The effectiveness of online teaching in an advanced Spanish language course

Abstract

Studies on the effectiveness of online language teaching have generally centered on basic or intermediate language courses. The present study examines the effectiveness of an advanced-level online Spanish grammar course. Two sections of the course are compared: one is offered face-to-face, and the other is offered fully online. The goals are both to measure students' achievement in the two sections, and to better understand specific challenges faced by online teaching. The study shows that there was significant improvement (learning) in the online section, and that learning is indeed comparable to that shown in the face-to-face section. However, we identify and discuss one specific challenge faced by an online format: the different nature of the interaction between the learner and the learning environment.Keywords: advanced-level foreign language learning, second language acquisition, computer assisted language learning, Spanish learning, online language learning Los estudios sobre la enseñanza de lenguas en línea generalmente se han enfocado en cursos de nivel básico o intermedio. El presente trabajo examina la efectividad de un curso avanzado de gramática española. Se comparan dos secciones del mismo curso: una ofrecida en línea y la otra presencial. El objetivo es medir el rendimiento de los estudiantes y entender mejor factores específicos que pueden afectar su aprendizaje en línea. El estudio muestra que hay un aprendizaje significativo en la sección en línea, y que el aprendizaje es comparable al experimentado por los estudiantes en la sección presencial. Identificamos también un reto específico que enfrentan los estudiantes en línea: la diferente naturaleza de la interacción entre el estudiante y su entorno de aprendizaje.Palabras clave: aprendizaje de una segunda lengua a nivel avanzado, adquisición de una segunda lengua, aprendizaje de lenguas asistido por ordenador, aprendizaje del español, aprendizaje de lenguas en línea

Intensive online foreign language learning at the advanced level

“…These items offer an overall snapshot of student satisfaction levels with the course. With respect to the highest-rated statement (rating of 4.1), learners agreed that the online format enabled more flexibility in learning (the benefit of flexibility and selfpacing in online and hybrid courses has been a finding also noted elsewhere: e.g., Blake & Delforge, 2007;Cubillos, 2007;Enkin & Mejías-Bikandi, 2017;Gascoigne & Parnell, 2014;Green & Earnest Youngs, 2001;Murday et al, 2008). However, students would not all recommend taking a summer online advanced-level course (mean rating of 3.1).…”

“…In other words, although many students may succeed in this type of flexible learning environment, some may not. Enkin and Mejías-Bikandi (2017) therefore note that learners should be made aware of the structure and nature of an online course before they register for it.…”

“…The survey contained five statements that participants needed to rate using a fivepoint Likert scale (5-strongly agree to 1-strongly disagree) and seven open-ended questions. This survey was adapted and modified from a survey used in previous research on online learning (Enkin & Mejías-Bikandi, 2017). The Likert scale items asked participants about their opinions of the effectiveness, format, and design of the course (see Table 1 for items).…”

“…Another student noted, "I feel like learning a language is difficult to do online by yourself", and another further explained, "I couldn't see as many examples or different explanations [as in a F2F course]." Indeed, lack of F2F support has been noted elsewhere as a drawback in both online and hybrid L2 courses ( Enkin & Mejías-Bikandi, 2017;Gascoigne & Parnell, 2014;Murday et al, 2008). However, it is possible that some students may find lack of F2F teacher time especially challenging within the compact nature of a summer online course (and perhaps especially at the advanced level).…”

“…Various studies have utilized comparative research designs in which hybrid and online courses have been compared to counterpart face-to-face (F2F) courses (e.g., Enkin & Mejías-Bikandi, 2017;Gascoigne & Parnell, 2013). The results have shown that learning outcomes in these types of courses are similar to those of F2F courses.…”