Service-Learning, an Integral Part of Heritage Language Education: A Case Study of an Advanced-level Korean Language Class

Abstract

While a growing body of literature testifies to the effects of service-learning in language education, little empirical research has examined the implementation of service-learning courses in minority heritage languages. This chapter discusses the first implementation and effects of Korean service-learning course for Korean heritage language learners at an institution of higher education. Participants engaged in service activities at one of four community sites with different missions. By analyzing students’ post-service surveys and course assignments, as well as the community partners’ post-service surveys, we were able to demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of the service-learning course for Korean heritage language students. Conducting service-learning at authentic work contexts in Koreatown in Los Angeles was found to enhance the language learners’ linguistic and socio-cultural awareness and develop their social responsibility and sense of kinship in a multicultural and multilingual metropolitan area such as Los Angeles. Moreover, by working on projects requiring Korean language skills, Korean heritage language learners developed their academic-professional proficiency, such as the use of formal speech styles, and realized other linguistic subtleties in Korean. The results from this study contribute to the current body of work on service-learning by adding a perspective from a population that has barely been represented in previous research.