Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemHow service-learning improves language-learning outcomes for Spanish language students( 2017)Despite millions of dollars allocated to promote the acquisition of foreign language in Australia, the ratio of Australian high school students enrolled in studying a foreign language declined from 40% in the 1960’s to 10% in 2016. The problem addressed in this thesis is related to the value of Service-Learning (SL), a method of teaching Spanish tertiary students that teaches the particular course subject along with an increased sense of civic responsibility through service-based activities that correspond to the needs of the community. A review of existing literature suggested that although several researchers have studied SL, and many studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between SL and foreign language acquisition, these studies were mostly in the context of K-12 classroom courses and there was a lack of such research in the context of Australia and at the tertiary level. A mixed-methods research methodology was used, and the sample consisted of 62 students enrolled in Spanish as a foreign language program at a university in Melbourne. They were divided into two groups: a control group which had 31 students, and the experimental SL group which had the other 31 students. A total of 38 students were enrolled at the Intermediate Level (19 in experimental and 19 in control), and the remaining 24 were part of the Advanced Level course (12 in each group). Each group completed three academic tests (Listening Test; Oral Test; and Language Use, Reading, and Writing Test), both pre and post the intervention. The collected data were analysed using multivariate analysis of variance, quantitative tests, and regression analysis. The findings of the study suggested the highest increase resulting from participation in the SL program was related to the Oral tests for the Experimental (d=.78) compared to the Control (d=.08). In the case of Listening tests, there was a two-way interaction, and the univariate F-ratios showed the differences favouring the SL students relating to Listening tests (.68 vs .29) and Oral tests (.39 vs .18), but not Language. The analysis showed no effects on Language Use, Reading, and Writing tests in any comparison. In addition to extending the literature on the significance of SL in education, specifically in foreign language acquisition courses, this study also provided additional evidence supporting the credibility of SL in the context of education.