Intercontinental Language Instruction in an Interactive Distance Learning Classroom Seth Fleischauer with Kiki Hsu and Belinda Tsai USDLA Conference, St. Louis, MO May 4, 2010

Overview  Welcome  English instruction in Asia  Introduction to IDEEL  Curriculum and Methods  Technology  Research

English Language Instruction in Asia  Demand for English instruction is growing  Content-based learning not widespread in classrooms (Littlewood, 2007)  Lack of experienced, native-speaking English teachers (Jeon & Lee, 2006)  “Distance learning” often consists of videotaped lessons (McQuaide, 2009)

 I nteractive D istance E ducation in the E nglish L anguage  Experienced American teachers delivering content- based language instruction via high-tech teleconferencing equipment  Started in the fall of 2008  Currently operating at Tsai Hsing School in Taipei, Taiwan

Philosophy  Different from the usual approach to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) instruction in Asia  Use English, not just learn it  Distance Learning can actually help address some of the issues that teachers face with content-based learning

Curriculum  Content-based English instruction  Teaching English through social studies, science, literature, and math content  Both content- and skills-based lessons  Fifth through eighth grades  Two tracks: Standard and Experimental

Content and Student Work

Technology  Hi-def videoconferencing system  Standard-def individual videoconferencing  Document cameras  IP phones, group conference headsets  Fiber optic lines  Laptop computers  Google sites

Methods  Typical 5-step lesson plan  Individual conferencing during independent work  Group work and conferencing  Open-ended, higher order responses  Creative assessments  Qualitative and quantitative data

Team Teaching  Googledocs – before and after lesson  Eyes, ears, feet  Behavior management  Staff meetings  Tech experts

Travel  All teachers start the semester in Taiwan  Some teachers visit during the year  Fieldtrips, sports  Hands-on activities  Exhibition

Research  Need to evaluate the effectiveness of the Distance Learning program  Pretest-posttest design comparing the standard track to the experimental track  Taiwanese teachers give interim assessments which test phonics, grammar, and listening comprehension.

Results from Initial Assessment

First Interim Assessment

Second Interim Assessment

Goals  Research goals  Perfect Internet connection issues  Create new tiers of curriculum  Categorize lesson elements  Expand to other schools  Add consulting department

References Jeon, M. & Lee, J. (2006). Hiring native- speaking English teachers in East Asian countries. English Today 88, 22(4), Littlewood, W. (2007). Communicative and task-based language teaching in East Asian classrooms. Language Teaching, 40, McQuaide, S. (2009). Making education equitable in rural China through distance learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(1), 1-20.

Questions?