Title: Designing and Teaching Online Language Courses: Practical and Pedagogical Considerations
Presenter: Florencia Henshaw

Abstract:
According to the latest report from the National Center for Education Statistics (2018), the demand for online courses continues to grow, and world languages are not immune to this trend. Even though the affordances of computer-assisted language learning have been described in the literature for over three decades, creating and teaching fully online courses that integrate meaningful synchronous and asynchronous communication still remains a daunting task for language educators. In this talk, I will first summarize the existing research on online language instruction, particularly with respect to learning outcomes and student perception. I will then discuss best practices for course design and organization, as well as online teaching strategies. Lastly, I will offer examples of activities and tasks that foster interpretive, presentational, and interpersonal communication through Web 2.0 tools. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of ways to make online language courses a frustration-free learning experience for all stakeholders alike: students, instructors, and administrators. 

Bio: 
Dr. Florencia Henshaw has a PhD in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she is now the Director of Advanced Spanish. She is a certified ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) tester in Spanish, and the author of two Spanish textbooks: one for grammar review courses, and one for composition courses. She is the 2018 recipient of the "Excellence in Language Instruction" Award within the School of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics. She has designed six online courses, and she has extensive experience with technology integration into the language curriculum.