Abstract:

To increase motivation and learning of students enrolled in Spanish college courses, a community service project was implemented because learning through experiences (Kolb, 1984) improves retention and higher achievement in the subject matter and allowing students to select the topic of discussion aids in motivation and promotes learner autonomy. (Dornyei, 1998) Through Project-Based instruction students chose the topic that they had to develop, which increased their motivation in the subject (Railsback, 2002), and it also helped them to understand similarities and differences between the two languages.

In this project called “Voices of Penn State/ Voces de Penn State”, community members, faculty, and students used a recording studio called One Button Studio to promote literacy in Spanish and English by discussing acts of speech such as invitations, making hotel reservations, opening a bank account, and other presentations to help the members of the local community interact with each other. These video recordings were posted to a public blog and made available to the community through local resources.

Initial questionnaires based on students’ perceptions show a high degree of interest and participation in these projects.

Keywords:

Motivation, Project-Based Instruction, Experiential Learning.