Running Head SERVICE LEARNING .docx

Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING
1
PAPER
30
The Perception of Educators on Service Learning for High
School Students
Student’s Name:
Institution:
Numerous studies examine the perception of educators on
service learning for high school students. According to a study
done by Schine (2016) service learning has become popular in
modern day society among educators of high school students.
The study postulates service learning as knowledge base for
teachers, which is regarded as systematic and effective in

designing effective teaching with the aim of achieving certain
set goals, is the formal empirical research on teaching
effectiveness. This goes hand in hand with the realizing of
learning goals. Schine (2016) conceptualized the teacher
knowledge and proposed four aspects which are: General
pedagogical knowledge in which the teacher understands how to
moderate discussions of students, how to design group works,
how to organize material for the students and how to utilize
texts and other sources used in teaching. Further, content
knowledge which includes the understanding of a domain’s
concepts, theories, principles,classic problems as well as
explanatory concepts that bring the major ideas together.
Pedagogical knowledge which is mainly based on the knowledge
of the types of ideas necessary for learners of different ages to
analyze, knowledge of ideas that are required for students’
understanding of a target area. It also imbibes skills to be able
to bring students to a reasoning process where they are able to
solve problems and noting differences and similarities and
disciplinary knowledge which includes the understanding of
methods and theories applied in class and the relationship that
they have.
According to Amtmann (2014), well grounded knowledge base
is vital for an intelligent actor, in this instance, an intelligent
teacher. Decisions in class should be made on a well grounded
knowledge base and this helps the teacher to be able to take
control of the various circumstances in class. The knowledge
base of teaching involves the required cognitive knowledge for
creating operative teaching and learning environments. This is
crucial because it focuses on the mechanisms that explain how
comprehension of information and knowledge gained in
classrooms can be put into good use of the society through
identification of the channels through which the information can
be used for the betterment of the society.
According to Ball (2018), the instructional design approach
hypothesizes education as a decision-oriented or prescriptive
engineering science particularly aimed at achieving practical

educational ends in efficient ways. Education in this instance is
viewed as a system that is built by many elements. The
researcher acknowledges the instructional design theory, which
also recognizes ideas of constructivism, as a theory invokes
decisions on how to teach selected educational content. In
summary, the instructional design approach is a process that
analyzes the stages and components of learning and what one
includes in the planning and implementation of a lecture. It
entails gathering up and analysis of learning goals and
outcomes, how one conducts a lectureand how one assesses the
learners and also the revision of learning and instructional
material. It confirms the distinction between a theory of
instructional design and a theory of learning and they require
one to know how these two are connected, which is what
instructional design theory does not do.
Barkley (2018) propose similar approaches of the design of
teaching, but they also differ in some aspects. Tomlinson
suggests the Learning Promotion Potential which tried to deal
with the relationship between learning theory and pedagogy, in
which teaching involves strategies that try to systematically
work together towards attainment of the intended learning
outcomes. Teaching in this case is explained as a process that is
purposeful, that promotes learning, in which learning was
regarded as a process where one, through action or experience,
gains knowledge and capabilities. The approach that embraces
an adaptive teaching movement which was propounded during
the 1970s, are of the notion that learners differ in qualities
relevant to learning and also in different learning-teaching
processes they are exposed to.
Bennett and Gallagher (2017) take this further and suggests that
teaching as a purposeful interaction involves various factors,
the top being the teacher, one or more learners, intended
learning outcomes, an interactive learning/teaching process
which happens in a certain context and useful resources for that
goal. All these, when combined, affect the learning outcomes.
They contend that teaching is a process that includes the

learner, who through activities and experiences in class is
equipped with new skills and abilities. For the learner to be
equipped with these capabilities, the teacher and the learner
have to work hand in hand in engaging in different activities.
Tomlinson also highlights the basic teaching and learning
functions that include acting on the situation for both the
teacher and the learner to reach their intended goal, read the
situation for any adjustments and adaptations that might be
necessary in the process. On the part of the teacher, the basic
teaching functions of influencing the learner’s learning and
monitoring the learners progress are looked into. That being
said, service learning, although it tried to explain the
relationship between learning theory and teaching design, it
could not satisfactorily deal with the relationship between
learning and teaching because it did not highlight the
differences between the two as well as how the relationship is.
The service learning also failed to analyze the design of
teaching because, in the first place, it did not explain the
distinction between types of learning and types of educational
goals for one to be able to be informed by these when coming
up with a teaching design. The study therefore highlight the
differences between learning and teaching by way of
differentiating the activities that make up a lecture and the inner
learning processes of the learner. These basis models include
problem solving, development of skills and use of learning
strategies. In combining these, Brooks et al. (2015) suggest that
successful teaching involves both the basis models and the
visible form of teaching events. How the teacher’s visible
events are carried out differs depending on how the teacher
conducts a lecture as long as it engages with the basis models.
According to Brooks et al. (2015) model offer interesting ideas
but some of them are difficult to distinguish, for example
learning strategy use and learning of skill and some base models
are put together in terms of a certain manner of teaching
assistance and that is an opposition to pure learning process.
In 1995, Cooper (2015) proposed various changes to the

competencies that were in place for the betterment of the
learning and teaching of subjects. Action competence, which is
the ability to understand and effect meaningful speech acts,
should be, according to him part of the communicative
competence. The competencies mentioned above are vital in
subjects learning because they equip one with necessary
competencies for effective communication in and outside the
classroom and to have a deeper understanding of language use
in different contexts. One can conclude that these above
mentioned competences emphasize mainly the use of language
in or outside teaching and learning conditions. Although these
qualities can be commended, it is imperative for the learners to
know the context and how to use the acquired language and
language skills appropriately. There is need for the learners to
be able to skillfully and practically utilize their knowledge and
understanding of the acquired language. This can be achieved
by practically engaging with activities that make the students
speak or write appropriately and at the same time showing the
knowledge and skills necessary for a well competent-equipped
learner. The study also suggests that students need to advance
their knowledge in capacities that have to do with their
intercultural communicative competence: personal knowledge
and appreciation of how the socialization process takes place in
societies. In this instance, students are expected to develop
skills that would enable them to interpret and perceive a
different culture and in this case, the Subjects culture, and
should be able to relate it to their own culture. Students should
also know how to make sense of the lessons from school to help
society. This implies that students have to be able to identify
new information and be able to relate it to what they already
know. Students should also know how to engage with the
political consequences of education; being critically aware of
cultural behaviors. This comes when the students read or get to
know about the Subjects culture. Knowing how to discover
cultural information is also essential for students and knowing
how to be: how to relativize oneself and value the attitudes and

beliefs of the other is considered vital for subjects learners. In
summary, it is important to equip the students with the
intercultural communicative competences that include the
linguistic, sociolinguistic, grammatical, discourse, action and
intercultural competences mentioned above. These competences
enable the students to function effectively in a multi-cultural
society. The students are expected to have acquired intercultural
competences to establish the similarities in differences between
the own and target culture, to analyze new cultural phenomena,
traditions and behaviors from other communities also included.
The students should also acquire the ability to develop empathy
for the others, which enables one to recognize their cultural
traditions in contrast to the own community tradition and the
knowledge of own historical roots. Through this knowledge, the
students should be in a position to obtain more objectified
image of own culture, customs, traditions and ways of thinking,
tolerate or deal with other cultures as well as to have the ability
to have peaceful contact with the representatives of other
cultures and cope with cross cultural misunderstandings.
Gibb et al. (2016) suggest that the teaching of Subjects as a
subjects is not only intended to assert the cultural and linguistic
attributes of the Subjectss and the Subjects-speaking
communities. They argue that it is created in order to relate to
the experiences of subjects learners. This can be interpreted as a
criticism of the concept of multi-perspective in intercultural
literature because he propagates a concept of Subjects literature
which is not reciprocal, whereby foreign students of Subjects
literature should benefit from Subjects literature Foreign
students develop new ways of looking at the target culture and
also new perspectives on the target culture. The study opines
that the assertions are one sided and they only focus on subjects
learners of Subjects rather than focusing also on Subjectss
learning other languages and cultures, therefore the study
presents one side of a culture in service learning. This is
precisely the study rejects this concept and instead advocated
for a concept that benefits both the Subjects and other cultures

involved on the basis of mutual respect in embracing service
learning. The study also argues that intercultural
communication recognizes the existence and deviation of
different cultural spheres and it does not misconceive, misjudge
or repudiate any culture.
According to Gumm (2017), the teaching and learning of
subjects for a certain time was only effective through use of
service learning. The teacher was responsible for the knowledge
that the learners acquired and learners tended to understand
what they acquired from the teacher. It was later revealed that
learners progressively forgot what they learnt in class and new
ways of teaching subjects had to be devised. The postulated a
systematic and innovative way of teaching and learning
subjects. Each individual has personal biases and
predispositions, which inadvertently affect their comprehension
of diverse phenomena. The constructivist learning theory views
learning as connected with experience that one has. It is
individual and subjective knowledge to cooperate and interact
with one another to transmit what one knows to one another.
Johnson (2016) concurs with this and says that it is important
for the learners to socialize and it’s vital in all learning
processes, that is how most students learn. The study also
emphasizes the need for openness of teachers to the new
situations and difficulties that arise during the lectures or
learning processes. The study concludes that service learning is
important in evaluating the authenticity in student participation.
Legette and McCord (2014) concentrated on students’
participation in class through service learning and highlighted
the aspects that are necessary for students when learning in
class. Students in the 11th grade gained advanced level skills to
due utilization of service learning. The students were expected
to bring their experience and knowledge they already have. For
the purpose of this study, the researcher focused on the part
where the learners brought their knowledge in class in
accordance to the study’s constructive didactics. The teacher

assigned the students a task to describe the ideal teacher. The
teacher, in as much as he was interested in content and the
knowledge of the students, he was more interested in the
vocabulary training of the students. This was brought out
through the conduction of interviews, not from the teacher
himself, but from the researchers. Before the study, the students
exhibited great difficulties in communication in the target
language, English, and their participation in class was
insufficient. Due to the failure to use English appropriately, it
can be noted that the learners’ vocabulary was not sufficient for
them to carry out tasks in class. It was the task of the teacher
therefore, to include tasks that boost the vocabulary of the
learners. From the findings, although students had great
difficulties in communication, they were able to express and
explain their answers in an understandable manner. The topic
made the students forget about their communication deficiency
and were able to air out their views. The study can be
commended for making an effort to bring the learners to talking
but a more suitable way could have been to let the students
discuss in class and reach a conclusion. Although the students
were made to participate, it would have been easier for the
students to discuss with one another and not being interviewed
by a teacher or teachers so that the students speak freely
without any reservations.
Constructive didactics emphasizes the learning of subjects in an
active environment where learners are expected to participate
and involve themselves in creating meaning and knowledge in
the target language. Constructivists advocate for learning
strategies which were first introduced in 1950 to describe
actions which are undertaken to achieve set learning goals.
Malone et al. (2018) rightly posit that the main objective of
education, in all its diverse forms, should be to ensure the
independence of the learner. The study explains that there is
always need to break any barriers that are likely to prevent
students from embracing holistic accumulation of knowledge
and skills through the service learning approach. Although

constructive teaching can be commended for devising a way of
learning language through active participation of students,
impart in students the capability to make decisions on their own
and show unity among themselves, it does not tell us how these
can be practically implemented. Of course the learners are
expected to participate in class, it is the duty of the teacher to
develop a teaching strategy that brings the learners into
discussion. The constructive didactics does not provide one with
the method of selecting what to teach, how to teach, and the
content that should be included in order to enhance students’
participation in class.
Mizelle and Irvin (2016) discusses five strengths of
collaborative teaching approaches which are relevant for
language learners. He argues that team teaching is relevant
because it enables team members to take advantage of
individual teacher strength in both pedagogical planning and
working with learners. It enhances creativity in teaching,
teachers know that they will be teaching for their colleagues
and teachers. Collaborative teaching helps to develop a
conducive environment for both teachers and learners in
classrooms through the facilitation of individualized
instruction. Team teaching also helps in validating perceptions
of the learners by at least one other team member and builds
programme continuity over time.
Moody (2016) undertook a study to examine how the service
learning framework can be used to boost student understanding
and appreciation of the environment and societies in which they
come from. The study used random sampling to select students
who had undergone learning using the service learning approach
and other who had not used the approach. The findings
indicated that students who were taught by educators who
embraced the approach were more knowledgeable and
performed better in classwork and in exams compared to those
who had not used the approach. A conclusion was drawn that
the service learning approach should be perceived as better in
improving student performance. It was also found to play

important role in helping students understand their culture,
language and appreciate the differences between their culture
and those of other students. Students who had undergone
through the service learning approach were better at interacting
and tolerating with other students compared to those who had
not embraced the approach in learning. Equally important, it
was noted that students who had embraced the service learning
approach were showing signs of responsibility and social
awareness compared to those who had not experienced learning
from the service learning point of view. Co-teaching in this
distinct environment did not yield better results in the
grammatical proficiency than the single instruction approach.
The presence of more teachers might have disturbed the
learners. Co-teaching requires the teachers to plan, teach and
evaluate students’ performance after they have reached a
consensus on how to do so. The findings of the study indicated
that the training of the educators who are actively engaged in
imparting information and skills to students in high schools is
also important in ensuring that the service learning process is
effective. Specifically, the teachers must understand the cultural
background of the students in terms of norms, virtues, morals
and acceptable code of conduct. This is important in that it
helps the teachers design learning methodologies that reflect
life realities that students experience in the communities.
Special emphasis should be directed towards ensuring the
school syllabus, the learning outcomes and objectives, as well
as the manner in which the content is delivered to students in
classrooms meets important societal values. The study further
found that training of teachers is of paramount importance so
that they can be able to understand the cognitive level of
development of the students and thus be able to deliver the
content in a manner that promotes student understanding. The
teaching process should equally involve the learners with the
aim of ensuring that they have relevant information and skills.
Educators should encourage learners to ask questions so that
they can better understand the concepts being taught to them

and thus be able to proceed and put them into useful application
in various nooks of societal ways of life. This way, the study
opines that the service learning approach can be very effective
and can yield outcomes that benefit students and societies in
which they live. The researcher noted with concern, that from
the two reports on collaborative teaching mentioned above,
team teaching benefited the teachers more than it benefited the
students. A method that benefits the students and the teachers is
vital.
Moore et al. (2018) argue from a constructivist point of view,
that the methods mentioned above are better than the traditional
way of teaching and learning which is tedious and rigid. The
traditional way of learning, like what the learners of subjects at
the high schools are used to, does not link what they learn with
their real-life situation which could make the lecture more live
and enjoyable; instead, it focuses on nothing more than what is
given in the text. Literature in this new curriculum is a core
course and the researcher intends to introduce an intercultural
approach in the teaching and learning of subjects at the high
schools.
Navan (2017) argues that the traditional method used at high
schools can be commended for equipping the students with
skills on how to look for themes in literary texts, although
students were used to analyze one or more literary texts without
necessarily comparing them. It is also important to note that the
texts that were chosen, especially poems, although the students
failed to appreciate them, were commendable for learners due to
their ease. What was missing was the suitable method of
teaching poems in a class. Service learning is meant to improve
the level of proficiency and intercultural competence of
students but the way in which it was being taught seemed to be
inadequate in achieving this goal. Taking cognizance of the
shortcomings of the teaching methods and tools that were being
used, the present study proposed another pedagogical method of
teaching literature which could be effective particularly in high
schools. Through an incorporation of intercultural perspectives,

it was envisaged that the students would create the best
appreciation of lessons and culture and a self-reflection of
understanding of their own culture. Since the didactics of
literature at high schools needed improvement, it was necessary
for the study to look closely in literature didactics.
Pearman et al. (2017) opine that for students to be sufficiently
motivated to find classes pleasurable, interesting and engaging,
they have to be able to relate their everyday life to what they
are learning in class. The learning environment should at least
be sound and energetic and the learners are the ones who are
able to create such an environment with the help of the teacher.
In addition to what learners in high schools experience in a
subjects class. The study also recommends that when learning a
subject, the importance of procedural knowledge should be
highlighted. They argue that the main problems faced by
learners of subjects are mostly in speech and writing and these
are caused by extreme lack of declarative knowledge, which
relates to vocabulary, phonological, morphological, syntactical,
semantic and textual knowledge of the target language.
Ross and Smith (2015) argue about is important for service
learning of subjects in class. When highlighting the importance
of procedural knowledge, students should be encouraged not
only to focus on their lack of critical thinking and analytical
skills, but rather encouraged to find ways of how to deal with
their difficulties in learning a subjects. Intercultural
communicative competence is a method that is worth
recognizing especially in this study because it informs the
teacher about what needs to be worked on and if achieved it
makes the students competent. It can be used as a yardstick on
how to teach target culture as well as to students to know how it
has helped them enhance their linguistic and cultural knowledge
towards the target language and other subjects in schools.
Russell (2014) carried out a study that sought to analyze the
relevance of intercultural communicative competence in
subjects classes. The study addressed two research questions on
how Iranian teachers perceive the intercultural communicative

competence and its importance to the teachers as well as if the
Iranian teachers’ experience influence their perception of
intercultural communicative competence and its relevance to
English language teaching. About hundred Iranian English as
subjects teachers participated through the use of questionnaires
within the period of one week. The questionnaires asked for
information on how the teachers perceived the objectives of
subjects teaching, what they think of “culture teaching”
objectives in an English. It also asked other subjects teaching
context, what types of activities do these teachers use while
delivering content to students, what particular aspects do they
teach and their opinion regarding the intercultural dimensions in
subjects teaching. The study found that there is need to hold
workshops for the teachers’ intercultural communicative
competence and intercultural teaching. The results of the study
were impossible to generalize due to small sample size. The
results also relied on self-report data which might not entirely
represent the teachers’ perceptions. Qualitative instruments, for
example, interviews and observations are recommended to
complement the analysis of results obtained from the research
tools. The study does not explicitly tell if all the teachers knew
what intercultural communicative competence is and how long
these teachers have been engaged in the teaching of subjects.
The study should have also analyzed the teaching sequences
used by each teacher and from there deduce if the necessary
goals for a particular lecture are being reflected or not. It is
important therefore to find out if the teachers are aware of the
intercultural communicative competence before they embark on
teaching the students.
Shoho et al. (2017) argue that a literary text enables subjects
learners to be flexible in thinking when analyzing or reading a
text. He argues that allowing the learners to think independently
is commendable but it can be difficult if the subjects learners’
proficiency in that subjects is low. In as much as he considers
aesthetic reading as suitable for subjects learners nonetheless
points out its limitations especially when dealing with the

deficient reader abilities of students of a subjects. Introducing
vocabulary to a text or texts being read is common and fuels up
a class discussion but it removes the whole meaning of aesthetic
reading. The vocabulary range may restrict the students to a
kind of relationship that they might have to the text. The reader
might be influenced in accepting certain ways of thinking.
Students should be allowed to read and understand texts without
being given vocabulary for them to develop a kind of
relationship with the texts that enables them not only to relate it
to their day to day livelihood but also to engage with various
language and cultural aspects presented in the texts. This can
happen if students are given texts that suit their level of
language proficiency. The study asserts that students should be
given texts that cater for their linguistic and cultural
understanding and this can be done through an environment
where the students are active and able to critically examine the
texts without any reservations. Students failed to really
appreciate the text because it was not of their level of
proficiency. A vocabulary list was provided and the students
had to read the text more than once or twice in order to
understand it.. It is also important to acknowledge the role of
the teacher in a subjects class. The teacher and the students
work together in order to achieve the targeted goal. As can be
noted from the teaching and learning method that was employed
in the study, the teaching method can be commended for giving
students a Subjects literary text but however, the text was not of
the level of language proficiency of the students. The students
wrote in their questionnaires that they found the text extremely
difficult to comprehend. The problem of the use of literary texts
in teaching is that usually is that it can be difficult for students
to appreciate its importance if they are unable to relate it with
their societies, environment and life in particular. This means it
is important for learners and educators to embrace service
learning approach with the aim of making classes and education
to be more meaningful in the lives through being able to relate
it with their lives and society in general. Some criteria have to

be analyzed while choosing texts, for example, the ways of life
of the students from the communities in which they live in, as
well as language skills and background.
A study that was based on the service learning approach was
carried out by Smith et al. (2016), in Bangladesh ASA
University for students who were learning English as a subject
and the purpose was to develop the students’ English skills for
the education sector in Bangladesh. Students from the first,
second and third semesters participated in this study. To
ascertain whether there had been an improvement in the
language, a simple test was carried out before the students
embarked on the study, and a similar test was also carried out
after the study. Since the study was carried out amongst
students of different levels, it obviously implies that their level
of proficiency varied. The main objectives of the study were for
the learners to attain proficiency in language skills and for other
learners it was an introductory exercise to literature. Students
were not only taught literature, supplementary material was also
provided which was in the form of culture friendly stories,
rhymes and jokes. Students were tasked to write their opinions
on different characters or incidents in texts. They were engaged
in discussions pertaining to their own experiences. The students
were able to carry out the task with enthusiasm, they obtained
responses from the colleagues, and the teacher helped the
students in some instances on how to use the language without
discouraging them and this made the students express
themselves. Students were made to analyze the themes, the style
of writing and analyze images. This made them engage more
effectively with the text. Students had different tasks such as
guessing from the title, visual prompts, key words, listing
words, storytelling with objects, thematic discussions, reading
the story aloud, literary and non-literary texts, relating the
events from the story, making a story time line, retelling the
story, role play and making presentations. From these exercises,
the researcher was able to find out that literary texts were of
much help when learning a subjects. Through working in pairs

and groups, students were involved in the discussion. The
students gradually improved their oral production,
comprehension, grammar, semantics, syntax and vocabulary of
the target language.
Smith et al. (2017) suggest that while carrying out service
learning, educators should give students vocabulary removes the
whole essence of aesthetic reading so learners who were in their
third year of learning the language should not be spoon fed with
vocabulary lists. It is not clear if the students were grouped
according to their levels of proficiency and if the tasks and
texts were given according to the students’ level of proficiency.
The researcher could have looked more at the use of
intercultural approach or rather a comparative study of literary
texts were the learners could get to know more about the target
culture to avoid the gaps in knowledge of target culture. This
intercultural approach employed in this study does not offer one
a systematic way of teaching literature in a subjects class as
well as a well-structured concept on how to go about a literature
lecture. With the recommendations, one learns that in this
research, the use of literary texts from two different cultural
backgrounds could be useful. Through discussion in class and
being tasked to identify similarities and differences and
similarities in differences the learners’ knowledge of the
language and culture as well as interpretation skills were
enhanced. The study also sought to encourage learner centered
activities in high schools.
Villa et al. (2015) discusses service learning approached in
Turkey. Teachers at high schools adapted the approach and also
gave students texts from different cultural backgrounds, poems
in subjects, written by a poet or poets with a Turkish
background. These poems included cultural aspects. In general,
cultural knowledge is relevant when using the cultural approach
to teaching a subjects and for the learners, understanding of
culture leads one to learn a subject. This is key for students who
study literature in a subjects class because they do not only
appreciate learning a target language but also the culture and

will be able to mediate between the two cultures.
Wade and Anderson (2017) points out the difficulties that most
students face when using the service learning approach to gain
knowledge can be addressed through incorporating the cultural
learning approach to the cultural ways of life of the students.
For one to better understand a language or be able to
communicate or work efficiently in different countries with
different cultural backgrounds, it is important for one to know
more about the target culture. Literary texts within the context
of subjects taught through service learning should not
necessarily be chosen without making consultations with the
learners. It is important to choose literary texts that make the
subjects learners know the target language, that help them speak
about their culture and discuss the themes that are well known
to them in the target language. Students should be given texts
written in the target language, that illustrate the learners’
cultural history or anything that has to do with the culture of the
learner first, then the teacher can move on and give them
something on the target culture. This is to ensure that learners
have a smooth transition from familiar issues about their own
culture to the unfamiliar subjects involving the target language
and culture. Examples of tasks were given to learners in a class
and it was found that the service learning approach is effective
in instilling knowledge to students. Learners should be capable
and in a position to analyze the tasks given to them from an
intercultural and transcultural point of view using service
learning skills.
Yorio (2014) emphasizes the use of migration literature in
teaching a subjects that also incorporates the teaching of
culture. He points out that migration literature provides high
school students with the voice and reflections of the
transcultural experiences and a post-colonial identity of
subjects. The use of migration literature can be commended
depending on the level of learners in a subjects class. The study
further asserts that the idea that literary texts are selected
depending on each particular group of students, their needs,

interests, cultural background and language level. Based on the
findings of the study, teachers should look at the student’s
cultural background, linguistic proficiency, literacy
background, age and level of understanding, interesting texts as
well as the availability and suitability of the text. The reasons
for learning literature in a subjects class have to be questioned.
For some learners, they have already acquired the highest level
of language proficiency and they only want to gain more from
the migration literature, whereas the others are aiming at
improving their cultural awareness and interpretation skills. For
this reason, and in line with service learning approach there is
need for a dialogue. The study also promotes the learning of
culture aspects of life using the service learning approach.
Through this, there is an exposure to the stereotypes of a
people. It also explains why the stereotypes influence actions of
students in high schools.
Zogla (2016) introduced an approach of teaching a subjects and
culture to promote intercultural communication which did not
only include the “me” and the “you” where students only
communicate with each other so that they get to know each
other better. After knowing each other, communication
afterwards will be delusive or empty. The study also introduced
the “triangular didactic” where the “you” and the “me” and a
common theme meet and are conducted together. Subjects
learners therefore are given a chance to work together while
pursuing a common theme. By working together, cultural
differences and cultural conflicts are brought to light. Based on
a triangular didactic, the study examined how young people
experienced international youth exchanges as arenas for
learning in relation to other learning arenas in and out of
school. The data consisted of participant observations and
interviews of a Norwegian youth group who prepared,
participated in and reflected on their experiences in an exchange
program. The ethnographic study also included an analysis of
how the Norwegian youth group reflected to the lives in their
native societies through interaction programs. The findings of

the study indicated that embracing the service learning
framework was important and beneficial to the society. The
main reason behind this was that students were able to gain
information and knowledge in classrooms after which they were
released to go to the society and put the knowledge into use.
This happened through identification of channels and
procedures through which the information and skills gained
could be of great benefit to the society. Creative application of
ideas gained in classrooms into programs that could benefit the
society was found to be integral in the success equation of
service learning framework. Through participation in the youth
programs, motivation for learning is increased as well as
personal growth and self-understanding. The experience of
being in contact with a foreign culture is an added advantage
when analyzing a text because one may be able to apply such an
experience to the text and reflect on their own experience. This
is important to the students in high schools in enabling them to
learn critical thinking.
Dori and Kaberman, (2015) affirm that service learning can be
viewed from different perspectives. In all aspects, it enhances
the learning of a subjects and culture. Through literature, it is
possible to be conscious of what is happening around in him/her
and is able to know more about their own culture. Literature
explains phenomena that are foreign to an individual. Through
literature one is able to integrate into another world that is not
his own and is able to understand the way of life of others. The
more one knows/ reads about a certain culture, the more one is
able to interpret the events that take place in that particular
culture, enrich their knowledge and be able to reflect on their
own culture. It is thus advisable, that when the lecture is for
language and culture, learners should be given tasks that enable
them to compare and contrast both cultures. The comparison of
cultural norms, values and conventions was important in both
the target and the learner’s own culture. Festivals, traditions,
customs and family life are some of the topics that should be
included in the discussions across cultures and contexts in class.

Daniel (2014) argues that this method of giving poems
broaching stereotypes to students offers a chance for testing
presuppositions the students would have made about the
subjects. With this kind of method of teaching, where students
are given a poem about stereotypes and asked to comment on it,
we can see that stereotypes can be changed into critical
thinking. He says. This implies that for the students to better
appreciate culture, they initially have to intimately know their
own culture and be able to explain their lived experiences so
that when reading about the Subjects culture, they can be able
to relate to it without difficulties. Students were required to
look at both cultures, compare and contrast the cultures and
effectively be in a position to infer conclusions from diverse
perspectives and points of views. In order to ensure that
students have rudimentary knowledge of Subjects history and
culture, many course books started to include short literary
stories. Reading these literary texts evoke students to be
involved in a discussion and it offers them vocabulary on
culture and history. The inclusion of literary narratives or
cultural narratives in the work books seems to be a noble and
worthwhile endeavor given that it seeks to equip students with
necessary vocabulary as well as cultural and historical
competences. The present study acknowledged the use of
literary texts in a subjects class although its main aim was to
enhance critical thinking in students which was made possible
when the learners acquired a better and comprehensive
appreciation of their own culture and foreign cultures as well.
Moustafa et al. (2014) propose that students who are learning
subjects in high schools should be introduced to short texts in
each chapter that is meant to give students knowledge about the
content of the subject, vocabulary that will make students
engage themselves in a discussion be it about beliefs and values
that are common in subjects or about the attitude of the
subjects. This would create a platform for the students to
compare the subjects using their own understanding. In order to
achieve the objective of ensuring that students understand what

is being taught and that they appreciate it, the service learning
approach is more effective as it gives students the opportunity
to put what they have learned in class into good use through
connecting its relevance to the real world where they live in. It
can be noted that literature of a subjects is important when
learning a subjects. What seems problematic is how literature
can be integrated in subjects learning. It appears to be a
somewhat appropriate start for students to get to know about the
target culture. They present the target culture only without
including the local culture of the learners. If both cultures are
included in the textbooks then it is guaranteed that students will
engage themselves in a conversation where they will be
discussing their culture and the target culture. It should be
encouraged that the publishing houses include at least two or
more cultures in the textbook for subjects learners including the
culture of the learners. It is also to note that it is enough for
teachers to be aware of other cultures and incorporate these
ideas when teaching. The researcher however acknowledges that
it might not be necessarily easy for publishing houses to include
diverse cultural references and repertoires given that publishers
are not sure in which parts of the world books will be used.
Holston and Neil (2013) undertook a study that revealed that
cultural competence is vital for the learning and teaching of a
subjects. For the learners to acquire this kind of knowledge
literary texts are used as a medium of conveying target culture.
It is the duty of the teacher to set goals that the learners should
reach at the end of each lecture. The teacher should create a
convivial environment in which learners are able express their
views about the target culture, note/identify stereotypes and
overcome them. Within the framework of service learning in
classroom, learners should be able to identify important aspects
of a literary text or other tasks on their own. The tasks given to
them should relate to the real world so that they can be able to
appreciate the importance. It is imperative that learners are able
to tolerate the “other” and at the same time respect the “other’s”
views. Giving the learners something simple but thought

provoking to promote critical thinking is important.
Intercultural competence helps the students to be able to discuss
in the target language. in as much as poems are important for
the students studying subjects in high schools, the teacher, as
mentioned above, expects the students that by the end of the
lecture, should have acquired an intercultural knowledge that
enable them to reciprocate effectively in different cultural
settings. According to the teacher, the level of understanding
for the students’ needs a comparative analysis of poems to boost
the intercultural competence. Analyzing one poem, written in
Subjects, although simple, will not help the students studying
Subjects at high schools to achieve the goals set by the teacher.
The literary text should be used as a medium to investigate the
experiences and stereotypes of the “other,” assess people from
other cultures and demystify certain things and at the same time
doing a reality check. Intercultural competence involves
respecting other cultures even when there are certain aspects
that one does not understand or that one disagrees with, there is
need for one to criticize their orientation towards a foreign
culture and to question what one already knows about the
culture.
Morton and Troppe (2016) comment that the didactics of
literature in a subjects class should focus on the aesthetic
reading of the text incorporating intercultural understanding and
the interpretation of a text in a sociocultural context. In as much
as it is important for subjects learners to learn about stereotypes
and literature in a subjects class, it is also of vital importance
for the learners to learn more about their own culture in order
for them to be able to appreciate the target culture more.
According to the present study’s participants’ competence, a
service learning approach was more relevant for them to be able
enhance their cultural awareness and interpretation skills. The
study also sought to create a dialogue between the mother
tongue language and culture and the culture of the target
subjects, the intercultural literary theory and the intercultural
approach seem to be suitable in order to improve subjects

learning through the use of literary texts from a language of
habitual use and the target language. Service learning plays an
important role in the teaching and learning of subjects.
However, language teachers encounter problems within this area
of teaching subjects through literature. Firstly, there are few
materials that can be used by teachers in classrooms. Secondly,
there is a lack of preparation in the area of literature teaching in
subjects classes because from the studies reviewed in this
chapter, there is no research/approach that has explicitly
elaborated on lesson planning and lesson preparation. Thirdly,
there is the absence of specified objectives defining the role of
literature in subjects classes and most teachers try to include
literature in their classroom, but they lack the background and
training in that field. It is important to highlight the
characteristics of learning a foreign culture in class. Culture
learning can be regarded as a process of interpretation. Service
learning enables learners to understand why the speakers of two
different languages act and react the way they do, whether in
fictional texts or in social encounters, and what the
consequences of these insights may mean for the learner.”
During this process, the learners are enabled to interpret and
make sense of their inner and outside world. Another
characteristics is that cultural knowledge can also be regarded
as a constructive learning in which learners, through their past
experiences, are able to share information and each individual is
able to construct his/her meaning cognitively. The study
embraces service learning in the use of everyday language as
important since it makes students participate using the
grammatical knowledge that they had. The teacher’s duties were
also highlighted, which makes it inevitable to discuss the
learners’ role in class without discussing the roles of the teacher
in class. Loopholes in the method of teaching which include the
inappropriate use of interviews and lack of motivating tasks for
students in class.
Raskoff and Sundeen (2017) stereotypes are essential tools in
the motivation of learners in a subjects class. Stereotypes could

and should be used as factors to motivate learners in a subjects
class. It is also important to consider the content when teaching
culture in a class because the cultural content need to include
the learners’ socio-cultural context as well. From the literature
review, it can be drawn that the synthesis of the learner’s
culture, the target culture and the input from the learner
him/herself play a major role in cultural understanding.
Collaborative teaching is suitable when the teachers agree on
the course outline on how to teach and evaluate students while
avoiding disturbing the learners by being unorganized in
conducting lectures. The teaching of subjects in high schools is
based on service learning approaches in which language
learning was attached to learning a certain grammatical
structure, learn or memorize a list of words or expressions. It
aims at developing the four language skills of reading and
listening comprehension as well as writing and oral expression
or production. Some texts books, as previously mentioned, went
on a step further to include some cultural aspects. The cultural
aspects were however monolithically one sided given that the
culture represented in the books is only the foreign culture. In
order for one to be able to enhance the four language skills
mentioned above as well as the cultural knowledge, this study
contends that an intercultural approach is the most suitable
method for the teaching of topics in classes. With this, it was
hoped that the students would be able to negotiate meaning with
other people from different cultural backgrounds.
Deemer and Ostrowski (2014) support the idea that learning
materials have to incorporate aspects of the home culture
through service learning in order to ensure students gain
knowledge that is relevant to the environment in which they
live. He contends that the intercultural component in second
language education requires teachers and learners to pay
attention to and respect the home culture and the home
language. The study sees service learning approach as involving
practice as an important tenet that ensures students gain
knowledge and appreciate the environment and world that

surrounds them. Reading cultural books or attending lectures
about culture is not adequate. They assert that it is essential to
come across new or unknown situations, to know how it feels to
be insecure, scared and experience rejection, to be able to feel
secure, experience trust and sympathy and to be able to deal
with culture on another level.
Garrett (2013) carried out ana analysis of the relevance of
service learning in imparting communicative competence and
the teaching of culture in class has proven that teachers need to
be equipped with intercultural communicative competence tools
although the study did not provide more information on the
organization of the lectures and the duration of the experiences
of learners from the time they started teaching. The cognitive
type of learning was relevant for the study and this consisted of
knowledge - which is when one recalls certain information,
comprehension - when one is able to understand the meaning of
a given context, translate, interpret problems in a given context.
One is also expected to state a problem in one’s own words.
Application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation are other
cognitive domains. Application involves the use of information
learnt in class to novels or in this case literary texts, analysis
comprises of the distinction between facts and inferences for a
better understanding of texts or situations presented in texts.
Synthesis brings parts of diverse elements together for one to
create a new meaning or structure that can be explained.
Evaluation includes drawing a conclusion on various
discussions or ideas presented in certain situation in literary
texts.
Mazurkiewicz (2017) argues that the service learning approach
and framework is effective because it comprises lesson
activities that the teacher devised and employed in the lectures.
The teacher is informed and guided by theory of instruction
which makes the delivery of content and concepts more
effective. This further helps students make sense of new
information they read from the texts and be able to relate the
information to something they already know, hence making a

smooth transition from what they knew to what they did not
know. The teacher in this case has to ask questions that link the
learners’ previous understanding to the learners’ new
information on the topic of discussion. Presentation of content
in a systematic and motivating manner helps in class. Giving
examples of real life situations plays an important role in
helping the students appreciate what is taught and how it
reflects to their lives in the societies in which they live in.
In conclusion, service learning is an effective approach of
imparting knowledge to students and helping them appreciate its
relevance in their lives in the society. It is effective because it
helps create learning objectives and course outlines in a manner
that reflects important aspects of the society in which students
live in, including culture and language. Educators of students in
high schools should thus embrace service learning framework in
classes.
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