Innovation in Language Learning

Teaching a language and culture online has its set of challenges, but it also has unexpected rewards, delights, and a closeness with students one couldn’t have predicted. This paper will begin by describing the general structure of our online course titled “Noodle Narratives on the Silk Road: A Cultural Exploration of Italy and China Through Noodles.” It will then go into course development, including how to set up a class online, the general structure of the course, and achieving a balance of synchronous and asynchronous activities for students to accomplish during the course. The paper will then address the topic of class implementation and management, including time management, achieving learning goals, and assessment, through an interactive online experience involving teaching itself. The paper will move into how to utilize an online format to teach language and culture as it further defines synchronous and asynchronous activities, the flipped classroom online, as well as tips on how to foster and navigate community with students who are situated all over the world. This paper will dive right in to online classroom teaching in our global world, the benefits, the struggles, the overwhelming reasons why we should try it.

Keywords: teaching, on-line, culture, noodles, China, Italy;