Digital transformation has undoubtedly opened a new world of opportunity for language learning, with online schools and independent educators flourishing. But translating the magic of the traditional classroom to the virtual world requires a shift in pedagogical approach.
In all cases, it’s important to remember that the educator lies at the heart of any online classroom. Your passion and enthusiasm will resonate with and inspire your students – the opposite is, of course, also true.
This blog post therefore aims to equip language educators working exclusively in online language teaching environments with some best practices tips. These will help transform your online classroom into a vibrant hub of language acquisition.
But first let’s have a look at online language teaching. What’s so great about it and what are some of the challenges educators should be aware of?
Pros and cons of online-only language teaching
For some language educators, working in an online-only setting offers notable advantages over traditional classroom-based teaching.
- Accessibility: Online learning removes geographical barriers, opening doors for students worldwide to connect with your expertise. Imagine teaching a Japanese conversation class simultaneously to students in Brazil and Italy! The virtual world shrinks distances and can create truly international learning experiences.
- Flexibility: Educators can teach at their own pace and schedule, making language teaching more manageable for those with busy lives. Teaching online can fit more easily around other family or work commitments as well as reducing the time and money spent commuting.
- Resource rich environment: The virtual world provides access to a wealth of multimedia resources and interactive tools to enhance the learning experience. Educators can, for example, incorporate instructional videos, online games, interactive whiteboards and collaborative documents to create dynamic and engaging lessons.
However there are obviously particular challenges with the format for some teachers.
- Limited in-person interaction: While skilled educators can foster connection virtually, some aspects of language learning, like spontaneous conversation and cultural immersion, can be more challenging to replicate online. While role-playing exercises and online discussions can help bridge this gap, creating a truly immersive environment that captures the nuances of a language can be more difficult in a virtual setting.
- Technological dependence: Both teacher and students need a reliable internet connection and basic technical skills to navigate the online delivery platform effectively. Technical difficulties can disrupt the flow of a lesson and create frustration for everyone. Having detailed backup plans and clear troubleshooting procedures in place can help minimise these disruptions.
- Self-discipline required: Online learning demands a high level of self-discipline from students to stay focused and avoid distractions in their own learning environment. Students need to create a dedicated study space and develop effective time management skills to succeed in an online language course.
It can clearly be challenging to get students to follow your instructions if you’re not face to face with them every day. So how can online language teachers go about building engagement with their learners in a virtual environment?
Sparking the flame of learning
The shift to online learning environments presents educators with a unique challenge: keeping students engaged. Unlike a traditional classroom where your physical presence commands attention, the online world offers countless distractions. So this section delves into strategies specifically designed to ignite your students’ enthusiasm and keep them actively involved in their language learning journey.
The following ideas are focused on interactivity and igniting your students’ enthusiasm. The days of students just listening to the teacher with their cameras off should be long gone!
Here’s how to ignite their interaction:
- Variety is a vital component in online learning. Ditch long teacher monologues in favour of incorporating multimedia elements like interactive workspaces such as virtual whiteboards, polls and breakout rooms for group and pair discussions.
- Embrace gamification techniques by turning language drills into point-driven challenges or collaborative quests. Reward achievements with badges, virtual rewards or some form of enhanced community status.
- Use widely available digital tools to unlock learners’ creativity. Encourage your students to create online presentations, videos, podcasts or even language-learning blogs to showcase their progress.
Building connection in the online world
One of the biggest pitfalls of online learning is the feeling of isolation. Students miss the camaraderie and interaction that naturally occurs in a physical classroom. Equally, some educators can struggle to operate independently, without the support of colleagues or the wider staffroom to keep motivation high on difficult days.
However, the virtual world does offer some unique opportunities for fostering a sense of student community. This section highlights 3 useful techniques to bridge the physical divide and create a collaborative online environment where students feel connected and supported.
- Icebreaker or warm-up activities can be really powerful at the beginning of a lesson. So why not dedicate some time for informal chats or online games to help students (re)connect and build rapport?
- Peer feedback and collaboration not only helps build community but can also bring students together. Online forums or collaborative documents / spaces can be invaluable for students to give each other constructive feedback on writing and speaking exercises.
- Most online virtual meeting solutions enable educators to set up “rooms” for separate small paired conversations or small group discussions. These can be really powerful in creating a safe online space for students to practise core conversation skills.
Measuring students’ progress
Assessment in the online classroom requires creativity as it’s clearly impossible to rely solely on written exam responses. So it’s important to explore a variety of different strategies to assess your students’ progress. Technology can work to your advantage here and help develop a culture of self-reflection and peer learning.
- Leverage online quizzes, polls and voice recording platforms to assess your learners’ listening, speaking, pronunciation and reading comprehension skills.
- Self-assessment can be your friend. Look to encourage students to reflect on their own learning journey through online learning journals or progress trackers.
- Don’t forget to involve other students by integrating peer assessment techniques. Its really important to train and support students to provide constructive feedback to their peers, particularly on speaking / writing tasks and presentations.
Teaching languages entirely online can be a rewarding and enriching experience. Witnessing students from all corners of the globe connect and learn together is a truly inspiring sight. But it’s certainly not an easy task – it requires real dedication, creativity and a willingness to adapt. To reiterate, the most important ingredient for success in the online classroom is the educator’s own passion for language and their focus on creating a vibrant learning community for your students.