International service learning (ISL) is a course based service activity that meets an identified community need in a foreign country and incorporates reflection encouraging a deeper understanding of course content, personal ethics,and civic responsibility. An increasing number of North American universities offer ISL programs to meet the interests of students hoping to gain international experience and develop cross-cultural awareness through service learning abroad. While there is an abundance of anecdotal accounts to support the claims that combining study abroad experiences with service-learning pedagogy has transformative learning potential, there is a lack of reliable evidence to substantiate such claims (Grusky, 2000). This paper presents the theoretical framework of a qualitative case study exploring the link between cross-cultural sensitivity and student investment in foreign language acquisition. My framework brings together two theories from distinct fields of investigation focusing on the transformation (Kiely, 2002; 2005) in students’ cross-cultural sensitivity during the service portion of the ISL

component, and how this cultural awakening, in turn, potentially transforms the students’ social identities and their investment in acquiring the target language (Norton, 1995; 2000). The blending of these two theories provides a novel theoretical framework for carrying out research into the efficacy of short term ISL as a tool for foreign language learning and cultural sensitivity.