Social Work Collaboration

During the Spring 2025 semester, ESL 13103 students, led by Professor Moyer, and SWK 24203 students, led by Professor Mink, collaborated in an opportunity for mutual learning. Each course had different objectives, but the same motivation and enthusiasm for learning about different cultures. During this collaboration, ESL students improved their abilities to understand spoken English and to communicate their ideas by listening to and answering Social Work students' questions. Social Work students, on the other hand, were given a rare opportunity to interview international students about their personal experiences and their cultures. 

The first meeting happened on January 29 after Professor Moyer made a brief visit to the SWK class to talk about intercultural communication and expectations on January 22.  During this meeting, students were divided into pairs, learned about each other, and agreed on a schedule for the interviews. Both groups were required to write about their experience after each of the 5 interviews. These interviews began during week 3 of the semester and concluded at the end of week 15, allowing the students to conduct the interviews at their own pace throughout the semester. The international students were from Colombia, Pakistan, Spain, Italy, Argentina, and France. The topics they discussed during the meetings were family, school system, culture and traditions, and social work. The group came together again for their final gathering on April 23, when they all shared pizza! Both groups of students enjoyed their experiences and shared some thoughts:

ESL students' opinions: 

“For me, if the two students who interviewed me continue to improve themselves, they will become good social workers in a few years. I learned from them that French culture and American culture are not too different and present some common points. I was happy to live this experience”.

“These five interviews have been wonderful. My partner is going to be very good at his job. They welcomed me and treated me calmly and extremely well. I feltlike I'd known them all my life. They are very open to meeting new people and were very interested in my culture and traditions”.  

“I never worked with a social worker, but I think their job is important. I learned that in the U.S., volunteering and helping others is more common. I think my partner will be a good social worker because she listened to me with respect and wanted to learn. I enjoyed the experience, and it helped me practice English and think more about my own culture”.