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Assessing Effective Partnerships inIntercultural Education: TransformativeLearning as a Tool for EvaluationRoxanna Senyshyn & Carla Chamberlin-QuinliskPublished online: 12 Oct 2009.

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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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diversity education. College Student Journal, 40(3), 511�516.

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