Preparing a professional e-learning lesson is not an easy task. Have you so far been held back by numerous questions swirling in your mind, deterring you from this idea?
If you’ve ever wondered how to start, what to remember, or what needs to be prepared to organise an effective online language course, take a deep breath… we have 7 useful steps for you.
What will you find in this article?
- What is an online language course?
- Why is it worth organising an online language course?
- What are the advantages of online language courses?
- How to organise an online language course?
- How to avoid mistakes when creating an online language course?
- Summary
What is an online language course?
An online language course is a form of learning a foreign language via the internet. Instead of the traditional approach of attending lessons at a language school’s premises or meeting face-to-face with a teacher, you participate in classes using a computer, tablet, or phone.
Research on the language schools market clearly shows that each year, more and more people choose online classes, which have already become a standard part of many schools’ offerings.
Why is it worth organising an online language course?
In the era of growing popularity of online learning, language schools are increasingly opting to organise courses in a remote format. For a course to be effective and professional, it’s not enough just to transfer classes online; it is crucial to properly plan the entire teaching process.
In this article, we will present specific tips on how to organise an online language course to meet participants’ expectations and deliver real results.
Important!
To start your adventure with conducting online language courses, you should distinguish between two basic concepts:
✔︎ E-learning is a very broad term, but in principle, it involves providing materials, creating tasks and tests that the learner completes independently, at any time.
✔︎ On the other hand, the domain of online teaching is the contact with the tutor (there may also be other course participants) live using a camera, microphone, and whiteboard. In the article, an e-learning course refers to an online lesson.
What are the advantages of online language courses?
Undoubtedly, the most important advantages of online language courses include:
- Flexibility – learners can attend classes from any location and more easily tailor their learning to their schedule.
- Wider reach – the ability to attract students from beyond the local market.
- Lower operating costs – no need to rent a classroom and the associated costs.
- Variety of materials – the ability to use interactive resources such as video recordings, quizzes, or language learning apps.
- Easier progress monitoring – online tools allow for tracking students’ results in real-time.
7 tips on how to organise an online language course
1. Research your target audience
Before starting any online course, you cannot overlook the most crucial thing – defining your target audience. The needs of learners can vary depending on their age, education, job, access to technology (computer, internet), and previous experience in learning languages. You will plan a course differently for a mother caring for children compared to a student.
Want to know more about researching the needs of your potential learners? Read the article about buyer personas in a language school!
2. Define the course objectives
Additionally, define the course objectives, as they will help you in developing the individual elements of the e-learning lesson. Goals should focus on three areas: knowledge, actions and skills, feelings and attitudes.
Example goals you can specify:
- creating a comprehensive language course, which includes several scenarios appropriate to the participants’ competency levels,
- increasing learners’ knowledge by 10 per cent upon course completion,
- enabling learners to acquire advanced practical skills in specific positions.
3. Adapt the course format
It’s also worth considering the course format, aligning it with learners’ needs. Besides entirely remote learning (e-learning), you can utilise blended learning, which combines online lessons with personal meetings, or create virtual classrooms (an application that allows audio and video contact with the teacher online, forming virtual groups).
Sometimes, students only need an e-mentor who provides individual consultations via chat or video conference. The course format determines the further steps you will take.
4. Choose the right tool
Another very important element is to review the available market tools that will be accessible to your audience. It is essential that the product has functions useful for instructors, such as a whiteboard, the creation of games and quizzes.
In LangLion, you have the option to choose an online class provider. Take advantage of the ready integration with:
✔︎ ClickMeeting
✔︎ Zoom
✔︎ MS Teams
✔︎ BigBlueButton
Additionally, thanks to the meeting link option, you can conduct classes through any provider, where you generate a meeting link.
5. Create a course outline
It’s time for the most crucial part: developing an online class schedule.
The first basic rule is: Don’t rush! – an effective course won’t be created in one day. Make sure that the tool you’ve chosen allows you to create content and also makes a good impression on your students.
Start by answering the following questions:
- How long will the language course last?
- What should it teach?
- In what order should the topics be discussed?
- What is the pace of their delivery?
It is essential to inform students about the methods of working during the course, communication, and the evaluation system, but not only that.
At the beginning, you also need to ensure the unification of the group to build what is known as a virtual community together. You can create an organisational forum with an entry: Write a few words about yourself… At subsequent stages of learning, continuously support your students and assess their progress.
Helpful tip: ask for feedback from other instructors, friends, and see what else can be improved. Constructive criticism is very necessary when creating an e-learning course.
6. Prepare interesting educational materials
For some, learning online is more challenging than traditional classroom learning, so prepare engaging activation materials. Always start by explaining to the students what they will gain from a given lesson.
Remember that your course must constantly motivate the student, so prepare activities that maintain their attention. In addition to standard e-textbooks, interesting articles, and websites, use films or podcasts (audio materials).
Encourage students to take action through case studies and discussions on controversial topics. A great way to integrate is to assign group projects, naturally under the constant supervision of a teacher.
The increase in student engagement will definitely be influenced by interactive crosswords, quizzes, multimedia games – you can create them yourself using the Kahoot application. Always test all tasks before giving them to students to complete.
Useful online materials for instructors:
✔︎ Teacherspayteachers
✔︎ Sharemylesson
7. Evaluate the online language course
After implementing the course, the most important step is the analysis of what you have achieved. Some of the set goals can be analysed during the course, while many of them can only be assessed by the participants.
At the end, ask the students to evaluate the language course. Some conclusions can be drawn during the classes, but the students’ review will be crucial.
Therefore, ask them to evaluate the course, you can use, for example, the NPS method, which will show how likely they are to recommend the course to others. It’s also worth adding a short survey with open-ended questions to gather specific suggestions.
How to avoid mistakes when creating an online language course?
Creating an effective online language course requires a well-thought-out strategy. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid:
- Lack of a clear course structure and goals: students need to know what to expect and what goals they will achieve at each stage of the course.
- Too much theory, too little practice: language courses should focus on the practical use of the language in real-life situations.
- Poor quality of audiovisual materials: good courses use high-quality sound and visuals to enhance the learning experience.
- Lack of systematic progress assessment: a system of tests and progress reports allows for better tracking of language skill development.
Summary – online language course
To create a truly effective online language course, it’s worth going through seven key stages: start with analysing the target group, then define the course objectives, tailor the class format, and choose the appropriate tools. Next, plan the lesson scenarios, prepare engaging educational materials, and finally conduct a course evaluation.
If you take the time to prepare well-thought-out classes tailored to the participants’ needs, you will more easily achieve the course objectives, and as a result, you will gain satisfied and loyal clients.
LangLion is a language school management platform that allows you to easily conduct online classes through integration with ClickMeeting, Zoom, GoToMeeting, and MSTeams.
We provide automatic generation and sharing of meetings with the ability to join with „one click”. Each meeting has a unique link, which ensures secure access and convenience for participants. Unlike other systems, there is no need to manually copy links – everything happens quickly and seamlessly.