Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses how communications in the current global network occur in more than one language, making language teaching a relevant commodity in today’s education. It demonstrates how, through a tutoring for community outreach program, university students build a community of practice within the college classroom setting and then move into the local academic community of the public schools. The book examines the growth of language learning through reflection and self-critique, overcoming challenges, and appreciating complex roles and perspectives, role modeling, cultural identity, and diversity within communities of learners. It discusses how the combination of community-engaged learning and project-based learning tasks enhances US college students’ language learning and supports their inter-cultural growth while they are participating in a semester of study abroad in Italy.