Global world: global village? Impact of volunteering for international students

Abstract

Community-based learning for university students has seen a much higher profile in recent years, thanks to the Higher Education Active Funding (HEACF) initiative launched by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Home Office in 2002. The University of Wolverhampton has been one of the pioneers of this development, and in recent years we have focused increasingly on the delivery of such programmes to our cohort of international students. The need for overseas students to integrate closely with members of the host community has been well documented, and previous studies have reported a positive relationship between the frequency of international students’ interactions with their local community and their adjustment to the host society (Toyokawa and Toyokawa, 2002).

This paper explores, through the form of weekly interviews and questionnaires, questions about language acquisition and understanding, cultural awareness and personal development. We report on detailed conclusions reached regarding international learners’ experiences in out-of-class activities — in this case volunteering — and the extent to which this type of activity can realise benefits for the learners in terms of language, culture and employability.

Key words:

• international students
• volunteering
• language
• culture
• personal development

Background and rationale

The emphasis that is often placed on the academic-related goals of an international student can often overlook the broader aims and benefits which may accompany their stay in the new host environment. In addition to their academic objectives, which are clearly paramount, the international learner may also be concerned and motivated by a number of nonacademic goals, as well as having a serious interest in exploring a new culture and society and in making friends in the host community (Toyokawa and Toyokawa, 2002; Barratt and Huba, 1994; Toyokawa, Toyokawa and Matsudaira, 1998).

International students, like home students, spend a great deal of time involved in out-of-class activities, including attending cultural events, participating in sport or being involved in part-time employment. Through such activities, these learners may have the chance to meet a number of people within the host community and to develop a deeper social and cultural awareness of their host society. As educators in our institutions, or as observers of international students within our communities, we are able to draw upon anecdotal evidence to show that there is a correlation between the engagement of international students in out-of-class activities and their adjustment to their host society. However, a number of studies have helped to crystalise this notion.

One of the most significant of these is Astin’s (1984) involvement theory, which states that the ‘amount of student learning and personal development associated with any educational programme is directly proportional to the quality and quantity of student involvement in that programme’ (Astin, 1984: 298). The theory deals not only with benefits that students can obtain from academic-related activities but also with gains associated with out-of-class activities such as socialising with friends, engaging in social events and volunteering on and off campus (Toyokawa and Toyokawa, 2002). Pascarella’s (1985) student development model builds on the involvement principle by suggesting that development is a function of the effort students invest in educationally useful activities. Other studies by Astin (1977, 1993) found that involvement in sports programmes had positive effects on health, academic work, leadership and satisfaction with both life and the college experience. Bryant, Bradley and Milbourne (1994) noted gains in relationship building, self-confidence and social integration, while both Bryant, Bradley and Milbourne (1994) and Haines (2001) reported benefits in the areas of physical well-being and stress reduction. From his survey on student participation in campus recreational sports activities, Barcelona (2002) also indicated that ‘involvement in recreational sports has the potential to yield positive gains in students’ ability to function as a member of a team’. Toyokawa and Toyokawa (2002) further referenced a link between a female student’s participation as a childcare volunteer in the local community and clarification of her career goals.

The theory of student involvement — and the impact which out-of-class experiences have upon the learner — is central to Kuh’s (1995) study on the relationship between out-of-class experiences and the learner’s personal development through interactions between the learner and their institution’s environments. The study, which provided data on 149 US college students, revealed development in intellectual, social and emotional awareness. Although its focus was primarily on home-based learners (only six were defined as ‘international’), Kuh reported gains in personal development as a result of specific leadership responsibilities, with 85 per cent of the participants attributing one or more gains acquired through tasks such as planning, organising, managing and decision-making. For example, while serving as student body president, one white University of California student learned how to plan budgets, manage resources and communicate with different groups of people. A further benefit revealed through the study was the impact which extracurricular involvement had on the clarification of learners’ career aims. One white Wichita state student, for instance, decided on a career in law while being president of her sorority house after dealing with national and Wichita state rules during her extracurricular activities. Another student, a white University of California student, used his involvement in campus development projects to further his aim of going into real estate development. In equally reflective accounts, an African American student from Xavier University explained how her part-time work on campus encouraged her to respond sensitively to complex office dynamics and a white Miami University student explained how her roles in hall government and community-related activities enabled her to realise the value of communication. Other personal development gains were noted in learners’ awareness of cultural issues. For example, one African American student at Mount Holyoke College commented on gains in self-awareness through political discussions with people from different ethnic backgrounds, as did a white Earlham College student after spending a semester in Latin America and recognising the oppression of his own Colombian family. Final benefits were reported in the relationship between extracurricular involvement and the academic process itself, with students commenting favourably on the way in which out-of-class discussions helped them to develop more complex views, to synthesise and integrate material, and to develop knowledge and academic skills in general.

In a very different kind of study with a stronger international focus, Toyokawa and Toyokawa’s 2002 examination of 84 Japanese learners undertaking a ten-month programme in the USA positively related extracurricular involvement to students’ general life satisfaction. The programme, which saw the encouragement of students in volunteering as well as cultural exchange activities, enabled international learners to acquire the values and customs of the host country as well as to practise the social skills and the language which they had learned in the classroom (Toyokawa and Toyokawa, 2002). In a similar vein, Halvorsen et al (2003) conceded from their study that by spending time with groups of people outside the host community, an international student was less likely to enhance their English language skills and to make cultural adjustments. In addition, they found that frequent interaction between international students and Americans led to higher levels of satisfaction in communication and adjustments to American life and noted further that ‘it may be a rational choice to spend time with native English speakers in order to practice and improve language skills, and gain more satisfaction’ (Halvorsen et al, 2003). In line with these cultural and linguistic benefits, Hood, Riahinejad and White (1986) reported a positive relationship between college students’ participation in campus activities and confidence, and Barratt and Huba (1994) have suggested a link between poor English and low levels of self-esteem. Meanwhile, other studies have substantiated Toyokawa and Toyokawa’s claim that a positive relationship exists between the amount and frequency of international students’ social interactions with host nationals and their adjustment to the host country (Toyokawa and Toyokawa, 2002). One such study by Surdam and Collins (1984) reported a clear link between the time spent by international students with their host friends and their adjustment to the host society, while another by Sellitz and Cook (1962) claimed that international students who made at least one close friend in the USA felt a stronger affinity with the host nation than those with no host friends. Antler’s (1970) survey of 170 foreign medical residents in the USA similarly concluded that those who had frequent contact with host nationals were more active and satisfied with life than those who had less contact with host nationals.

Research context

The University of Wolverhampton has capitalised on accredited volunteering in the curriculum by using this as a basis on which to further develop existing opportunities throughout the university with support from the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) (Green and Cameron, 1997; Hall, Hall et al, 2004). Research has identified the connections between university, students and community, and examined the benefits for each of these key stakeholders (Matthews et al, 2005). The subsequent growth of both extracurricular and accredited volunteering activities is such that the Active Volunteers initiative is now embedded within mainstream funding and opportunities are available to students from any academic school or discipline (Active Volunteers, 2009).

Using the accredited framework already established and the support of the Active Volunteers team, work to establish volunteering opportunities for international students began several years ago, in the belief that such community-based learning would encourage students to connect to local groups beyond the university, and to gain wider experience and understanding of the English language as used in everyday exchange across the West Midlands region. Support and consideration was given to the nature of the volunteering activity, and any issues of confidentiality, sensitivity and ethics were negotiated and managed with host organisations.

Our research interest gathered momentum as the numbers of students interested in taking these optional modules increased. Here we attempt to bridge the theoretical gap between the work of Toyokawa and Toyokawa (2002), which focuses on international students without measuring more specific gains in areas such as language and cultural observation, and Kuh (1995) which focuses successfully on personal development benefits but which deals almost exclusively with home-based (largely white Caucasian) students.

Research methods

Research was carried out over two years, across two cohorts of students. Data were gathered on the volunteering learning experience, focusing on areas of language (for example, the acquisition of new vocabulary and slang), cultural awareness (for example, observations about the British voluntary sector and the labour market) and personal development (particularly in relation to transferable skills).

The aim was to gather a range of qualitative data on the experiences of international students carrying out a volunteering activity in the community, and to evaluate the learning experiences thus gained. For this purpose, largely qualitative research methods were used, including questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, and the use of reflective journals in which students recorded their activities and reflections on their experiences. It was hoped that more fruitful conclusions could be reached regarding international learners’ experiences in out-of-class activities — in this case volunteering — and the extent to which this type of placement can realise benefits to the learners in terms of language, culture and employability.

Our key questions, covered in both the questionnaire and the interview, focused on the following:

• What did you gain linguistically from the placement?

• What difficulties did you face when spoken to during the placement?

• What did you learn about your organisation and/or British people?

• What skills has the placement helped you with?

Questionnaires were regularly completed after visits to community organisations, and these were followed by face-to-face interviews, and workshops to support the reflective learning process.

Respondents

Across the two cohorts, a total of 27 international students participated in the study. Their countries of origin are as follows:

Two Japanese students; 17 Cypriot students; one Taiwanese student; one Kurdistan student; four Indian students; two Chinese students.

Identifiers of student and place of volunteering activity can be found at the end of the article. What follows is a detailed discussion of the findings from each phase of the research, followed by our summary and conclusions.

Phase one

The initial study, conducted in spring 2006, focused on three University of Wolverhampton students. The first, a Taiwanese female in her early twenties, was volunteering at a centre for the blind in the West Midlands while doing an English language pre-degree programme. The second, a Japanese female in her late twenties, was doing a placement at an organic garden centre in Wolverhampton while also enrolled on an English language pre-degree course. The third, a male student from Kurdistan, was studying an MA Voluntary and Public Sectors and had chosen to volunteer as an outreach worker/support officer.

The Japanese student attended nine out of 13 arranged volunteering days, completed seven questionnaires and was interviewed on nine occasions. The Taiwanese student attended ten out of 13 arranged volunteering days, completed eight questionnaires and was interviewed on six occasions. The third student, from Kurdistan, was interviewed twice about his volunteer experiences.

A further study, conducted in March 2007, focused on three more University of Wolverhampton students. The first, a Japanese female student in her early twenties, volunteered to give talks at a secondary school while studying a number of subjects as part of a study year abroad programme. The second and third, both Cypriot male students in their early twenties, carried out three placements over an eight-day period as PE assistant instructors at a local sports centre during their English language pre-degree course.

The Japanese student completed a questionnaire and was then interviewed the following day, while the two Cypriots were interviewed once each, several days after their final placements. The questionnaire and interview were based around the same questions as the earlier study.

Outcomes and benefits

1. Language

Linguistic shortcomings were reflected upon by all of the respondents, especially in the area of listening comprehension. The problem appeared twofold: first, the students had difficulty with the local or regional West Midlands dialect, which clearly contrasted sharply with the more formalised English used in the classroom; second, they found the pace of native people’s speech too fast and simply could not follow the conversation. These shortcomings are reflected in the following comments:

… because if I’m speaking [with] outside people, their accent is very strong and fast so I could not understand. Also I am very shy to speaking other people. But staff speaking more slowly — so I comfortable to them and I can understand. But I can’t understand other people. If they want to order something, I check with other people [staff] because actually I not sure.

Respondent A

I talked one of counsellors about my listening problem. I could understand teacher’s speaking but I can hardly understand local people. After talking, he said, ‘I also sometime can’t understand West Midland accent; speaking speed is fast, isn’t it?’ I was surprised British people have same situation.

Respondent B

… I could understand what they [the students] said, but it was much harder because they had some local accent and spoke very fast. I needed to listen carefully when they were speaking to me.

Respondent C

There were also problems pertaining to vocabulary items. For example, the student from Kurdistan revealed his confusion over a legal term which had a duel meaning:

Before going to court, the word ‘sentence’ meant ‘sentence’ — I did not know it meant ‘punishment’. It became very funny. So a long sentence — you were waiting to hear a long sentence. I was expecting a big paragraph. I did not know [it meant] a long jail sentence.

Respondent D

On the other hand, a number of gains were reported in lexical items, especially in three areas: everyday words, subject-specific items and slang.

Everyday words

The students generally appeared proactive in their learning of vocabulary and were able to extract new words from their conversations during their placements. The following extract from the Taiwanese student demonstrates this:

Yesterday I learned this word — ‘bungalow’. This volunteer told me [this word]. She told me info, could you write down this word. She was very kind. She drew a picture to me.

Respondent A

When serving customers during their volunteering, the same student captured some new food-related vocabulary:

They [the customers] will use slang — like pop — and some special [words] … squash. And pickle, they order the pickle. Before I didn’t try this one … onion pickles. I learn ‘pickle’.

Respondent A

In a similar way, the Japanese student speaking to a group of students at a secondary school acknowledges her mistake after the teacher clarifies her statement:

When I was trying to explain how we read Japanese books, a teacher was saying ‘top to bottom’, but I said ‘up to down’. I could notice my mistakes.

Respondent C

Subject-specific items

Other conversations enabled the students to learn new words connected to their fields of study. For instance, the Japanese student, who was to progress to a master’s in Environmental Science upon the completion of the English course and volunteering placement, reflected upon the acquisition of a number of new words during a conversation at the organic garden centre:

I worked with another volunteer who is local person, nearly 60 years. He knows well about gardening and taught me some flowers name: fuchsia, pelargonium, geranium, etc. We talked about ‘Bonsai’ which Japanese style of growing trees.

Respondent B

The same learner then reflected positively upon their vocabulary acquisition and saw how their learning in the placement was able to provide other transferable benefits:

I know Japanese word — but I don’t know specific word. I do not know word in English. If I listen this word, I can’t understand, so normally I ask again and again. I don’t know this kind of word — propagation. He [the supervisor] explained to me … it’s kind of gardening word. After that, I checked this word so now I understand. If I continue to work in this place, I can continue to understand new words which are useful for my study.

Respondent B

Similar benefits were reflected upon by the Taiwanese student, whose placement at the coffee shop for the blind enabled them to learn new vocabulary closely associated with their degree subject (Health Science):

I ask her [the volunteer] about [this] because some disability [disabled people] don’t have money … how can they have money to live in the house? And she told me ‘social service’ [new word].

Respondent A

Slang

Students were also at pains to point out the number of occasions where they noticed or enquired about the use of slang in their placement. Conversations between the Japanese student and a younger native-speaking volunteer, for example, produced a wide range of colloquial expressions by the latter. Slang phrases such as ‘hang on’, ‘hold on’, ‘oh sugar!’, ‘oh sod!’ and ‘Jesus Christ!’ (to reflect one’s disappointment) were picked up by the Japanese student with some amusement.

2. Cultural awareness

A significant amount of interest in British cultural issues was revealed in the learners’ reflections. Some of this interest was sparked by a desire on their part to learn more about issues relating to their degree subject (for example, the workings of the NHS). In other cases, the interest was more general, observational and focused, for example, on Britain’s multicultural environment, the UK labour market and the character of British people.

The Taiwanese student, whose placement preceded her MSc in Health Science, recollected a number of insights they had gained about the health service in the UK:

I learned about hospital system. You need to wait a long time; in UK, if people want to have surgery, they wait a long time, like one to two months. But in my country, they don’t tell you the date — you just take the surgery. You don’t wait a long time. We also spoke about hospital system in our country. They are a little different.

Respondent A

Some disability [disabled people] don’t have money … how can they have money to live in the house? And she [the volunteer] told me ‘social service’ [new word]. But I not very sure about this one. So if they have some accident, government will help them get some money to their life.

Respondent A

Other students remarked upon cultural issues less connected with their degree subjects but which revealed their genuine interest in British life and culture. The Kurdistan student, for example, focused upon a number of insights which he had gained from the placement:

We see cultural and political things. We see procedures in court. Other events with other communities. In [suburb], different events … you can see from different cultures … cultural diversity. You can see Somalian and African culture.

Respondent D

This Japanese student, by contrast, was particularly interested in and surprised by their organisation’s flexible employment patterns:

I learned about fluid working system in the organisation. Working people change a lot because of short contract: six months. Some people who I worked together [with] left from the organisation. I was surprised because I didn’t know they already left last month.

Respondent B

One of the Cypriots, meanwhile, spoke positively about the characteristics of the British people with whom he had come into contact in his physical education sessions:

In my opinion, British people are very friendly because if you have any problem — especially in the training — they can help you a lot. Furthermore, British people are very typical of being organised. They do exactly what the coach tells them.

Respondent E

In a similar way, another Cypriot student contrasts the rather obedient nature of British students with the more independently minded Cypriots:

They [the British students] did exactly what they were told to do. In Cyprus, somebody usually does something wrong because he wants to do it wrong (because maybe he doesn’t like the lecturer).

Respondent K

These observations are very interesting in that they show the learners reflecting clearly upon cultural insights which have been acquired as a result of the placements. They also reveal international students making a clear distinction between systems and behaviour which operate in their own countries and the UK.

3. Personal development

Before the placements began, there was clear evidence that the students were highly motivated and appreciated the value and potential benefits of working in their local community. The Japanese student, in particular, saw the placement as a way of meeting a number of goals:

I don’t have opportunity to contact with British and local people. If I do volunteering, I want to do in the field of the environment because next semester I will proceed to master’s in Environment, so I want to make a connection about environment organisation before I take master’s course. If possibilities in the future, I want to work in the UK — but it’s very difficult so I want to have a chance to contact with them. English course is useful but I want to get opportunity to enhance my experience.

Respondent B

Here the learner revealed ways in which they hoped the placement would enable them to transfer knowledge into their degree studies and into possible future employment. However, during the course of the placement, the same learner seemed to get slightly frustrated that some of these goals were not being attained. They acknowledged the benefits gained in communication and language skills as a consequence of speaking with native speakers but admitted that they were not sure how the placement was helping them to attain future career goals. Nevertheless, there were several cases of the learner acquiring a number of practical skills:

This week they taught me to grow up herbs and vegetables.

I have never tried about herbs. Yesterday I learned … I took photos like these [shows photos]. I put in compost into the pot [shows photos of placement].

I learn how to … because this plants are organic plants … so it’s different way compared with normal vegetables.

Respondent B

Similar benefits were noted by one of the Cypriot students who also spoke positively about the transferable benefits gained while volunteering:

I think the placement is helping to improve my practical skills, my communication skills and also time-management skills for me and my future career. I think it’s very useful because I want to be a physical education teacher. So I need these skills.

Respondent E

The Taiwanese student and the other Cypriot student did not reveal or acknowledge any real transferable gains, although the Japanese learner who volunteered at the school did acknowledge that the placement had helped her develop a speech and ways of entertaining her audience. The Kurdistan student, on the other hand, spoke very positively of his placement experience:

After [volunteering as an outreach worker/support officer] now I can be a coordinator in any organisation in relation to housing. I did learn some things — how to manage communication with people, how to treat them, how to refer them to some relevant places if you can’t help them yourself, how to use your personal initiative. I know something now about housing associations, rent, tenancy agreements, problems with landlord, flat rights, repairs by landlord … all these things are in relation to housing.

Respondent D

Limitations to research phase one and rationale for research phase two

Results of the interviews and questionnaires indicated clear gains in the areas of language and cultural awareness. However, in general, the students were less able to make a connection between the skills they were using on their placements and how these could be transferred into a future working environment (in line with findings of University of Liverpool John Moores Learning Development Unit’s website, Encouraging Reflective Learning (2003)). This raised the question whether students were truly reflecting on and thinking critically about their experiences and/or whether we as educators were guiding them sufficiently to enable them to see how skills used or gained on their placements could be transferred into other meaningful contexts. It was thus felt that a more guided approach could be adopted, possibly through the use of a guided learner journal and supportive classroom sessions. It was hoped that this would help to enhance the recognition of transferability (alongside linguistic and cultural awareness), and that these methods could be used with a new group of students from a similar English language foundation module in 2007–08.

Phase two

The first study in phase two, carried out in autumn 2007, analysed the volunteering experiences of four University of Wolverhampton students in their early twenties enrolled on an English language pre-degree programme. One of these was a male student from India and the other three were male students from Cyprus. They all volunteered at the centre for the blind in November and December 2007, carrying out four placements each. The analysis focused on a guided learner journal, which each student compiled after each placement, and a reflective survey which they undertook after completing all of the placements. The journal was based around the same four questions as the earlier studies, while both journal and survey were supported by workshops in which the tutor introduced model samples from previous placements.

The second study, undertaken in the period March to June 2008, focused on the findings of 17 international students from the same university in their early to mid-twenties doing volunteer placements as part of an English language pre-degree award. Twelve of these students were from Cyprus, two were from China and three came from India. The distribution of placements was wide: six became volunteers at Oxfam, four went to the city’s art house cinema, three offered their services to the centre for the blind, two volunteered at Barnardo’s, one was with Age Concern, and one did a placement at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Data were collected in the same way as the first study.

Outcomes and benefits

1. Language acquisition

Comments in many of the learner journals and reflective surveys revealed students’ difficulties in coping with the pace, pronunciation and dialect of the native speakers on the placements. However, the more resourceful learners who took the assignments seriously soon began to overcome these initial difficulties and appeared to make significant gains, most notably in vocabulary acquisition.

One highly motivated Cypriot student who volunteered with the RSPB summarised in his reflective account the way in which he overcame early comprehension problems and took control of his learning process. He wrote:

At first it was very difficult to understand what the people said because they spoke very quickly or they have different pronunciation, so I ask for that people to write down the words. Sometimes I didn’t find the words in my dictionary and the people drew what they meant. It was very funny. For instance I learnt that ‘push chair’ it is the baby carriage, ‘daft’ is the crazy, stupid, and ‘spend a penny’ mean I want to go to the toilet. Moreover, the idiomatic expressions like ‘pillar box’, ‘call box’ and ’sleeping policemen’ were very interesting. For example ‘pillar box’ it is the mail box for mailing letters, the ‘call box’ it is the telephone box, and ’sleeping policeman’ it is a speed hump.

Respondent F

Most learners in the study did not keep journals on a regular basis and were unable to remember the words they had learned, even though in their reflective accounts they mentioned that they had acquired new vocabulary. However, where journals were kept and updated on a regular basis, there was clear evidence that vocabulary acquisition had been achieved. The extract below from the reflective journal of an Indian student volunteering at the centre for the blind clearly shows this.

Day 1 — Monday 19 November 2007

New words

• Till — it is a container for containing money

• Fundraising — activity for raising money

• CCTV — broadcasting closed circuit television

• Visionary — full of foresight

Slang words

• Off rocker — crazy, out of control

• On the real — truthful

Day 2 — Thursday 22 November 2007

New words

• Ambassador — diplomatic representative

• Visual aid — something that is looked at as a complement to a lesson or presentation

Slang words

• Lamping — to relax or take it easy

• Take a bone — to get something to eat

Day 3 — Monday 26 November 2007

New words

• Sort — arrange something in a particular order

• Flexible — able to adapt to new situations

• Idiosyncrasy — strange personal mannerism

Slang words

• Fuck up (offensive) — to severely injure (a person) or damage (a thing)

• Pants — of poor quality

Day 4 — Thursday 29 November 2007

New words

• Retail — sale to customers

• Recreation — the refreshment of the mind and body after work

• Marketing — selling of products and services

Slang words

• Cancer stick — cigarette

• East Bumblefuck — a location inconveniently far away

• Karena — a pretty girl

Respondent G

The above student was not the only volunteer to allude to vocabulary gains. One Cypriot student volunteering at Oxfam paid tribute to one of the English-speaking volunteers who encouraged him to speak and not to feel embarrassed about making mistakes. The student mentioned that he was corrected several times by other volunteers but learnt new phrases such as ‘oh god’, ‘can you give us a hand?’, ‘watch out’ and ‘watch your head’. Another Cypriot at the centre for the blind explained that she had had to cope with both the speed and the colloquial nature of the language at the beginning of her placements. However, having adjusted to her new surroundings, she felt confident to ask about definitions of words she did not know and was able to acquire a number of idioms and informal expressions such as ‘old hat’ (old-fashioned) and ‘ASAP’ (as soon as possible). Similar communication problems initially hindered an Indian student volunteering at Oxfam, but she later benefited from other friendly volunteers who corrected her and acquired useful expressions such as ‘you alright?’ and ‘take care’, as well as being told that ‘sweaters’ in her country were known as ‘jumpers’ in the UK. Another Cypriot who admitted her initial shyness in undertaking her placement at the centre for the blind was later surprised and comforted to be called ‘honey’, ‘love’ and ‘darling’, as these were expressions she thought could only be associated with much younger people. Finally, a Cypriot volunteering at the local art house cinema recovered from early listening problems to record new informal phrases such as ‘to make waves’, ‘to have a gander’ (a quick look) and ‘rip-off’ in his reflective account.

2. Cultural awareness

Data obtained from the journals and the reflective accounts revealed a curiosity on the part of the students about both their organisations and the lifestyle and character of local people. One of the best examples of this was provided by the Chinese learner at Barnado’s who acknowledged a clear appreciation not only of her own voluntary organisation (and the voluntary sector) but also of British people and society. In her reflective account, she wrote:

The intention of our organisation is helping the children who lost their parents … I talked to many people about the reason why they bought clothes in the store and they have two opinions: in one side, they can help the children who are very poor; in the other side, these clothes are cheaper than outside. I learnt a new word — ‘charity’.

British people are very friendly and regard the charity very importance. They loved their country, so they want to help the children. As a lot of people have benevolence, the society is so harmonious and warm.

Respondent H

Other students chose to focus on differences between these organisations and workplaces in the UK and those in their own country. One Cypriot who was volunteering at the art house cinema told of his initial surprise at the amount of procedures that he was expected to abide by during the course of his placement. In his reflective survey, he wrote:

As soon as I arrived there, my first impression as a member of the staff concerned the health and safety regulations of the cinema. I was also taught how and in what ways to evacuate the cinemas when there is a fire alarm. The seminar impressed me and helped me to understand how English people appreciate and take the relevant precautions in order to secure a human’s life and dignity.

Respondent I

The Indian student who undertook his placement at the centre for the blind instead chose to focus his observations on the attitudes and behaviour of local British people whom he described as ‘helpful and very kind’. He wrote:

If you ask something that you don’t know from British people, they will tell you each and everything to you with good manner. Also, they are very punctual and do their work according to proper time.

Respondent G

Similar observations were noted by a Cypriot student volunteering at Age Concern:

I learned something interesting about British people. [They] are always on time on their jobs. Another thing that I notice is that they are very polite and if there is a misunderstanding they will still say ‘sorry’ even if it is not their fault.

Respondent J

This difference in behaviour was picked up by another Cypriot student doing her placement at the centre for the blind. She noted clear differences in the ways that British and Cypriot people carry out their work. She wrote:

I understood that they [the British] do not stop [working] until they finish and they also have a programme with the exact times of breaks. I saw that despite Cypriots are doing their jobs properly, they do not have an exact programme and they are not so focused on what they are doing.

Respondent K

Another student, a Cypriot volunteering at Oxfam, gained her cultural insights through a number of exchanges with an elderly local volunteer. During the course of these conversations, she learned about the flexibility of the UK labour market (for example, part-time work) while observing that most people drink tea or coffee during their break time and that shops commonly close at 5.30 pm.

This Cypriot student was not alone in acknowledging the contribution of an elderly person in their community. The Indian student at the centre for the blind also focused some of his reflective account on this subject and in doing so revealed a direct comparison with Indian society. He wrote:

Most of the people working (in the charity shop) were old people and some of them don’t live with their families. They live in Old Age homes. I was quite shocked while listen to this because in my country old people live with their families and enjoy their rest of life living with their families. Also, in my country, people at the age of 55 to 58 years should stop working and live with their families while in the UK it is very different because most of the people here work also while they are old.

Respondent L

The diversity promoted by the volunteering process was also acknowledged, and praised, by the Cypriot student doing her placement at the centre for the blind. She wrote:

I appreciated the fact that many old people contributed to the volunteering process, along with the youngsters. In my opinion, these organisations should be established in my country as well because people in Cyprus do not pay much attention in helping others by becoming volunteers.

Respondent K

Other cultural observations during the placements were noted by a Cypriot volunteer who obtained useful tips on preparing and cooking English food, an Indian student who exchanged information about holidays, festivals, marriage clothes and parties, and a Cypriot student who explained how they benefited from working within such a rich and diverse multicultural environment.

3. Personal development

Most of the students commented on skills gains, especially in the areas of communication and time management. However, only those who actively engaged in the task and fully completed the assignments made clear gains in the area of transferability.

The Cypriot student who chose to do his placement at the RSPB spoke positively in his reflective account about the skills he gained from working with younger people:

I was able to learn how I can attract notice from the children and make them want to learn more about the environment. One of the ways we used to attract notice from the children was the badge. For instance, we showed the children different animals’ pictures and we supported them to choose one and make their badge. The children were very impressed and very proud when they put on their badge. Also, we gave the children the opportunity to take photos with woodpeckers and learn more about the life of those birds.

Respondent F

The same student later summarised his personal gains:

First of all I have developed my communication skills because all the time I have to speak with the people about the birds and environmental problems. Also I learn a lot about the birds because in my university I didn’t have that opportunity. Moreover I learnt some tips how to attract people and how to keep their attention. I believe that everything I learnt from my volunteering with RSPB will be helpful in the future.

Respondent F

The Indian student who volunteered at the centre for the blind had an equally positive experience. On skills transfer, he wrote:

In terms of my personal development, I had gained a very useful work experience because it will be very beneficial for me if I worked in some other store or somewhere else. I have enhanced my skills in various areas. First of all, I have improved my communication skills while dealing with customers and also while talking with staff members. Secondly, I had built relationships with other staff members. Thirdly, I have managed my time very well while working in the charity shop.

Respondent G

Other transferable benefits were noted by a Cypriot student who also carried out her placement at the centre for the blind. In her journal, she alluded to exposure to the international language, which she claimed would help her in her business travels, enhanced communication skills developed through rapport with work colleagues, increased self-reliance, and acquisition of health-related vocabulary which she believed would help her in her graduate studies post later in the year.

Another Cypriot who volunteered at the centre for the blind was equally positive in her reflective survey. She wrote:

It was the first time that I had a job and I believe that I developed skills to my character that I never had before. For example, the time management. Because I had a specific work to do in a specific time, I was making my programme by basing on that. I also gained more initiative because I had to do some things but I was doing them in my way and sometimes I did what I thought that it was the most properly. In addition, I had the opportunity to practise my skills as a patient person. To be honest, I am not a patient person because I learn to have everything whenever I want in my life, but this time I saw that it was different. I became a little more mature and patient to those situations.

Respondent M

This learner clearly reveals self-development as a result of the placement. As well as noting gains in time management and initiative, her reflections on maturity and patience suggest that the experience had been worthwhile.

An Indian volunteer at Oxfam revealed in her reflective summary similar self-developmental benefits:

I learnt lots of things. Firstly, I am very introvert person. During my volunteer work I learnt to mix up with the unknown people. Secondly I learnt how to communicate and well present myself towards the customers. I also gained the habit of punctuality as well as to manage time. I had also gained practical knowledge how to work in the shop and how to judge the cost of any item. The most important learning for me is to concentrate and observe each and everything if we have to rush in the shop. I am also still learning many things like how to work under pressure, how to deal with the customer according to the situation and give the answers of their queries.

Respondent N

Meanwhile, the Chinese student volunteering at Barnardo’s revealed a genuine desire to transfer the knowledge gained in the UK back to her home country. She wrote:

In China there have a lot of shops of benefit of social welfare, the volunteers can work in the shop and help to sell some shoes, clothes and bags and so on, but I had not chance to do this. I want to have a try in the UK. That is good experiences. Importantly, I have many opportunities to see what kind of ideas can help us make money for children and the elder. Finally, when I come back to China, I would like to use what idea or experience I got in UK to improve the benefit of social welfare in China.

Respondent H

On practical benefits, she continued:

I was able to talk with some customers and I learnt how to use the gathering machine. Sometimes some customer asked my opinion about their clothes, I should give the right answer to help them choose their favourite. I got much useful experience and I like it.

Respondent H

Other self-development gains were mentioned by a Cypriot volunteer at Age Concern who explained how she learned to deal with difficult situations and difficult people while handling the pressures of time management, an Indian student whose placement at Oxfam enabled her to reflect upon relationship building and time management as well as to acknowledge gains in confidence, communication and cultural differences, and a Cypriot student who, during her placement at Oxfam, learnt the importance of teamwork and persuasion which she connected to future career goals.

Discussion and conclusions

The second phase of the research revealed much qualitative evidence of learners again acquiring language (note the Indian student’s interest in slang and the vocabulary gains made by the Cypriot at the RSPB) and demonstrating cultural awareness of the UK. There is also plenty of evidence of learners making a clear connection between their placements and personal, career-focused development. However, it is very difficult to assess whether the changes made to the survey in the second phase led to clear improvements in learners’ ability to reflect upon transferable gains as some of the input from the preparatory workshops, especially model samples, was repeated in some of the students’ surveys. As a result, we can infer that some students may have been more concerned with the practical task of passing the module than engaging in critical reflection. Other attempts to enhance the reflection process, notably Henderson, Napan and Monteiro’s (2004) assessment of students’ online learning journals through a 5-point level reflection scale (adapted from Bain, Ballantyne et al, 1999) and Maiden and Kinsey’s (2006) encouragement of reflective practice through e-portfolios, have met with some success and these ideas could be followed up. However, it seems equally important to focus on learner motivation as the data revealed that the more successful placements were those where the students took time to research their volunteer opportunities and found work which was closely connected with their interests (note the Cypriot who worked with young children at the RSPB and the Japanese student at the organic garden centre). Given this concern for learner motivation, perhaps this might now seem the right time to forge more cross-school partnerships between the English as a Foreign Language Department and other schools, such as Environmental Sciences, Sport/Health Sciences and Social Sciences, to develop placements closely linked to the learners’ subject areas. This could then be integrated with tasks that would enable international students to enhance both their language and subject knowledge while affording opportunities for them to reflect critically and develop personal, transferable skills.

Identification of respondents

Table

A: Taiwanese student: volunteering at a centre for the blind

B: Japanese student: volunteering at the organic garden centre

C: Japanese student: volunteering in a secondary school

D: Kurdistan student: outreach worker/support officer

E: Cypriot student: volunteering at local sports centre

F: Cypriot student: volunteering with RSPB

G: Indian student: volunteering at the centre for the blind

H: Chinese student: volunteering at Barnardo’s

I: Cypriot student: volunteering at the art house cinema

J: Cypriot student: volunteering with Age Concern

K: Cypriot student: volunteering at the centre for the blind

L: Cypriot student: volunteering with Oxfam

M: Cypriot student: volunteering at the centre for the blind

N: Indian student: volunteering with Oxfam

Biographies

David Finn

At the time of writing, David Finn was senior lecturer in the International Language Centre at the University of Wolverhampton, and coordinator of the summer short language courses. He has been at the forefront of developing accredited modules for international students to engage in learning through volunteering, and in early 2009 received the School’s Innovation of the Year Award for this work. He has since become director of English for academic purposes in the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University.

Pat Green

Pat Green has been active in curriculum development through community-based learning initiatives, nurturing partnerships with the voluntary and public sectors. She has published on issues and opportunities for teaching and learning through student volunteering in the community, and more recently co-authored ‘The role of volunteering in transitions from higher education to work’, a chapter in Transitions from education to work: new perspectives from Europe and Beyond, published by Palgrave Macmillan (2009). She is particularly interested in the connections between the academic learning experience and partnerships for learning with the wider voluntary and community sectors.