83 Also, literacy students are not good at multitasking online. As soon as they are asked to do more than one thing at a time – for instance, to watch their instructor online while trying to log onto a chat group – things become confusing. So, instructors try to do only one thing at a time, which can slow down the progress of instruction. Lauren: COVID-Era Experiments Early in the pandemic, we were scrambling to make the transition to remote learning. We developed a system where we would prepare packages of printed resources that students would pick up from the school once a week. We’d say, “Go home, and we’ll meet you online.” Instructors created materials that would include, for instance, stories, pictures, printing practice, and games based on vocabulary the students were learning. We would collect all these materials and put them in the take-home package for the week. The materials might include conversation questions for them to prepare so that when the time for our online class arrived, they would have a chance to engage a friend in conversation. Even now, some instructors prefer giving paper-based materials to students that they can reference during their online classes. Handouts are also helpful as resources during the short asynchronous period each day when learners are expected to complete about 30 minutes of homework. During that period, they might complete a paper-based exercise, then take an image of the completed page to share with their instructor, or if it’s a speaking activity, bring it to class the next day to demonstrate to the instructor. Diana: Technology Onboarding We have technology resources for students at the 3L and 4L and CLB 3 and 4 levels designed to introduce them gradually to the basics of learning online. The basics include what your username is, what your password is, how you use it on a computer, and how you use it on your cell phone. We also introduce things they can do within the Avenue learning platform and explain how to use BigBlueButton to join meetings. We try to make sure that each student is comfortable with all these concepts and procedures before online language learning classes begin. When a new class instructor is assigned, I am able to report that class members have been onboarded in Avenue and other required technologies. I then spend time with the instructor making sure that they also know how to use the online technologies, resources, exercises, and assessment methods that are used in the course at the appropriate CLB level. By means of this process, we’ve seen our instructors and learners develop a lot of independence. Lauren: The Total Physical Response (TPR) Teaching Method We are also experimenting with the Total Physical Response (TPR) teaching method to reinforce digital skills. We use TPR methods mostly when teaching what I would call pre-digital skills to literacy learners. They are not yet ready to respond to a prompt such as, “Okay everybody, click this.” At this level, they may not even have the hand dexterity to work with a mouse. We begin by teaching them basic phone skills such as tap, double click, scroll, and flip your camera. We do that using TPR full-body action demonstrations. For example, to demonstrate how to tap (i.e., single click) and double click, the instructor will begin by using exaggerated hand and arm movements: a full-hand smack on the desk indicates a single click; two hand smacks a double click. The speed and dexterity of these motions gradually becomes just the finger tapping on a phone screen. The full-body action improves their understanding of what movements are needed. CC-BY-NC-SA 2025 New Language Solutions Avenue Instructor Standards for Technology-Enhanced Language Learning, version 1.2
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