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Show THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EXPERTS ON TEACHING VIRTUALIZING THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM Jean Carmichael (Karin Baumgartner) Department of Languages and Literature University of Utah In order to help facilitate the need for hybrid courses in this ever growing technological world, the University of Utah German department has created a German 2020 business German hybrid course. This course will allow students to work at their o w n pace anywhere with internet access. The class will meet twice a week, with two hours of supplemental online coursework. In the traditional German course, the retention rates of students are only 64%, but in the German hybrid course, the retention rates have grown to over 80%. This course will also help prepare students for the Priifung Wirtschftsdeutsch, a test that certifies the student's German proficiency through the Goethe Institute's standards. The new German 2020 hybrid course will move the vocabulary and quizzes online. This will allow for more time in-class for speaking. By moving the quizzes online, students will receive specialized feedback from the instructor, as well as being able to turn in assignments online, such as video speaking assignments. Dr. Baumgartner and I have utilized the website Quizlet.com in order to help students learn vocabulary online. Quizlet also allows the students to hear the proper pronunciation of the words in German, as well as play games to help increase their retention of the vocabulary. S o m e of the other hybrid components of the course include video submissions of student presentations, listening to German conversation modules over the internet, as well as supplemental online videos. This course also takes into account the student's opinion, by taking polls at the beginning of the course in order to see what modules students like or dislike. The polls also help gauge student progress and what pace the class should be taught at. The University of Utah's Language department has been a leader in paving the way for hybrid courses across the country. In the next year, Chinese and other languages at the University of Utah hope to utilize this new hybrid method of teaching. W e hope to be a model to other institutions that m a y use this hybridization of their language courses. Jean Carmichael Karin Baumgartner 147 |
