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Classroom Elements

Workflow

Effective L2 pedagogy depends on finding the right balance between presentation and interaction, and on maintaining an appropriate tempo while moving from one to the other.

To engage students, a course must begin with meaningful content, and encourage interaction among everyone involved as they focus on that content. For an L2 course that emphasizes communicative skills, whether remote or F2F, this process takes place by way of “instructional conversations,” according to Meskill & Anthony (2015), that is, modeling the language, asking questions, giving feedback, structuring tasks in sequence, providing commentary and explanations, and thereby modeling the language and initiating a new cycle of conversations.

“Instructional conversations engage learners not in recitation of known answers (or punishment / remediation for unknown ones), but in thoughtful, engaging, communicative interaction.”

Meskill & Anthony, p. 17

In remotely taught classes, these conversations require a particular kind of choreography, as the instructor deploys various technological resources for presenting material and eliciting interaction.

A typical 101-102 class might include:




L2 instruction at a higher level would include many of the same elements, but dwell longer on each one, allowing students time to formulate more complex utterances, or to engage in discussion at more length.

Whatever components the instructor chooses to include, it's essential that the instructor think carefully through the clicking and linking sequences required: sharing the screen (and being sure to include sound if it involves an internet-based video); forming Breakout Rooms and assigning students to them strategically; popping in and out of the Breakout Rooms for short interactions; recalling students to the Main Session; instructing students to open their Chat window; and sending messages and documents at the right point so that students have access to them.


Reference

Meskill, C. and Anthony, N. (2015). Teaching Languages Online (2nd ed.). (Bristol: MM Textbooks).