Enhancing Language and Cultural Learning Through Community Service: Talent Donation

Community service (CS) projects have been shown to enhance foreign language (FL) learners’ linguistic development and intercultural awareness; however, such opportunities are limited in context where access to native-speaking communities is scarce. This article presents a CS initiative grounded in the concept of Talent Donation, in which Korean as a foreign language (KFL) learners at a U.S. college designed and implemented support for K–12 students who lacked access to Korean education. Through their participation, the KFL learners strengthened their linguistic and cultural knowledge while developing a sense of self-efficacy and social responsibility as community contributors. Reflections collected from both the college students and the K–12 participants show that CS–Talent Donation projects can foster meaningful learning and civic engagement, even in the absence of interaction with native speakers. This project further illustrates the pedagogical potential of CS-based initiatives, highlighting both the potential for CS-focused courses and the positive impact of college–K–12 collaborations on younger students’ academic development and interests.