Distance learning requires a virtual classroom that facilitates qualitative higher education where highly motivated students are willing to take advantage of state of the art technologies to ensure knowledge transfer. E-learning consists of both real-time and asynchronous classes, meeting the needs of flexible modern students with multiple extracurricular responsibilities. On-line foreign language programs should provide a virtual community that captures and captivates foreign language learners with meaningful dynamic content while utilizing the target language as the medium of communication.

Foreign language study in a virtual classroom through e-learning offers several advantages over classical mediums for foreign language learning and provides state of the art foreign language training, furnishing multimedia in the classroom previously deemed impossible. Multimedia classrooms armed with the Internet render a historical precedent of a positive language learning environment which celebrates cultural diversity, cross-cultural awareness through cross-cultural exchange, and intercultural communication unlike never before.

Collaboration in the target language within an on-line foreign language program reinforces the concept of a communicative curriculum. Keeping the target audience in mind, educational content providers should heed the adage that content is king. Correct input in the target language diminishes the possibility of future grammatical and phonological errors in addition to cultural misinterpretations. On-line programs for studying foreign languages should manipulate traditional teaching methodologies to construct a positive learning environment where fluency in the target language with native to near native accuracy, according to the foreign language learner’s proficiency level, would be the norm instead of the exception.

Motivation is key: students are looking for direction, discipline, and engaging language acquisition strategies which encompass beyond mere rote memory techniques. Morality and culture specific values enrich academic curricula, rendering a unique and established student-teacher identity. Foreign language institutions should take advantage of dynamic mnemonic devices to reach visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners alike, maximizing student retention. Moreover, foreign language educators should provide on and off-line support and feedback in the form of constructive criticism to foreign language learners. Typical interactive language training software pales in comparison once contrasted with a professional on-line educator of the target language.

Technically, site navigation should facilitate content location within two or three clicks. Placement of traditional academic outlines, headers, dynamic menus, and search fields should all follow a logical route to desired content. Optimal content for asynchronous classes consists of interactive text, audio, and video content geared towards effective linguistic education through appealing subject matter. Teaching platforms should incorporate serviceable whiteboards, file transfer protocols, and desktop sharing, which far surpasses the traditional speed of delivery in most academic settings worldwide. Blogs, forums, voice threads, and future types of discussion boards further promote a stable on-line community where global communication becomes an academic reality both inside and outside of traditional physical classrooms.

Virtual classrooms managed effectively still honor traditional assessment techniques, classroom activities, classroom management skills, and classroom discipline strategies. Teaching a foreign language in a professional virtual classroom enhances language acquisition by providing an opportunity for lightning fast delivery of authentic teaching, studying, and learning resources by educated native speakers of the target language. Innovative language learning technology found within the virtual classroom incorporates a whole language learning approach, enabling a holistic foreign language curriculum focusing on learning, studying, and teaching phonetics, grammar, and culture. Virtual lessons capture the moment while surpassing demanding requirements found in conventional classrooms while dramatically augmenting linguistic receptive skills (listening and reading) in addition to productive skills (speaking and writing).

Beyond the realm of business, video conferencing provides a constant stream of opportunities for cross-cultural nonverbal communication analysis. I would venture to say that the humanistic approach of audio and video conferencing creates a more cohesive student-teacher relationship than through such three dimensional virtual classrooms where cartoon aliases are created in cyberspace. At any rate, I have found that your imagination is really your only limit while teaching on-line: just remember to utilize the target language as the medium of communication when engaging in conversations with your students.