SERVICE LEARNING FALL 05

1
SERVICE LEARNINGFALL 05
2
Introduction

• The International Service Learning Project is
  a team effort sponsored by the
• Speech Department and the Honors Program.
• Supports the colleges initiative on diversity
  and globalism 
• Trains students, faculty and staff in the
  conversation café technique
• Occurs as conversation cafes, focusing on the
  cultures of different immigrant groups
  represented on campus. 

3
Person-centered vs. Position-centered

• At the beginning, our conversation was mostly
  position-centered. We treated the Korean students
  as cultural ambassadors, from whom we could learn
  about Korean holiday traditions, dining habits,
  and so on, rather than individuals with unique
  perceptions and experiences.
• However, with exchanges of personal stories, we
  began to see the person-ness of these students,
  and the conversation became more person-centered.

4
Person-centered vs. Position-centered

• It was difficult to stop viewing the Korean
  students as placeholders for the Korean
  culture, but our flexibility in moving from one
  end of the position-centered?person-centered
  continuum to another allowed us to recognize the
  uniqueness of each individual involved in the
  conversation.
• In doing so, we learned more about the individual
  experiences of each Korean student rather than
  the general concepts about the Korean culture.

5
Conversations

• Conversation is the main marker of transitioning
  from a position-centered to a person-centered
  communication process.
• Through conversations, we learned more about the
  uniqueness of the Korean culture than we ever
  could have in a basic interview.
• Conversation is the single greatest learning
  tool(pg 46) in any group project.

6
Listening

• Different types of listening correlate
  todifferent locations on the impersonal ?
  interpersonal continuum. During the conversation,
  we steadily built toward dialogic listening, but
  the other two types of listening, analytic and
  empathic, were also present.

7
Types of Listening

• Analytic Listening enabled us to organize what we
  had heard, understand the whole picture as well
  as how cultural differences arose, and make
  deliberate responses.
• Empathic Listening allowed us to focus on the
  Korean students as unique individuals rather than
  parts of a group.
• Dialogic Listening focused on the conversation
  between us and inspired the co-construction of
  meaning from different cultural perspectives.

8
Effective Listening

• The most effective type of listening is a
  combination of analytic listening and either
  empathic or dialogic listening. With the
  organizing skill from analytic listening, we can
  connect different ideas to get a picture of
  cultural diversity. With the focusing and
  reflective skill from empathic listening, we can
  find the interpersonal connection that would
  allow us to develop a better understanding of a
  culture.

9
Suggestions

• First and foremost, realize that not all
  conflicts are bad.
• By not avoiding or internalizing conflicts, you
  can use them to your advantage.
• Get out of your comfort zone! Dont be afraid to
  explore the possibilities conflicts can bring.

10
Suggestions, cont.

• It could help to become more cognizant of
  cultural differences in conflicts.
• Conflict can also promote genuine interpersonal
  contact.(329). By exploring conflict instead of
  avoiding it, we can move more towards the
  interpersonal end of the impersonal ?
  interpersonal continuum.

11
Conclusion

• Interpersonal communication is essential for the
  success of the Service Learning Project. The
  purpose of the project is to give immigrant and
  international students a voice while learning
  more about them and their cultures.
• We have learned that this requires developed
  interpersonal skills and a more cosmopolitan
  attitude.
• Success at this project will benefit students,
  faculty, and staff on campus by broadening their
  views and encouraging them to acknowledge the
  richness of other cultures. Our newly developed
  views of the world around us will help incoming
  immigrant and international students feel
  welcomed as we discover more about their cultures
  each quarter.