Distance Learning for Second and Foreign Language Teaching
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DISTANCE LEARNING FOR SECOND AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING
INTRODUCTION
Distance learning (DL) or online courses for teaching second and foreign languages (L2) has only recently attracted the field’s attention (Blake and Delforge, 2006), primarily in response to student demand for: (i) greater scheduling flexibility unconstrained by time and place, and (ii) increased access to the less commonly taught languages (LCTLs). The profile of today’s student increasingly points to someone who has already entered the work force, but still needs continuing education. This type of student is simultaneously juggling school, work, and maybe a family. While work and family needs tend to be relatively inflexible, school schedules constitute the only component that can be readily modified. Likewise, students are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of world languages such as Arabic, Persian, Hindi/ Urdu, and Punjabi, to name only a few. Ironically, these languages are infrequently taught on the typical college campus. In the face of scarce resources for LCTL instruction, administrators and students alike have been drawn to the DL format. However, many in the language profession remain skeptical as to whether or not the DL environment can support the same type of linguistic interactions found in the classroom. Research in computer-mediated communication (CMC) has answered this concern by demonstrating that electronic interactions offer benefits much like face-to-face classroom exchanges. E A R LY D E V E L O P M E N T S
A DL format for the L2 curriculum typically includes one or more of the following components: multimedia programs delivered by CD or DVD disks, Internet materials and activities, and Chat (Unicode text exchange and often sound interactions, too). Most activities in this format take place asynchronously—usually via a course management system like Blackboard, WebCT, or an open source system such as Moodle—but CMC programs increasingly provide synchronous interactions as well. Teleconferencing courses are commonly treated as a separate type of instructional medium because of the rigid demands for students to be physically present at a specific place and time N. Van Deusen-Scholl and N. H. Hornberger (eds), Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 2nd Edition, Volume 4: Second and Foreign Language Education, 365–376. #2008 Springer Science+Business Media LLC.
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R O B E RT B L A K E
(although the instructor may broadcast from a different location) and will not be addressed in this review (but see Belz and Thorne, 2005). The L2 field has produced relatively little empirical research relating to the effectiveness of online language learning and/or comparisons with performance from traditional classrooms. Early studies have concentrated on evaluating hybrid courses, where only part of the curriculum is delivered in class while other tasks occur online. Research on hybrid courses suggests that students who learn language with an online component may develop their literacy skills to higher level than students just wo
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