Measuring Language-related Outcomes of Community-based Learning in Intermediate Spanish Courses

This pilot study investigates whether requiring participation in community-based learning can motivate intermediate level Spanish learners to engage in more frequent interaction in Spanish outside of the classroom and course requirements. Using the theoretical framework of willingness to communicate in a second language, this study combines both quantitative and qualitative methods to measure university-level, intermediate Spanish learners' attitudes and behaviors regarding oral communication in Spanish before and after experiencing three consecutive quarters of community-based learning. By using the lens of second language acquisition theory to examine language-related outcomes for students in these courses, this study addresses a critical need within the scholarship of Spanish community-based learning and provides a theoretically motivated model for the assessment of language-related outcomes of programs utilizing this pedagogy.