August 24, 2009
Online foreign-language instruction can be as effective as classroom instruction, according to research from the University of California Consortium for Language Learning and Teaching.
"Distance learning of a foreign language can be a responsible and equivalent option to the classroom experience," said consortium director Robert Blake, a professor of Spanish at UC Davis. "Rather than continue to argue about whether it works, let's decide how we want to marshal our resources and how we want to use it."
Blake has conducted two recent studies of distance learning of Spanish. One looked at a course taught entirely online through UC Davis Extension. The other assessed a blended course combining distance and classroom instruction offered by the UC Davis Department of Spanish.
In the first study, published in the October 2008 issue of the journal Language Learning & Technology, Blake found that students in the online-only and hybrid format courses achieved oral Spanish proficiency in their first year of study comparable to that of students in traditional courses.
In the second study, presented this spring at the annual meeting of the Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium in Tempe, Ariz., Blake identified three student characteristics that appear to be crucial to a successful online learning experience: self-discipline, an ability to collaborate in groups, and an auditory/kinetic learning style.
In addition to Spanish Without Walls through UC Davis Extension, Blake has developed an Arabic Without Walls course that will be offered through UC Irvine this fall. He is also working on a distance-learning course in Punjabi with a professor at UC Santa Barbara.
"Distance-learning and hybrid formats have tremendous potential to address increasing societal pressures to help second-language learners reach advanced proficiency, especially in less commonly taught languages where access is a key issue," Blake said.
Distance learning may also help to meet the demand for introductory foreign language classes on college campuses. Beginning this fall, Spanish Without Walls students at UC Davis will be eligible to earn both extension and college credit.
"This means students could satisfy their undergraduate language requirement entirely through distance learning," Blake said.
Additional information:
- University of California Consortium for Language Learning and Teaching
- UC Davis Department of Spanish
- UC Davis Extension
Media contact(s):
- Robert Blake, UC Consortium for Language Learning and Teaching, (530) 754-7153, rjblake@ucdavis.edu
- Claudia Morain, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu
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