Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Service-Learning Paper
Service-Learning Paper
Service-Learning Paper
John Perry, 5/1/2020
2150, M&W 10:00am - 11:20am
Community Partner
For my service-learning project I worked with two different group for separate
projects. One project for an ESL class that focused on reading. And then I made
face masks for an elderly couple that I used to live next to.
Project
With the English Second Language class I was able to talk to Andrew and set up a
reoccurring tame to come in each Tuesday and Thursday. I would come in an hour
and a half during those days and help teach the students trying to learn English.
The class focused on those students who have already learned a passable amount
of English, but were focusing on reading it. On most days, I was assigned to work
individually with a specific student. I rotated around and would give them
individual coaching on the day that I was assigned to them. The class itself was
small, but very diverse. One student was from China, another from Africa, and
With the mask making project I sewed masks for an elderly couple that I used to
live next to. They both have early onset of dementia and one is immune
compromised. The other is Native American and is very expressive of his culture.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, they are confined to their house. I have reached out
to them and have found that there is a lot that I could do for them. I spent a few
hour sewing masks for them to make sure they are safe and protected when/if
Culture Group
There were a lot of different cultural groups within the English second language.
There was a student from a part of China, there was a student from Africa, and
there were three students from different parts of Mexico. These students from
Mexico came from the northern, central, and southern parts of the country. All of
Yaqui tribe. As for the wife, belongs to the same culture as me.
Challenges
With the very nature of the English Second Language class, the biggest obstacle to
overcome was the language barrier. This was very evident from the moment I
stepped into the classroom. All of the students didn’t speak the language that I
did. There were a few that spoke Spanish and I was able to understand and
communicate more with these individuals as this barrier was not as great
between us. However, the language itself was not the only issue with the
students. You could tell there was a difference between the cultures through
what was communicated and the thoughts that each student had about a variety
of subjects.
With the older couple there wasn’t many challenges. With Lee, the husband, he
was already assimilated into western culture and so there wasn’t many issues or
to those in other cultures and that is Face theory. There was a very distinct
difference in the way the student from China exemplified this theory. I think the
reason for why I noticed it so much in him is because his culture has a far different
idea of face than what I am accustom to here in the United States. He was always
looking out to protect China and the idea of it in any way he could. He would talk
about his family frequently and stated that they were the reason why he was in
school. However, most of the other students stated that they were in school to
With Lee, it surprised me to learn that Native Americans have a face more similar
to that of the Chinese. This is at least from what I deciphered when talking to Lee
Analysis
I was able to talk and work with all of the students in the class and see a little
more into their perspective and the culture of each of them. There was a lot of
different theories that I was able to notice when talking with them. Some of these
theories included Standpoint Theory, High Context Culture vs. Low Context
With Standpoint Theory, I was able to talk to the students and see where the
came from and try to understand their individual culture to know what made
them chose to believe, say, and do the specific things that they did.
With high context and the low context cultures I was able to notice a similarity to
those who had more involvement with Face theory. Those who had higher
context cultures usually had more of an affiliation with face. This went for both
Reflection
When I first started this service-learning project, I thought it was going to be fun. I
have always enjoyed learning about new peoples and trying to understand their
background and culture. This combined well with my love for teaching as I got to
learn and teach at the same time. Throughout the time working with these
students I felt I was taught more than I expected. I was able to get new insights
and see things from more than one perspective while talking to these students
from all these different cultures. I feel I was able to learn even more than I would
have just going in on my own because I was able to learn about the different
theories and then take actual time to observe these theories in different cultures.
Before starting to work with this class, I thought of being civically engaged as
helping those around you better their lives through community service. After
participating in this opportunity, I would say that definition was further engrained
into me.
I would say that the contribution that I was able to make fell into the category of
being civically engaged. Although it was small and probably will be forgot by even
those who were in the class, I feel it helped bring me closer to understanding
more about other cultures and how to come together and create a third culture.
Having this knowledge should help me build and create relationships that are not