Service-Learning in China

Written by Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, Service-Learning Coordinator

As some of you may know, I was fortunate enough to be placed on a federal grant that allowed me travel to China from December 28th through January 24th. The purpose of my visit was to establish volunteer and/or service-learning projects for WKU students participating in the Chinese Flagship Program. This program provides students with four years of intensive, accelerated Chinese language study, and by the end of the four year program, students will be able to read, write and speak Chinese fluently. This skill set will provide numerous job opportunities both nationally and internationally. In addition to language study, the program also provides overseas immersion opportunities during the Winter and Summer terms, and it is during these extended stays in-country that the program wants students to be interacting with the local community.

It was my job, then, on this first-time trip to China, to scout out potential community partners and identify ways in which students could interact with the community, a complicated and complex task considering the concepts of volunteerism and service-learning are unfamiliar to most Chinese. I was lucky, though, because after a class I taught about service-learning on the campus of Sichuan International Studies Institute, I had three very excited and passionate young women say they wanted to begin a volunteer program on-campus. They were also interested in partnering on the volunteer work with WKU students. Molly Wind, Chang Ping (my translator for this trip) and Jia Jia are now my team on the ground, and it’s with them I hope to complete this task successfully.



My first thought was to work at an elder care facility near campus. Chang Ping and I met the Director of the facility, but she let us know outright it would be difficult acquiring approval from the Chinese government (this was a state-run institution) to let American students work there, and she was also concerned the students would inadvertently offend the residents because they would be unfamiliar with the cultural norms. I also discovered in a meeting with an American student studying at SISU, Matt, that the type of volunteering we would be doing at the facility would actually take jobs away from people.

Time to move to another idea! Molly Wind and Chang Ping have told me how popular “English Corners” are in the city, and maybe we could start a new one. English Corners are literally corner spots in plazas or courtyards where anyone that wants to practice conversational English may do so. These English Corners are located all over Chongqing, and Molly Wind and Chang Ping said one was needed on the campus of SISU. English has become a vey popular language in China, and college students, in particular, are eager to hone their skills. Our plan is to market our English Corner to not only SISU students, but the community surrounding the university, as well. There is much planning and preparation for this activity, but I have a great team on the ground, and since I was able to spend a full month with students from the Chinese Flagship Program, I know they are up to the task, too.