Innovation in Language Learning

Technology has permeated all aspects of our society making online courses a must for most, if not all, educational programs. Unfortunately, educators have mistakenly assumed that students need no preparation for engaging in the online classroom. On the contrary, engagement in the online classroom requires a vastly different set of technical skills than those required for social media or video gaming. Online instruction is often asynchronous resulting in isolation that often leads to unrealistic expectations on the part of both student and teacher.  Therefore, it is imperative that students be taught how to properly use and engage the technology. Additionally, due to the inherently intimate nature of language learning online language learners face a unique challenge arising from this isolation- quality comprehensible input. Finally, students often enter the language learning process expecting to immediately be able to speak the language. While teachers are used to managing expectations of this nature in the traditional classroom, continually managing and reinforcing such expectations in the online environment is a challenge.  Therefore it is imperative that teachers develop online lessons and tools to help learners understand the concept of proficiency and its measurement. This presentation will discuss development of modules to address these issues and exhibit sample modules that can be used in K12  and post-secondary online programs.

Keywords: Proficiency, technology, language learning;