On the first day of our service, my partner and I arrived to Rock Island at 1:00.  There were no ELL classes for us to help with during the class hour that we arrived at, so we were put in a class to help special needs students instead for that class period.  When we entered the class, the teacher had my partner and I introduce ourselves: give our name, where we are from, and something about ourselves.  Afterwards all of the students were instructed to do likewise, using our introduction as a model.  Few students got through their introduction with ease, while the majority stumbled over words and thoughts.  One student in particular said nothing at all, and his words were limited to what he could click on in a certain app on his phone.  The students used gestures often in their introduction and throughout the rest of the class too.  For the rest of class we worked with the kids on teamwork based on the video clip of a conveyor belt assembly line that they had watched in class.  Also they were treated to a snack, smores, if they could follow the proper directions on assembling them.  After the special needs class we went to the ELL Biology class.  In the class we just watched a movie, so not much interaction was involved.  A few students introduced themselves to me during the movie and were excited that we were going to be there to help.  Once Biology was over my partner and I went to the ELL learning skills class.  This was basically a free period for homework that the students needed to get done.  However, most students either did not have anything to work on or did not want to work on homework, and mainly kept to themselves.  After this period was over, we left Rock Island and came back to campus. 

             One of the major ways that the special needs students communicated with us was through the use of kinesics.  While some of the students could not speak well, or at all, they were still very interactive.  When they did not know a word for something they would use gestures to attempt to explain their message to me.  It was up to me to interpret what they meant.  For instance, one student wanted to show me his new shoes.  At first I did not understand what he was gesturing at, so he kicked me and pointed at his shoes.  Then I understood.  We struck up a conversation of me commenting on his shoes and asking questions.  When the students would try to communicate something to me, they would smile and nod if I guessed the intended message correctly.  Therefore, the majority of my part in the conversation was verbal, while these students’ parts would be facial expressions and body movement.  By the end of the class I too began using more kinesics in my communication. 

            During the activities that the special needs students participated in and the homework time of the ELL students, both groups portrayed collectivism.  The special needs students were not shy amongst each other and would offer assistance to the others before the others would even ask, especially in the assembly line activity which required teamwork.  Likewise, the ELL refugee students showed collectivism too.  Whenever one student understood something on their homework, he or she would move on to the next student and explain how to do the problem or answer the question.  They cared about the success of the whole class before their own success from what I observed.  Overall, both groups showed that they valued helping the group succeed. 

            From this experience I have learned that situations will arise where I will not be able to easily communicate with other people.  I now know that gestures and facial expressions are very beneficial in communication.  When trying to communicate with others in the future, I will incorporate nonverbal aspects of communication such as the kinesics that the special needs students exhibited into my regular communication in order to communicate more effectively.  This will definitely help me in communicating with patients as a physical therapist.