Twenty-sixth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Online learning has emerged recently as a particularly appealing and popular method of pedagogy. Despite this, effective online instruction has remained a complex and unresolved issue for instructors. Foreign language instruction may be a particularly difficult subject for the online environment, as the online setting precludes many of the pedagogical devices accepted for effective teaching in traditional, face-to-face environments. That the predominant demographic of online course participants consists of part-time students may further exacerbate the difficulties of foreign language pedagogy. Thus, there is a clear need to develop a deployable pedagogical framework that can meet these challenges. We hypothesized that an online environment constructed specifically to demand and foster robust interactions between and amongst students can increase the effectiveness of foreign language instruction, specifically in the context of introductory Mandarin for part-time, English-speaking students. To do this, we implemented a wide range of online learning tools, including those using built-in course management system (CMS) software, as well as innovative assignments. The effectiveness and impact of these strategies over eight semesters were evaluated from detailed student feedback. Over 90% of students from 15 different sections perceived a positive effect of these strategies on their participation, interaction with peers, learning, and mastery of the language. The results of this study provide blueprints for web-based learning modules, which we show significantly enhance the effectiveness of online foreign language pedagogy.