Adult Basic Education classroom and tutoring programs are always looking for ways to bring the learning experience to life for students. Service learning is a means through which students can develop their language skills while at the same time giving back to their communities. The National Service Learning Clearinghouse defines service learning this way:

"Service-learning combines service objectives with learning objectives with the intent that the activity change both the recipient and the provider of the service. This is accomplished by combining service tasks with structured opportunities that link the task to self-reflection, self-discovery, and the acquisition and comprehension of values, skills, and knowledge content." (1)

Service learning can provide excellent material for journal and essay writing; it also provides interesting content for conversation practice. Through service learning, students can use language and literacy skills in a realistic context; they may also find that they can do something they never knew that they could do.

Possible Settings
Look around your own community to learn about available opportunities for service learning. A good place to start is with agencies or organizations that students are familiar with and perhaps even have received services from. Food banks, hospitals, or convalescent homes, libraries, and schools offer volunteer opportunities. It is acceptable to approach them directly and about available opportunities for volunteering. Most community service agencies have a volunteer coordinator with whom you can arrange the volunteer service. If you contact an agency through a clearinghouse, then the volunteer coordinator will then follow-up with you to work out the details. It is a good idea to keep a list of the organizations and agencies that you have contacted and a note on how well it was working with each. This will help you when building lasting relationships.

Practical Considerations

1. Evaluate the language and literacy requirements of any service learning setting to make sure it's a good match for your students. For example, volunteering at a food bank requires a minimal amount of reading, the ability to understand somewhat complex verbal instructions, and little interpersonal communication.

2. Consider the level of commitment required for a learning service placement. One can opt for long-term or short-term commitment: one day, a few days, or many days.

3. Teachers or tutors should help students assess their interests, language and literacy skills, and availability to find good matches for service learning. From there, it is useful to help students set up their experience.

4. A student who doesn't have all of the language skills necessary to work as a volunteer on her own might benefit greatly if paired up with a more advanced English speaker who could act as a mentor. So, placing two students in the same setting has advantages.

"At their best, service-learning experiences are reciprocally beneficial for both the community and students... (they) foster a concern for social problems, which leads to a sense of social responsibility and commitment to public/human service." (2)

Footnotes

1. www.servicelearning.org/article/archive/35/
2. Brevard Community College, The Power. July, 1994.

Lisa Pierce is the training and technology program coordinator for the Eastern Massachusetts Literacy Council in Medford, MA. She can be reached at: lpierce@emlc.org