An overview of developing blended and online *competency-based* intermediate German courses.

1. Finding What Works
Creating Online and Blended Intermediate German Courses

2. Getting to know us
Brigham Young University:
•Private religious institution; Nearly 30,000 students
•70% of students speak a second language
• 6% of students from outside US, representing >110 countries
•50% of students serve church missions, many gaining L2 fluency
•Over 55 languages regularly taught; 40 more available
•32% of students take world language course (national average: 9%)
BYU has one of the largest language teaching programs
in the nation.

3. Transforming a traditional program
What is the problem we want to solve? What are the objectives?

4. BYU German courses going blended
Courses Transition to Blended
Commenced
Current Status
1st Year: Germ 101/102 Fall 2014 Online complete
Beta testing F2F
2nd Year: Germ 201/202 Fall 2013 Complete: Online & F2F
3rd Year: Germ
301/302/303
Fall 2015 Online complete
F2F in development

5. Benefits of blending: personalized learning

6. Inspiration 1
Khan:
•Start with most basic concepts.
•Tailor the lesson to the individual.
•Require mastery before moving on.
What we did:
•Massive test bank (15,000 questions)

7. Inspiration 2
Cineplex:
•Feature films as basis for language
learning
•Multimedia experience to meet
students where they are
What we did:
•Run films with educational software
support (Ayamel)
•Apply multimedia experience to
assignments

8. Course Design (F2F blended)
• Consistent layout and design
• Chunked to support self-pacing
• Mastery-based quizzes
• Dynamic assessments
• Stable access to video + learning supports
• Flipped classroom; accessing content online

10. Choosing Tools/Resources
Fundamental Tools
• BrainHoney LMS
• AdobeConnect
• Ayamel video platform

11. Ayamel in a German Course
German 201/202 use 5 German films. Language-learning activities center on the film.
Listening Watching the film
Speaking Discussing the film within its historical and cultural context, oral exam with questions about the film and the
student’s own views and interpretations
Reading Working intensively with the subtitles; online reading about film topics
Writing Journals entries about film-related cultural topics, using sentences from film as structural models for own writing;
crafting cohesive and sophisticated paragraphs in narrating film events; writing a creative narrative essay based
on the film
Pronunciation Memorizing and performing scenes from the film
Grammar All grammar exercises draw largely on actual lines from the film to illustrate and practice the concepts being
learned.
Culture Discussion and writing about film-related cultural and historical topics.
Vocabulary Taken directly from film; chosen bvased on frequency of use in German language

12. Ayamel in a German Course:
Student Perspectives
• As a student, how do you use Ayamel?
• I use the double click to translate feature a lot.
• I watch the movie once through without interruptions then I go back to
catch details using the side transcript.
• I watch sections with German subtitles, then I go back and slow it down,
and pick it apart for better understanding.
• I leave the transcript open on the side while viewing and read along. And I
almost always slow down how fast they talk.
• When reviewing the film later for other assignments, I use the full
transcript a lot.

13. Challenges
4 critical elements
1. Let the computer/classroom do what they do best
2. Align objectives: content, practice, assessment
3. Keep big-picture focus
4. Clearly define expectations

14. Successes
• Decreased prep time
• Validity to classroom experience
• Validity to powerful technology tools
• Meaningful input/output (synthesis/creation)
• Enhanced connections, comparisons
• Increased higher order thinking/interaction
• How is this getting used?
• Blended
• Online
• Public-facing workbook

15. 20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Pre Blended 202 students Post Blended 202 Students
Preliminary Data from Placement Test
Germ 302
Germ 303
Germ 301
Germ 202

16. Student Feedback
The German Mastery Quizzes were my favorite part. I always knew
exactly what needed to spend more time on.
It was hard work, but I felt like everything I did was useful and
helped me learn. There was no busywork.
Honestly? I feel like I learned more in this course than I would have
in a (traditional) classroom.
Language is a multi-media experience… this has changed my life.
Instructor: Students come into 202 at a totally different level than
before. They are well-positioned to gain greater aptitudes.

17. F2F F2F Blended Online Blended
Text German in Review
(Sparks/Vail) & instructor
choice (novels, short stories)
Online resources, Cineplex
(Zachau, Schueller,
Collenberg-Gonzalez)
Online resources, Cineplex
(Zachau, Schueller,
Collenberg-Gonzalez)
Media Mostly limited to texts Extensive use of film & online
video/audio/text resources
Extensive use of film & online
video/audio/text resources
Homework Grammar exercises, reading,
writing
Mastery quizzes + online
listening, video, reading,
writing
Mastery quizzes + online
listening, video, reading,
writing
Feedback Answer key, teacher feedback Instant feedback in mastery
quizzes, teacher feedback
Instant feedback in mastery
quizzes, teacher feedback
Time in Class 1 hr/day, M-F (70
hrs/semester)
1 hr/day M-TH (54
hrs/semester)
(synchronous meetings)
varies; 1-10 hrs/week café &
speaking appointments
Personalization None Mastery-based grammar
homework
Mastery-based homework,
opportunities for extra
practice/remediation (café)

18. What about you?
• Are you blending?
• What have you tried?
• Do you have questions for us?
Get demo access to our courses:
byu.is/languages
Contact us:
cindy_brewer@byu.edu
robmc@byu.edu
michael_bush@byu.edu
jennifer.quinlan@byu.edu
BYU.IS/LANGUAGES