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Assessing Effective Partnerships inIntercultural Education: TransformativeLearning as a Tool for EvaluationRoxanna Senyshyn & Carla Chamberlin-QuinliskPublished online: 12 Oct 2009.
To cite this article: Roxanna Senyshyn & Carla Chamberlin-Quinlisk (2009) Assessing EffectivePartnerships in Intercultural Education: Transformative Learning as a Tool for Evaluation,Communication Teacher, 23:4, 167-178, DOI: 10.1080/17404620903232529
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Assessing Effective Partnershipsin Intercultural Education:Transformative Learning as a Toolfor EvaluationRoxanna Senyshyn & Carla Chamberlin-Quinlisk
Objectives: The goal of the Intercultural Partnership Project is to introduce students to
issues surrounding language and cultural identity, with the ultimate goal of helping
students see themselves as engaged participants, rather than observers, in a multicultural
community. For students in the intercultural communication class, this goal echoes the
overall purpose of the course. For students in the ESL class, this goal seeks to improve
their communication skills through interaction with members of the target language
community.
Courses: An upper division intercultural communication course and an English as a
second language (ESL) class that focuses on academic skill development, with an emphasis
on written communication.
Project Goal and Objectives
Despite an emphasis on inclusivity, diversity, multiculturalism, and internationaliza-
tion in strategic planning and curricular development in higher education today, it is
not uncommon for English language learners (ELLs) to feel separated both
academically and socially from their native-speaking peers. Moreover, native speakers
of English claim to appreciate diversity, but tend to interact very little with those whom
they perceive as not fluent in English (Chamberlin-Quinlisk, 2004). Within this context
of a multicultural community where potential intercultural interactions are often
unrealized, we serve as professors who teach both ESL and intercultural communica-
tion classes. After several discussions about the challenges inherent in teaching each
class, we decided to try to provide our students with an experience that would address
our common goal not only of exposing students to a variety of cultural values and
communication styles, but also of helping them integrate an intercultural mindset into
Roxanna Senyshyn, The Pennsylvania State University, Abington College. Email: rsenyshyn@psu.edu
ISSN 1740-4622 (print)/ISSN 1740-4630 (online) # 2009 National Communication Association
DOI: 10.1080/17404620903232529
Communication Teacher
Vol. 23, No. 4, October 2009, pp. 167�178
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their academic and social experiences. Our objectives include: (1) developing reflective
thinking skills that encourage students to rethink their assumptions about ‘‘others’’
and themselves; (2) cultivating intercultural competency through improved commu-
nication strategies; and (3) transforming both native and non-native speakers from
separate group identity to inclusion as members of a larger multicultural community.
Problem and Rationale
For immigrant students who are ELLs, entering and succeeding in college involves
both learning academic literacy practices and engaging in social transformation of
identity and roles within a new learning community. Language learners who seek
opportunities to participate in these new local language communities are often
regarded as motivated, successful learners. Indeed, making the effort to interact with
native speakers can increase opportunities for learning and gradually draw the learner
into a target language community (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Vygotsky, 1978). Such
collaboration is essential for language learners because they need these kinds of
opportunities to use language in meaningful interactions in order to develop both
language proficiency and social skills (Kagan & McGroarty, 1993). Participating in the
social practices of a second language community, however, is not merely a function of
opportunity, motivation, and commitment. A language learner’s investment in the
target language is a more complex mixture of desires, social history, and changing
identities (Norton, 1997, 2000). Studies show that it takes continuous interactions
with natives in a new environment for students to adjust their perceptions, reactions,
and interpretations in ways that help them function effectively in the new
environment (Igoa, 1995; Senyshyn et al., 2000). However, the problem many
English language learners face is that they are often isolated from the very interactions
necessary to gain both linguistic and cultural competency.
For native students, learning about intercultural communication requires similar
immersion into unfamiliar territory. Many students live, work, and attend school in
culturally and linguistically diverse communities, yet many do not see themselves as
participants in multicultural environments (Chamberlin-Quinlisk, 2004; Halualani
et al., 2004). To move these native speakers toward becoming engaged participants in
intercultural interactions, they must be challenged to explore the narratives of their
own lives with the goal of developing what Nussbaum (1997) calls the ‘‘narrative
imagination,’’ or the ability to understand how others make sense of the world.
Nussbaum claims that a narrative imagination ‘‘enable[s] us to comprehend the
motives and choices of people different from ourselves, seeing them not as
forbiddingly alien and other, but as sharing many problems and possibilities with
us’’ (p. 85). Students begin this learning process by exploring their own cultural
identity, but the real challenge emerges in engaging students in authentic,
intercultural experiences with others.
A natural connection in our ESL and intercultural communication work developed
out of a concern for providing meaningful opportunities for students to engage in
learning processes, to examine their identities as members of a multicultural student
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body, and, ultimately, to improve their ability to reflect, revise, and reconsider. These
objectives have much in common with Mezirow’s (1991, 2000) theory of transformative
learning that has guided much adult education and research in the past two decades:
Transformative learning refers to the process by which we transform our taken-for-granted frames of reference (perspectives, habits of mind, mind-sets) to make themmore inclusive, discriminating, open, emotionally capable of change, and reflectiveso that they may generate beliefs and opinions that will prove more true or justifiedto guide action. (Mezirow, 2000, pp. 7�8)
According to Mezirow (1991, 2000), this shift in one’s frame of reference begins
with a disorienting dilemma, followed by reflection, exploration of assumptions,
behavioral changes, acquisition of confidence and competence in new role, and finally
the integration of a new perspective. Mezirow’s theory has been used in many
educational contexts to assess student learning. Taylor (1994a, 1994b) found, for
example, that sojourners abroad go through a complex process of learning to be
interculturally competent that echoes Mezirow’s theory, including a catalyst for
change of ‘‘cultural disequilibrium’’ leading eventually to an evolving intercultural
identity. In other educational contexts, such as adult English as a Second Language
(ESL) education, ELLs’ experience transformation in their frames of reference and
thinking about culture, language learning, and themselves (King, 1997, 2000). As
college classrooms become more linguistically diverse, and institutions of higher
education increasingly emphasize intercultural awareness for all graduates, we are
challenged as communication teachers to incorporate authentic and transformative
learning experiences into our curricula.
Research Questions
Because we knew that non-native speakers of English and native speakers of English
may not have easy social access to one another on campus, we designed a partnership
activity where students in both courses would be asked to meet outside of class
throughout the 15-week semester. Hoping to achieve our goal of making students
more receptive to various perspectives and experiences, our research questions center
on identifying how transformative learning took place in the partnerships.
RQ1: Do classroom-based partnerships create opportunities for transformativelearning experiences for students in both the ESL and interculturalcommunication courses?
RQ2: If so, how do the stages of transformative learning manifest for both Englishlanguage learners and native-speaking students?
Method
Procedures and Participants
To make this project different from interview-style partnerships between native
speakers and ESL students, we examined the realities of the local setting, understanding
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both the constraints and the opportunities. The non-native speakers of English at our
institution are not visiting international students but, rather, are residents of our local
communities. Thus, the native speakers got a glimpse of the immigrant experience
rather than the sojourner point of view. Pedagogically, we believe this provided a novel
intercultural experience in which students might initiate and sustain their relationships.
In addition, because of our experience with first-year seminars and peer mentoring
projects, we were able to present this partnership as a mentoring opportunity for the
older students in the IC class (all third and fourth year students) to share their academic
experiences with mainly first-year immigrant students in the ESL class. Therefore, we
emphasized their shared identity as college students as a point of departure, rather than
focusing on language and cultural differences as a means of establishing relationships.
To prepare for these interactions, the ESL students were assigned classic and
modern readings that were multicultural and international in scope. These thought-
provoking readings were intended to foster critical reading and writing skills, and to
provide fodder for discussions during the partner meetings. In the IC communication
class, assigned readings focused on identity, cultural narratives, portrayals of culture
in media, power and privilege, and verbal and nonverbal communication.
The constraints we faced centered on encouraging students to meet one another,
especially when their class schedules (days on campus) differed. As a non-residential
campus, we did not have the luxury of students living close to one another. In
addition, most of the students work more than 20 hours per week off campus. As
facilitators, we collected students’ schedules and paired students with similar ‘‘free
time’’ as closely as possible.
Overall, 38 students from the IC class (m�19; f�19) met with 21 ESL students
(m�12; f�9) over a 15-week period. Participants ranged in age from 18�43 years old.
Students in the IC class consisted of white American, African-American, Italian-
American, Asian-American, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Argentinean, and Cambodian
individuals. Cultures represented by the ESL students included Indian, Vietnamese,
Chinese, Haitian, Polish, Albanian, Cambodian, Israeli, Venezuelan, Italian, and
Korean. The students met with their partners for an hour at least five times during the
semester. Each student wrote a journal entry after each meeting. Students were asked
to meet outside of class, and most met with their partners on campus. Because the ESL
and IC classes convened at different times, reserving a common class time was not
possible for this cohort. Students in the IC class discussed their experiences in small
groups over the course of the semester. At the end of the semester, the IC students
wrote final reflective statements and gave oral presentations about what they learned
from their intercultural experiences. Students in the ESL class wrote journal entries,
engaged in large and small group discussions, and gave short oral reports about what
they learned from participating in the project. From the IC class, the data collection
resulted in over 400 single-spaced typed pages of students’ reactions and approxi-
mately ten pages of notes from class discussions. Data collected from the ESL class
include over 250 typed pages of students’ journal entries and reflections on the project
and over ten pages of notes from class reports and discussions.
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Analysis
Constant comparative analysis was used to identify key themes in the students’
written and oral reactions (LeCompte & Schensul, 1999; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
Once the themes were identified and validated through cross-examination, we then
linked the emergent themes to the theoretical stages of transformative learning
(Mezirow, 2000): disorienting dilemma, exploration of assumptions, behavioral
changes, acquisition of confidence and competence in new role, and integration of a
new perspective.
While we hoped all students would reflect on some deeper cultural assumptions,
some students were just beginning to explore more tangible and superficial cultural
differences. Therefore, we added a category to Mezirow’s five stages called ‘‘social/
culture information’’ to describe occurrences of students’ writing and talking about
what they learned from one another about culture, college life, classes, or life in
general. In response to the first research question, Table 1 shows the number of
occurrences in each of Mezirow’s five transformative stages of learning, as well as in
social/cultural information. These results suggest that partnerships can, in fact, create
opportunities for transformative learning.
To address the second research question about specific stages of transformative
learning, we share excerpts from the data that illustrate the nature of the students’
learning experiences. Although it is not feasible to share all the results here, we have
selected excerpts that represent the diversity of learning that can occur in partner-
ships.
Disorienting Dilemmas
About half of the IC and ESL students experienced some kind of disorientation. The
disorienting dilemmas experienced by the IC students were typically described as
nervousness and anxiousness about meeting their new partners. The IC students were
Table 1 Percentage of students’ who experienced transformative stages of learning
ESL studentsN�21
IC studentsN�38
Disorienting dilemma 57% 50%(n�12) (n�19)
Exploration/Reflection of assumptions 76% 84%(n�16) (n�32)
Gaining of confidence in new role 81% 58%(n�17) (n�22)
Behavior change 19% 42%(n�4) (n�16)
Integration of new perspective 19% 42%(n�4) (n�16)
Social/culture information 100% 100%(n�21) (n�38)
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not sure how to approach such an unfamiliar situation. However, more than half of
the IC students claimed to feel very comfortable from the beginning, probably due to
their previous social, travel, and academic experiences. Similarly, disorienting
dilemmas arose for the ESL students with regard to meeting their native-speaking
partners. For most, it was easier to avoid intercultural encounters and the anxiety that
accompanies doing so. This project, however, forced students out of their comfort
zones to speak with those who did not share their native language. As one of the ESL
students noted:
I thought I would have more chance to speak English in college than in high school,
but I was wrong . . . I hope I can still connect with my partner even though the
project is over, and I want to have more experience like this conversation to get to
speak with Americans.
Moreover, this challenge led students to rethink their strategies for communica-
tion. Some ESL students indicated in their journal entries how much time and
preparation was involved before meeting with their partners. They spent time
working on their pronunciation and practicing questions they planned to ask:
A very difficult challenge of this assignment . . . is the difficulties in communication
due to the barrier of language. Before every interview I had to rely on the help of a
friend to know how to pronounce those questions to make partner to easy to
understand . . .
Reflection/Exploration of Assumptions
Most of the IC students (84 percent) described several occasions of exploring their
own assumptions. Many reflected on their own prejudices and identities, realizing how
stereotypes fed into their previous assumptions about others. Four students wrote
about the connections among language, culture, and identity, specifically referring to
a new understanding of why speaking one’s native language provides a sense of
belonging and relaxation for those in the process of learning a new language. In his
journal, an IC student expressed his feelings that when people around him speak a
language other than English, he felt that ‘‘there aren’t too many things that can be
more rude.’’ From his interactions with his partner, he came to realize that speaking a
second language is not a strategy for talking about others. He applied what he learned
to his other relationships:
I had a few friends that were Greek. They used to do this all the time. I would get
mad and tell them to speak English. They assured me that I was not the point of
interest but certain stories could not be told so easily in English. I took their word
for it but now I fully understand.
By the end of the project, a majority of ESL students (76 percent) changed their
thoughts about learning the English language and reevaluated their assumptions and
self-perceptions. They became more reflective about their communication. The
following example illustrates how one student was engaged in reflection on his
language experiences prior to and throughout the project:
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Like other new immigrants, the influent language always brings me sense of
inferiority, and I had a really bad time with it. The language difficulties indeed
frustrated me many times whenever teacher asked me something that I did know,
but could not get full credit for because he could not understand me. I had the
same problems when I tried to meet friends in school. I could not laugh at
appropriate time when they told jokes, and I could not give response when they
were waiting for it. Therefore, my life in New York was boring like dead. I believe I
had never had a conversation with strangers over ten minutes when I was in New
York. However, I was forced to talk to a stranger, my partner [IC student], in the
Conversation Partner Project. And, without expectation, it changed my mind of
communication with strangers.
Gaining Confidence in a New Role
About half of the IC students mentioned mentoring as a positive experience,
especially those who had never taken on this kind of role before. One student, for
example, illustrates the development of confidence as a mentor:
One point that I thought was amazing was when he asked me how American people
say ‘‘goodbye.’’ I have never had anyone ask me how to demonstrate an action when
they had no concept of what it meant. I felt very honored when I explained it all to
him and he seemed to have a better understanding of it as well.
Several other IC students expressed similar feelings about sharing their knowledge
about language, culture, mathematics, course scheduling, local history, and even
public transportation. In the ESL class, an even greater percentage of students gained
new confidence. For example, Kevin emphasized his partner’s patience in helping him
overcome the anxiety barrier and develop confidence as a worthy communicator:
I found myself too embarrassed to talk to a native speaker because of inferiority
complex. I was scared by the embarrassment of being misunderstood and the
strange of my pronunciation. Therefore, I tried to practice the American accent in
order to make myself sound like an American. However, this did not help much.
From the experience of talking to [IC partner] who is unlike other people, and is
patient enough to let me finish my word before ending the conversation, I found
that forgetting the accent, and talking like myself as usual could give a better picture
of my words.
Another ESL participant who gained confidence in a new role described his
transition as a move from a ‘‘nervous little freshman to a tough little freshman that
doesn’t get scared easily.’’
Behavior Changes
Evidence of behavior change is more difficult to detect or even achieve in such a short
period of time. Nevertheless, some of the IC students (42 percent) wrote or spoke about
specific changes they had implemented and hopefully integrated into their perspectives.
Ten of the noted behavior changes focus on the students’ realization that they had to
change their communication styles to become better listeners, better at sharing
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information, and better at making others feel comfortable. One student decided that
she needed to challenge a friend of hers who had always made racist remarks. Several
times throughout the semester, she shared stories with the class about how she now
responds to her friend and how this differs from her previous behaviors of ambivalence
or acceptance.
Four of the participating ESL students also documented in journals and indicated
in class presentations that learning activities and interaction with their partners
contributed to changes in behavior. Two students, for instance, noted that the
confidence they gained in their new role as a conversation partner helped them
initiate interactions with other students and even make new friends on campus. They
no longer waited to be approached; as one student indicated, ‘‘Since I had an
experience meeting with my first partner, I did not feel as nervous as when meeting
my second partner . . . he [IC partner] is a little bit shy. Therefore, I first introduced
myself just to break the ice.’’ Another example of change in behavior was noted by
ESL students who felt more capable of expressing their opinions among peers openly
without being afraid or feeling nervous. Students indicated both in journals and in
class discussions that it was their partner’s openness that encouraged them to be more
open in discussing various topics. These kinds of changes in communication behavior
point to the utility of this project for ESL students.
Integration of New Perspectives
A good number (19 percent) of the ESL students and nearly half (42 percent) of the
IC students claimed to have integrated a new perspective as a result of participating in
this project. New perspectives for the IC students were noted when journal entries
and/or student discussions not only explored assumptions about others, but also
described in detail a reconceptualized view of their surroundings. For example, one
student described in a presentation to the class how she unexpectedly learned about
her own family dynamics after reflecting on some of the cultural issues she discussed
with her partner. She said, ‘‘I felt like I was doing this project backwards ‘cause I
learned more about me as I worked with my partner.’’ She went on to describe a few
examples of family problems that she had never understood before. Her parents came
from India and South America, and she never understood why her mother acted in
certain ways. After talking to her partner, she also began talking to her mother for the
first time about her mothers’ fears of being treated like a foreigner when she went out
in public. For the first time, the student understood her mother as someone
vulnerable to stereotypes and prejudice. This disorientation caused her to reflect
about herself and see her mother in a new way. She added, ‘‘I’m grateful to have a
better relationship with my mom because of this class.’’
ESL students’ reflections also included integration of a new perspective. The
opportunity to experience a meaningful conversation and interaction with a student
from a different social group changed one student’s perspective and understanding of
that group. He writes:
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. . . sincere intention is very important especially when you deal with people fromother culture. . . . I had a serious conversation with my partner and found thepicture was totally different. She is not the type I thought. Indeed, I was driven bycuriosity to want to know more about her cultures since I just found that not allblacks have the common stereotypes.
ESL students reconceptualized their previous expectations about the ideal native
speaker. Students’ reflections showed that they expected greater differences, but came
to realize there are more similarities in terms of one’s identity and language learning
experiences. As one student indicated, the interaction was easy to develop because he
and his partner ‘‘both have accents.’’ This experience is but one example of
perspective transformation, in which students explore and correct previous assump-
tions about their perceptions of the partners and gain confidence in their new role.
Social/Cultural Information
Although the goal of transformative learning guided our work in this project, we
could not ignore the fact that all of the students wrote and spoke about factual things
they were learning about their partner’s social and cultural environments. These facts,
although seemingly superficial at times, helped students establish a common ground
for discussion, thereby providing opportunity for meaningful learning. The IC
students often discussed what they had learned about their partners’ cultural
backgrounds, including customs, family relationships, and expectations for education
and career. The participants also learned that their perceived differences faded as they
talked about family, school, and work concerns. One ESL student taught his IC
partner the Korean game of ‘‘Go,’’ after they realized their shared interest in games.
From ESL students’ accounts, it is evident that they learned a great deal about
academic culture, time management, diverse cultures of the United States,
international experiences of their peers, and various other topics they discussed
with partners while participating in the project. As an example, it is interesting to
consider the conversations about popular culture and media. Many ESL students
reflected about initial confusion as to what should be discussed about this topic, what
media is, and what popular culture is. A few of the pairs discussed a great variety of
programs available on American television and the role of American individualism in
entertainment, compared media in the U.S. and in other countries, discussed
portrayal of women, talked about pervasiveness of violence and commercialism, and
the effects of these issues on society as a whole and individuals in particular. Overall,
ESL students’ reflections indicate that through interactions with partners they
expanded their knowledge of the various aspects of the communities they are part of-
the campus, the country, and the world.
Conclusions and Implications
To answer the first research question, our results indicate that classroom-based
partnerships can create opportunity for transformative learning experiences for both
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English language learners and native speakers enrolled in an advanced intercultural
communication course. With regard to the second research question, students in
both the ESL and IC class explored assumptions and preconceived notions about each
other. English language learners, in particular, benefited from this project as they
gained new confidence in their roles as communicators. Behavioral changes and
integration of new perspectives were also apparent for both groups but not
conclusively evident as some of these changes may take place after completing the
project.
Using transformative learning theory as an assessment tool revealed the variation in
students’ paces and styles of learning, as well as the complex processes inherent in
perspective transformation. To clarify, some students moved through the stages quickly
and others very slowly in that they were only comfortable learning basic facts about a
culture. As teachers who want to take students beyond a superficial understanding of
culture, we were initially disappointed to read journals that focused only on factual
knowledge. Upon further reflection, we realized that, for some students, this was the
place they needed to be. If they had never talked to someone from a cultural group
different from their own before, then at least they were discovering similarities and
working through their anxieties of unfamiliar social encounters. And, while doing so,
ESL students learned more about negotiating the daily life of a college student (finding a
good parking space, registering for classes, talking about sports and popular culture),
and IC students learned that customs and expectations for family life and student
achievement varied from student to student.
Today more than ever before, U.S. colleges and universities are advocating
interaction among members of various cultural and linguistic groups on campuses
to promote intercultural competence (Berryman-Fink, 2006; Halualani et al., 2004;
Talbot et al., 1999). However, interaction among students across demographic and
cultural boundaries does not happen naturally. Therefore, both administration and
faculty must employ proactive strategies to create meaningful contact opportunities
across students’ diverse cultural and linguistic identities.
Our findings have implications for implementing such strategies to promote
diversity and cultivate intercultural awareness and communication competency on
college campuses. First, as the results of this assessment show, regular classroom-
based collaborative work among students benefited first-year immigrant students
who are English language learners by assisting them in their transition into a new
academic and linguistic community. As for their native speaking peers who are
upper-level students, it provided opportunities for improving communication and
developing mentoring and leadership skills. Second, both ESL and IC students
reported that, through ongoing structured interactions and activities, they increased
intercultural awareness and gained self-confidence to enact new behaviors. These
outcomes confirm that providing such meaningful experiences for students is
effective in increasing individual perspective transformation including behavior
change. Mezirow’s (1991) perspective transformation theory provided a basis for
analysis of such changes and for our assessment of the project. Our results confirm
that, as a result of participating in the project, many ESL and IC students modified
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their behaviors to be ‘‘more inclusive, discriminating, and integrative’’ (Mezirow,
1991, p. 167). Finally, a major implication of this research is that for transformative
learning to occur, instructors must create a structured experience for students that
provides a framework for interactions, yet allows students to have control in building
relationships and collaborating to achieve tasks.
Providing opportunities for sustained relationships among culturally and linguis-
tically diverse students is necessary for their intellectual and social development in
college. Moreover, this research confirmed that structured collaborative projects that
intend to bring diverse learners together for meaningful interactions can achieve this
purpose. Our objectives were met as students reflected on and challenged previous
assumptions, thought about and improved their intercultural communication skills,
and began to see themselves as members of a larger multicultural community. A
contributing factor to the success of the project was the authenticity of interactions
that were not simply episodic, contrived interviews, but instead were sustained
interactions where students established relationships and created their own meaning
from the experience.
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communication: Implications for language learning in a multicultural community. Com-
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