Preparing Teachers for Hybrid and Online Language Instruction

Abstract

Courses that are offered fully or partially online are becoming increasingly common for various reasons including needs for more flexibility and the affordances that technology can offer. One major challenge is that most of today's instructors did not learn online themselves and thus need to learn how to teach effectively using technology. This growing online trend is also true for language teaching, an area which demands special consideration due to its unique challenges: language teaching involves skill development and typically uses the target language as the medium of communication. Research has shown that teacher preparation and ongoing support are critical to the success of hybrid and online courses (Rubio & Thoms, 2014a). This article provides a review of the literature on best practices in preparing and supporting those who teach a language in online or hybrid environments. Based on this, a model for professional development is proposed, which can be used and adapted by language program directors. Guidelines on developing these courses and supporting teachers as well as suggestions for further reading are provided.

Blended Cross-tier Language Teacher Development: Designing Online Video-Based Pragmatic Assessment

“…The application of this newly promoted module into teacher training programs offers flexible professional learning formats and may generate teacher readiness for instructional practice [6,47]. Researchers suggested that language teachers involve themselves as learners toward blended learning with an aim to effectively infuse this approach into classroom instruction in this digital era (e.g., [31,44]). While a few pioneering studies investigated blended trainings in preservice or inservice language education programs (e.g., [4,45,71]), they mostly documented how teachers perceived this learning approach or personal development of pedagogical and content knowledge.…”

“…While a few pioneering studies investigated blended trainings in preservice or inservice language education programs (e.g., [4,45,71]), they mostly documented how teachers perceived this learning approach or personal development of pedagogical and content knowledge. It is hence important to further investigate the effectiveness of blended language teacher training on instructional practice as recent researchers underscore the significance of preparing teachers for hybrid language education to enhance student learning outcome (e.g., [1,44]).…”