23, 28, 36Enhancement Questions: 6, 15, 31, 32, 34Protective Questions: 8, 11, 13, 24, 29Understanding Questions: 14, 16, 21, 30, 35

Adapted from Clary et al. (1998).

570 TESOL Journal