Join the Mentoring Program!
The mentoring program for online language teachers was launched for all of ACTFL’s 12,000+ members in Fall 2018! Applications for 2019 will open in Spring for mentees and Summer for mentors. For more information about the program guidelines and application deadlines, please check the ACTFL website!
Program Overview
While all language teachers strive to adhere to ACTFL proficiency standards, guidelines, recommendations, and best practices for language instruction to promote communicative competence in the three modes of communication (interpretive, presentational, and interpersonal), it can be challenging to do so in the online environment. In order to be successful practitioners, foreign language educators need to have content knowledge (with the requisite level of proficiency in the target language), pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of students’ backgrounds and their prior learning, knowledge of appropriate methods, knowledge of how to assess language learning and how use assessment data to inform instructional practices, and knowledge of the instructional context and curriculum. In addition to these proficiencies, online foreign language educators also need to have a deep understanding of the instructional design process, knowledge of best practices for online pedagogy, and the ability to use instructional technologies and applications to create opportunities for interaction in the target language within a meaningful cultural context. While initial foreign language teacher preparation programs do a good job of preparing candidates to teach in a traditional environment, the skills and proficiencies that are needed to teach a language online successfully are not typically addressed in teacher education programs.
Currently, more than 7 million postsecondary students in the United States take at least one class online and the growth rate for online enrollments continues to outpace traditional enrollments (Allen, Seaman, Poulin, & Straut, 2016). With the growing demand for online courses at the tertiary level, many universities and colleges now require their faculty to teach online. Similarly, online enrollments are also increasing at the K-12 level with almost three quarters of all U.S. school districts offering online or blended courses for credit recovery, dual enrollment, extension of the school day, and/or for differentiating of the pacing of instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners (Picciano & Seaman, 2010). Due to the high demand for online course delivery at every level, professional development opportunities for language teachers are urgently needed. Therefore, the ACTFL Distance Learning (DL) Special Interest Group (SIG) and the NFLRC are proposing a national mentoring program for K-16 language teachers, the purpose of which is to help language educators develop the knowledge, skills, and proficiencies needed to design, develop, and deliver effective online foreign language courses.
Program Description
The program pairs mentees with a seasoned mentor who has three or more years of experience teaching language online. Mentors must be members of ACTFL in good standing and must apply each year to participate. Mentees are language instructors who have either no or limited experience (less than three years) teaching language online. Mentees may choose to participate in a year-long or half-year program. Applications for mentees opens in early Spring, and the applications for mentors opens over the Summer. ACTFL members will receive notifications once the applications open. Non-members interested in participating must first join ACTFL in order to apply. Match information is sent out in late July-early August to all confirmed participants.
The materials used for the mentoring experience were exclusively created to meet the professional learning needs of online world language teachers. A first set of lessons, named Introduction to Online Learning, was collaboratively developed by ACTFL DL SIG, BOLDD Collaboratory, and NFLRC professionals. The content of those lessons was based on materials created by the BOLDD Collaboratory. The NFLRC provided pedagogical, logistic, and technical support in their creation. Three additional sets of lessons that focus on interaction, materials development, and assessment are also available for the mentoring program. These latter sets were created through a collaboration between the NFLRC and the North Carolina Virtual Public School.
The mentor and the mentee will work together either over a period of one semester (for those with some experience in the online teaching environment) or for two semesters (for those with no online teaching experience), depending upon the needs of the mentee. The mentee will complete a selection of online lessons. The mentor and the mentee will collaborate to determine which online lessons will be the most beneficial for the mentee to complete. In addition, if possible, the mentor will embed the mentee into one of his or her online language classes. Similarly, if the mentee’s institution permits it, the mentor could be embedded into the online language course that the mentee is in the process of developing. If neither option is possible (depending upon the institutional policies of the mentor/mentee), then the mentor and the mentee could spend time together examining an online language course that is available as an open educational resource. This piece will ensure that the mentee will be able to see the content that he/she learned during the mentoring program in practice. Finally, the mentor and the mentee will communicate throughout the program on a regular basis so that the mentor can answer questions and check that the assigned tasks were completed. Upon completion of the program, both the mentor and the mentee will fill out an evaluation form.
Important Links
The ACTFL Mentoring Programs
This webpage contains information about two mentoring programs offered by ACTFL: the traditional program for in-person educators and the mentoring program for those who teach online.
Resources for the ACTFL DL SIG / NFLRC Mentoring Program for Online Language Teachers
The Resources webpage contains links to the lessons specifically designed to support the professional learning needs of online world language educators. The mentor and mentee will decide together which lessons will be completed each semester. Please note that nine lessons must be completed to earn a digital badge. All the lessons are grouped into four main sets:
- Introduction to Online Language Learning (core lessons).
- Designing Interaction for Online Language Learning.
- Materials Development for Online Language Courses.
- Assessment in Online Language Courses.
Online Teaching Mentor Badge
This webpage contains the description and criteria for earning the Online Teaching Mentor digital badge.
Online Teaching Mentee Badge
This webpage contains the description and criteria for earning the Online Teaching Mentee digital badge.
3-2-1 Report Template
The 3-2-1 Report Template is a Google Doc for mentees. Each mentee is required to make his/her own copy of the 3-2-1 Report Template (by following the instructions in the template) and complete the report for each lesson. In each 3-2-1 report, the mentee is expected to reflect on (a) three things or ideas learned from the lesson, (b) two things or ideas from the lesson that he/she is planning or would like to implement in an online class, and (c) one question that the mentee still has about the topic discussed in the lesson. The mentee will then share and discuss the completed 3-2-1 reports with his/her mentor during their meetings.
Checklist
The Checklist will be filled out by the mentor at the end of the program to indicate whether the mentee has completed all the requirements for the ACTFL DL SIG / NFLRC Mentoring Program for Online Language Teachers.
Report a Lesson Problem Form
The Report a Lesson Problem Form can be used to report an issue with any lesson listed on the Resources webpage (e.g., broken links, missing information, typos, etc.) and/or to provide suggestions or recommendations for improving the lessons. This Form can be completed by any mentor or mentee anytime during the Mentoring Project.
References
Allen, I. E., Seaman, J., Poulin, R., & Straut, T. T. (2016). Online report card: Tracking online education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group Report (pp. 1–57). The Sloan Consortium.
Picciano, A. G., & Seaman, J. (2010). Class connections: High school reform and the role of online learning. Babson Survey Research Group Report (pp. 1–28). Babson College.