Research-Informed Online Language Course Design

and Development for Least Commonly Taught

LTCLs: The case of Introductory Dari, Pashto, and
Uyghur

Öner Özçelik & Amber Kennedy Kent

Indiana University, Bloomington

Abstract
Online language teaching is continuing to grow in importance both in
the academic world and the public sector as language learners desire
to increase their language skills within the framework of an
increasingly digital landscape both in academia and the corporate
world. While the current landscape of the online language learning
community is still highly saturated with more commonly taught
languages like Spanish, French, Chinese, etc., members of the less
commonly taught languages (LCTL) community are looking to take
advantage of the same benefits of providing online courses, such as
increasing marketability to a larger learner audience, supporting self-
paced learning, increasing learner autonomy, and increasing
individual interactivity, as well as additional LCTL-specific benefits,
such as helping sustain LCTLS with low enrollment. In this paper, we
seek to describe one program’s experience designing and developing
three introductory online courses in Dari, Pashto, and Uyghur,
detailing our process from research and inception to the prototype
development phase.

Keywords: online language learning, LCTLs, pedagogy-

driven design, instructional design, course development
26 Özçelik & Kent

1. Background and Introduction

According to a recent report published by the U.S.
Department of Education (2014) it is estimated that as of Fall 2012,
of the 21,147,055 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in
educational institutions nationwide, approximately 12.5% of those
(2,642,158) were enrolled exclusively in online courses and 13.3%
(2,809,942) were enrolled in a combination of traditional and online
courses, accounting for a total of 25% of the students in U.S.
institutions of higher education. For the purpose of the study, the
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) defined
distance courses as “education that uses one or more technologies to
deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor
and to support regular and substantive interaction between the
students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously” (p. 1).
Considering these statistics, it should not come as a surprise that
traditional universities that once rejected the online learning trend as
second rate education during its initial boom in the 1980s under the
University of Phoenix are now fully embracing this learning medium
(BrainMass, 2012).

However, even during the online learning boom in the 1990s

and early 2000s, and continuing to the present, there remained some
fields of study more hesitant to join the online movement than
others, and traditionally language education fell into this category
(Wood, 2005; Blake, Wilson, Cetto, & Pardo-Ballester, 2008; Taylor
& McQuiggan, 2008). As a group, language teachers were more
reticent to adapt language learning technology practices (also known
as computer assisted language learning, or CALL) into their
curriculum and course designs. These language teachers viewed the
idea of online language learning as impossible because they believed it
limited the learners’ exposure to authentic speech and did not allow
for interactivity between classmates and instructors (Blake, 2009;
Lamy, 2013). However, the introduction of successful online
language programs has proved that language teaching can be
successfully taught online, in a cost- and time-effective way, leading
numerous other language programs to follow suit (see e.g. White,
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 27

2003; Stickler & Hauck, 2006; various articles in Hampel & Stickler,
2015).

Today, the online language learning landscape is vast and

encompasses learners studying languages for a multitude of reasons,
both academically motivated (such as fulfilling a degree requirement,
as an elective, or as a major or minor) and non-academically
motivated (such as heritage learning, for business purposes, or for
general learning appreciation). Learners are taking these courses as
part of their education through a variety of sources, including 4-year
academic institutions, 2-year community colleges, and dedicated
language learning programs, both accredited and non-accredited
(Friedman, 2015). Yet, the majority of contemporary online language
learning programs remain focused on the majorly taught languages of
the United States: ENL (English as a New Language), Spanish,
French, German, Italian, etc., as well as the principal LCTLs such as
Chinese, Arabic, and Russian, with considerably fewer offerings in
the way of the least commonly/rarely taught LCTLs. For that reason,
educators in the LCTL realm are increasingly dedicating efforts to
develop their own online language programs in order to capitalize on
the benefits of online learning, such as wider geographical access to
students (which helps sustain these languages, as opposed to
terminating a language program because of low enrollments, a major
concern shared by all LCTLs), along with other, more general
benefits, that are common to all languages, such as providing self-
paced learning opportunities and encouraging learner autonomy, and
a wealth of digital media resources for providing students with a
greater variety of authentic language input.

As a Department of Education (Title VI) funded national

Language Resource Center (LRC) committed to promoting the
learning and teaching of the less commonly taught languages
(LCTLs) of our region, the Center for Languages of the Central
Asian Region (CeLCAR) at Indiana University in Bloomington,
Indiana pledged as part of our 2014-2017 grant cycle to prioritize the
design and development of stand-alone online LCTL courses in
several Central Asian languages over a four year period. This paper is
28 Özçelik & Kent

a descriptive account of our research-informed collaborative design

and development process as we work to create the first three courses
in the series: Introductory Dari, Introductory Pashto, and
Introductory Uyghur. Although efforts are focused primarily on
Central Asian languages, most of the ideas presented herein, as well
as the challenges we have come across are applicable to other LCTLs
as well.

2. Planning
2.1. Conception

The idea to create online courses for our languages was a

culmination of two main influences. First, the College of Arts and
Sciences at Indiana University, where our center is housed, recently
prioritized the development of online language courses as part of a
commitment to deliver quality education to a wider audience of
learners. Second, and perhaps more importantly, part of our initiative
as an LRC is to increase the population of language learners for the
languages spoken in Central Asia. In the past, CeLCAR focused on
increasing language offerings at universities by developing quality
peer-reviewed textbooks published through independent university
presses based on curriculum developed for the traditional university
environment, as textbooks on these languages were virtually non-
existent. However, we recognize that while some of the potential
learners of Central Asian languages are traditional students seeking to
learn the target language as part of their studies in linguistics, area
studies, etc., we are also aware that there is an equally large potential
audience of non-traditional students currently being underserved,
including active duty military personnel, reservists, non-governmental
officials (NGOs), heritage learners, humanitarians, and other
professionals with business interests in the region who do not have
the means of traveling to the handful of universities in the United
States that offer these languages as part of their regular curriculum. In
fact, for many of these languages, Indiana University stands as the
only institution regularly offering them. Even with the availability of
textbooks, therefore, as many institutions cannot afford to offer
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 29

courses with extremely low enrollment, these learners are left with no
institution to study the target language. In addition, these leaners
typically work full time and are precluded by factors such as time and
location that prohibit them from enrolling in a typical course at one
of the select universities in the country which actually offer these
LCTL courses. Offering online courses would allow these learners to
access the language courses they need from anywhere in the world
and around their own schedules.

For reasons like these, for the first time in a university

environment, we have systematically embarked on a process of
developing online courses for Central Asian languages. The languages
that are initially under focus are Dari, Pashto, Uyghur, Uzbek,
Mongolian, and Tibetan, with a special emphasis on the first three in
the first phase, the development process of which will be the subject
of the remainder of this paper. As no guidelines or principles
currently exist for the development of online LCTL language courses,
we hope the current project to serve as a research-based
informational resource for similar endeavors in other LCTLs.

2.2. Establishing an Online Course Development Team

CeLCAR’s first step in developing quality online courses was

establishing a collaborative development team by the center Director
wherein each team member serves an important role in the
instructional development process.

Administrator. The head of the development team is the

center’s assistant director. Conferring with the center director, the
administrator schedules the meetings, sets the agenda, records the
minutes, negotiates team member tasks, and follows up on the
progress of assigned tasks. Additionally, the administrator arranges
and facilitates meetings with other departments and units on campus
regarding administrative guidelines and available resources. The
administrator is also responsible for updating the center Director on
team progress and helping implement new pedagogical and
administrative guidelines as directed.
30 Özçelik & Kent

Instructional Designer. The team’s instructional designer

oversees the pedagogical design of the courses. Together with the
center Director, the instructional designer researches the relevant
teaching and learning methodologies related to developing an online
course and is responsible for working one on one with the developers
in ensuring that these concepts are integrated effectively into each
course design. She works directly with the language experts as they
define their learning objectives and collaborates with them on the
content of the course, including content of the instruction, practice
activities, and assessments.

Multimedia Expert. The multimedia expert serves as the

technology expert and multimedia developer. He researches
technological options and presents them to the team as inspiration,
works one on one with the developers to develop interactive
applications to integrate into their modules, and assists the
developers with technological problems they encounter during the
module development process.

Language Experts. The team’s language experts are

experienced instructors and language materials developers with
experience in peer-reviewed textbook development. They bring their
years of experience, both in the classroom and as textbook
developers, to the table as they are ultimately the ones responsible for
the content of the language courses. They help determine what the
students should be learning, the order in which it should be taught,
and what the students should be able to do by the completion of the
course.

2.3. Needs Analysis and Research

Once the team was established, the next step was to conduct
a thorough needs analysis to determine both the needs and desires of
the prospective learner audience and the institutional expectations
and constraints to inform decisions about the course design moving
forward.
 Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 31

Learner Analysis. To begin the learner analysis, the team

members hypothesized the perceived needs of the potential online
learners based on direct feedback from potential learners (including
people who have asked about online learning options in the past) and
profiling language learners. Using this information, a survey was
distributed electronically to potential learning groups. The type of
information gathered through this survey is summarized in Table 1
below.

Summary of Information Gathered in Needs Analysis

Survey
 General information about participants (age, profession, location,
education level, previous language learning experience)
 Willingness to take an online class
 Technology comfort level
 Access to the internet
 Access to technological devices (desktop, laptop, tablets, smart
phones, etc.)
 General interest in learning a CA language, and if they are
interested:
 Which languages they are interested in studying?
 Delivery manner in which they would be most interested
in studying (traditional classroom, online instructor led,
self-study, etc.)
 What constraints most influenced their answers (time,
finances, location, etc.)?
 What proficiency levels they would hope to attain at the
end of the course?
 What credentials they would want/need to earn at the
completion of the course (credits, certificate, oral
proficiency score, etc.)?

Table 1. Summary of Information Gathered in Needs Analysis Survey

The survey was distributed to two specific groups: (i) contacts

from the departmental address book that had previously purchased
or expressed interest in our materials and (ii) people identified as
32 Özçelik & Kent

potential learners based on their profession or association with

businesses with interest in the Central Asian region. The survey was
also posted on CeLCAR’s social media accounts (Facebook and
Twitter) and followers were encouraged to take the survey and/or
share the link with their peers in the language learning and linguistic
communities.

Because the survey was partially distributed via social media,

it is impossible to determine exactly how many people had access to
it, skewing an accurate response rate. However, we know that the link
was emailed directly to approximately 4,000 contacts, and that 322
anonymous survey responses were received.

Out of the 322 responses, 91.3% respondents indicated they

had a general interest in learning a Central Asian language. Of the 19
languages listed (Azerbaijani, Balochi, Bashkir, Buryat, Chuvash, Dari,
Kazakh, Kurmanji, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Pashto, Sakha/Yakut, Sorani,
Tatar, Tibetan, Tajiki, Turkmen, Uyghur, and Uzbek), the four
languages with the highest self-reported interest were Uzbek (99
reported Very Interested), Dari (98 reported Very Interested), Uyghur (88
reported Very Interested), and Pashto (84 reported Very Interested).
When asked How interested would you be in studying one of the above
languages in the following ways, respondents indicated their highest
preference, with 155 reporting Very Interested, was for a Self-study online
course (no instructor; self-paced; learning through texts, videos and activities; self-
assessments). The second choice, with 121 reporting Very Interested, was
Instructor led online course (instructor led; no required class meeting time;
primarily recorded interactions; instructor feedback). The third choice, with
93 reported Very Interested) was a Distance education program (instructor led;
scheduled online class meetings; real-time interactions; instructor feedback). And
finally, 81 reported Very Interested in studying one of the languages in
a Traditional classroom at a college/university.

The following table summarizes the respondents’ self-

reported constraints directly influencing their language course
preference:
 Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 33

Time:
This is not a constraint to me. 47 16%

I need a self-paced course where I determine how quickly or 165 56.1%

slowly I complete the course based on my own schedule and
needs.
I need to be able to determine the number of hours I spend 129 43.9%
studying a week.
I can study a language following a typical university/college 82 27.9%
semester (16 weeks).
I would prefer not to be confined to a typical university/college 130 44.2%
calendar.
Other 15 5.1%

Financial
This is not a constraint to me. 32 10.9%

I need a course that is as inexpensive as possible. 205 69.7%

I would be willing to pay more if it meant receiving college 49 16.7%

credit for the course.
I would be willing to pay more if it meant receiving a 96 32.7%
certification at the completion of the course.
I would be willing to pay more if it meant having a live 126 42.9%
instructor able to provide feedback and give assistance.
Other 9 3.1%

Location
This is not a constraint to me. 12 4.1%

I can take a semester long course at Indiana University in 29 9.9%

Bloomington, Indiana.
I can travel to Bloomington, Indiana for the 8 week long 50 17%
summer intensive workshop.
 34 Özçelik & Kent

I cannot travel to take a course, I need to be able to complete it 137 46.6%

from my home/office in the United States.
I cannot travel to take a course, I need to be able to complete it 128 43.5%
from my home/office outside the United States.
Other 19 6.5%

Table 2. Summary of Constraints Influencing Respondents’ Language

Course Preferences

Interestingly, 88% (259) listed a personal interest in studying

Central Asian languages and 74% (216) listed a professional interest (they
were not restricted to one or the other), demonstrating that for a
majority of respondents there was a clear overlap between their
personal and professional motivations. The majority of respondents,
53%, desired a proficiency level of Intermediate High (I would be
comfortable expressing my everyday needs and able to sustain a conversation based
on interpersonal matters. For example: discussing a family tree or telling someone
about my vacation.) upon completion of an online course, with 30%
desiring an Intermediate Mid (A step beyond canned phrases. I could put
together simple requests, such as asking for directions. I could understand native
speakers if they spoke slowly and used simple structure and vocabulary. For
example: asking directions to a museum, asking for vegetarian options at a
restaurant).
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 35

Finally, Figure 1 summarizes the survey respondents’ self-

reported comfort level with technology and access to internet.

Figure 1. Summary of Respondents’ comfort with technology and

access to internet

Institutional Support. To conduct a thorough analysis of

institutional support, several meetings were scheduled with
departments and units across campus. First, the center director met
with key university officials to determine specifics for creating an
online course, including specifications for facilitated contact hours
and the processes of awarding credit and collaborating with other
academic institutions. The development team also met with staff
from the Office and Online Instructional Development (OOID) in
University Information Technology Services (UITS) and the Center
36 Özçelik & Kent

for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), two entities on

campus which had previously been tasked by university officials to
help language departments develop online courses. These two
departments were instrumental in providing general online learning
advice, such as providing standards for online teaching (Quality
Matters), making recommendations for adopting a content
management system (Canvas), providing examples of similar online
courses, and facilitating meetings with language instructors in the
greater Indiana University community who had previously developed
successful online classes.

Research. In preparation for beginning development, all

team members participated in the Online Course Basics workshop
series hosted by CITL. The series consisted of five parts:
Introduction to Online Course Design, Assessing Learning in Online
Courses, Designing Online Learning Activities, Designing Online
Course Materials, and Teaching an Online Course. During the
workshop series, the team members, who were already familiar with
language teaching methodology, were, in addition, familiarized with
current research and methodology in online teaching and were given
opportunities to evaluate sample courses.

3. Content Design and Development

3.1 Backward Curriculum Design

Because CeLCAR’s online courses are objectives-driven, the

team adopted Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) backward course design
(BCD) model for defining and organizing course content. Backwards
course design is an instructional model that begins by defining the
expected learning outcomes of the course and then aligning the other
elements of the curriculum towards reaching these predefined goals.
Specifically, using a BCD form, the instructional designer and
developers defined five major tenets for each module, as illustrated in
Table 3 below.
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 37

The first tenet was the characterization of ‘Learning

Outcomes’, which was done by asking the question, What specifically do
our learners need to be able to do at the completion of each lesson? ‘Assessment’
was defined by answering the question How will we know the learner is
able to successfully do what we need them to do? To define the
‘Discovery/Practice Method’, the instructional designer, developers,
and multimedia specialist collaborated on the types of exercises,
activities, and tasks that would allow the learners to sufficiently
engage with the language to be able to attain the language skills
defined in the learning outcomes. Next, the ‘Content Delivery
Method’, or how the new information is presented to the learners,
was defined by thinking of interesting and engaging ways to present
the content so that the learners would be able to absorb the material
and be able to apply it in the discovery and practice section. Finally,
the team also kept track of what additional grammar notes, cultural
notes, resources, etc. they would need in order to successfully
complete all of the steps of the module. This is illustrated with an
example in Table 3 below, where the goal was to teach the writing
system of Dari, which is written with a version of the Perso-Arabic
script, where letters can take different forms based on whether they
are in isolated, initial, medial, or final position within a word.

Lesson 3: Writing your name in Dari

Learning Assessment Discovery/Pra Content Grammar Notes

Outcomes ctice Method Delivery and Other
Method Resources

Identify Click on the Match letter Watch a video Will need the
and label two form shapes to their recording textbook/workbo
the two letters. different demonstrating ok for practicing
form When forms. When the writing of writing these
letters of prompted, given a word various forms forms.
Dari and label the with connected of two-form
their isolated and letters, letters.
forms. final forms correctly
of the identify the
letters. isolated letter
of each letter.
 38 Özçelik & Kent

Identify Click on the When given Watch a video

and label two form isolated letters recording
the four letters. of common demonstrating
form When words (with the writing of
letters of prompted, pics), be able to various forms
Dari and label the correctly match of four-form
their isolated, to the letters.
forms. initial, appropriate
medial, and forms.
final forms
of the
letters.

Identify Correctly Match letter Will need the

and write match combinations textbook/workbo
Dari together to their ok for practicing
ligatures letter forms different writing these
with their ligatures. ligatures.
printed
literature. When given a
word with
Write your Correctly ligatures,
name in write your correctly
Dari name using identify the
the proper isolated forms
Dari letters, of each letter.
forms, and
ligatures.

Table 3. Backward Curriculum Design Template

3.2. Content Development

For developing course content, the team uses basic

pedagogical principles while incorporating elements from several
second language teaching strategies and instructional design models,
as explained and justified in detail below.

3.2.1 General Pedagogical Principles

The overall structure of the course uses a theme to create

unity and clear transitions between the lessons and modules. The
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 39

language structures themselves are introduced following the order of

acquisition defined by proficiency guidelines established for each
language as part of CeLCAR’s Proficiency Testing Project (PTP).
Furthermore, after each new instructional element is introduced,
practice activities are arranged in a purposeful manner to encourage
instructional scaffolding, by presenting the least productive activity
(also known as receptive task, such as checklists and matching
exercises) first, followed by a semi-productive activity (such as fill in
the blank with the correctly conjugated verb and answer
comprehension questions), and finally the most productive tasks
(such as write a short biography about yourself and introduce your
classmate, stating their name, age, and where they are from).

We will illustrate this sequence below with actual example

tasks from our materials. To begin, examine Figure 2, which
exemplifies a receptive activity, asking students to place certain
phrases in their correct order based on a dialogue that takes place
between two interlocutors. Notice that the advantages of technology
are fully exploited here. First of all, the learner can engage with the
material to an extent that is not possible in traditional textbooks (by
actually clicking and dragging phrases and placing them in their
correct slots) and at his/her own pace. Second, immediate corrective
feedback is provided to the learners, and is done in ways that are not
as stressful as classroom feedback is for many students, thereby
having a positive effect on the affective filter (Dulay & Burt, 1977;
Krashen, 1981, 1982, 2003).
40 Özçelik & Kent

Next, examine Figure 3, which exemplifies a semi-productive

activity, asking students to read in the target language and then
answer comprehension questions about the content.

Figure 3. Example of a Semi-productive activity – Reading

comprehension questions

Here, the learners have to go beyond just filling in a blank or

matching answers, by writing their own sentences in response to the
questions posed. Next, they have to actually speak. However, the
speech is written down for them (partially pre-written and partially
their own language), and they can practice their oral skills as much as
necessary before recording. Finally, the learners are asked to self-
evaluate by comparing their responses and recordings with their
classmates. Furthermore, the activity also includes a component of
peer-evaluation because the link to the discussion board asks each
student to respond to at least two classmates’ recordings. (This
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 41

response is about feedback on the language use itself, so it may be

done in English.)

As was mentioned above, after receptive and semi-productive

tasks, more productive tasks are introduced, as is shown in Figure 4
below:

Figure 4. Example of Productive activities – Responding to

video prompts and writing original dialogues

In Practice 4, the learner will produce their own spoken

language in response to a pre-recorded video, demonstrating both
active listening ability and speaking ability by responding
appropriately within a pre-defined context. The learner is not asked
to write down his/her responses before recording, because they
should practice responding orally to the fictional interlocutor, as they
would in real-life. The learner is not able to receive immediate
feedback from an interlocutor, but will receive feedback from
classmates as part of the discussion board component of the activity.

In Practice 5, the learner is given the opportunity to write

their own dialogue using all of the major components introduced in
the lesson (greetings, farewells, etc.). They are provided loose
guidelines of a context, but then allowed to be as creative as they
desire. Then, the learner is asked to record a video of him/herself
42 Özçelik & Kent

acting out the dialogue, which gives them the chance to demonstrate
both language skills and cultural knowledge (body language, order of
man greeting woman, etc.). These more productive tasks are generally
assessed by the instructor.

For each step of the process, the team consults the updated
Bloom’s Taxonomy chart
for categorizing cognitive
understanding (Anderson,
2000) to determine whether
the activity provides learners
with the highest level of
intellectual challenge
appropriate according to
their linguistic ability and the
learning outcome desired.
As the language faculty is
different from other skills Figure 5. Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) updated
that make use of cognitive by Anderson/Krathwohl (2001)
abilities (see e.g. Chomsky
1959, 1965, 1968; Pinker, 1984, 1991 for first languages; White, 1989,
2003 for second languages), this approach is used in combination
with other pedagogical methodologies specific to language teaching,
such as Krashen’s (1985) input+1 approach, which is specifically
developed for second/foreign language teaching. This is especially
important in an online teaching platform; as Hampel & Stickler
(2005) emphasize, since the subject of a language course is
‘communication’, online language courses require different skills and
pedagogies than teaching other courses online. The combined use of
these different pedagogies and the unique application in the online
platform can be seen in our online course on Elementary Dari,
Module 1 of Lesson 3, which begins with a video of a friend
introducing another friend to others. In Exercise 1, Practice 1,
learners only have to recognize and remember the new vocabulary
words from the video. In the next activity, Practice 2, they have to go
a bit deeper to apply their linguistic knowledge, completing sentences
with the correct form of the missing words and phrases. In each
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 43

subsequent step of the lesson, learners are introduced to new

manageable chunks of linguistic knowledge (Ellis, 2003) with
practice; until culminating in tasks that require the learners to
combine elements from all the practice activities within the lesson to
create something original using the knowledge they have gained.

3.2.2. Instructional Design Models

Studies on online learning have found that there are

differences between traditional classroom learning and online
learning that instructors need to consider when developing online
instruction (Sun, 2011). One major difference is the need to shift
from a teacher-centered approach in the classroom to a student-centered
approach, which would include more forms of learning modalities
and incorporating a higher emphasis on motivation. For this reason,
the online team adopted the ARCS Model of Motivational Design
(Keller, 2010) to ensure that the instruction grabs the learners’
attention, models relevance, builds confidence, and ensures satisfaction of
learning. We describe below how we satisfy these criteria in our
materials preparation process.

Attention. At the beginning of each lesson, the team aims to

attract the learners’ attention through either perceptual arousal, using a
novel or surprising element to engage the senses, or inquiry arousal,
stimulating curiosity or engaging discussion, in order to engage them
in the subject material (Keller, 2010). For example, lessons often
begin with an animated video, a cultural image, or a discussion
question; see example in Figure 6. The goals of these elements are
usually to first grab the learners’ attention and then transition into
authentic language practice or a stimulating discussion, often
comparing and/or contrasting cultural elements, which also engages
one of the 5Cs of language learning, as presented in ACTFL’s
Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (1999/2006).
44 Özçelik & Kent

Figure 6. Example of animated video used to gain attention

through visual stimulation

Relevance. When dealing with adult language learners, it is

especially important to establish relevance to the material, making
clear connections between what the learner is learning and the value
of what is being learned (Lightbrown & Spada, 1998; Tarone & Yule,
1998; Tarone & Swierzbin, 2009) to increase motivation. The main
way the team establishes relevance is by incorporating plenty of
activities that allow learners to practice realistic language use. For
example, instead of asking students to read and respond to a dialogue
question out of context, we provide the question as a part of a text
message conversation, as illustrated in Figure 7 below.
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 45

English translation:

Hello, my name is Rasheed Sayaad.

I am a student at Herat University.

Are you my classmate, Farid?

Thank you.

Figure 7. Example of a relevant language activity

Texting is a realistic mode of communication where the

learner would be expected to read and write a conversation in real-life
as opposed to just listening and speaking, as is expected for most
realistic conversations outside a language classroom. Likewise,
regarding listening and speaking, we incorporate Skype videos (see
Figure 4), magazine articles and newspaper clippings, as well as
business cards (see Figure 3); because these are all types of
communication we would realistically expect a learner to encounter
and need to be able to navigate in the target language.

Confidence. There are several ways the team builds learner

confidence, increasing their likelihood of success, such as defining
clear learning objectives (Mager, 1997), following Krashen’s (1985)
46 Özçelik & Kent

Input Hypothesis, building learner autonomy, and providing

immediate feedback as often as possible. First, each Module and
Lesson begins with a clear outline of the goals and expected learning
outcomes for that section, as illustrated by the excerpt in Figure 8
below from the beginning of a lesson in our Uyghur materials.
Uyghur, as with Dari, is written with a version of the Arabic alphabet.

Figure 8. Example of a clearly defined list of lesson goals

The purpose of providing these goals upfront is to make the

learner aware of what is expected of them and what they will be able
to do upon the completion of the section, making it more likely that
they will actually achieve these goals (Mager, 1997). Additionally,
when establishing the learning outcomes and writing the goals, team
members follow the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1985), stating that
language learning is most effective when learners are exposed to
comprehensible language just above their mastered understanding,
also known as input+1 (or i+1). By considering what the learners will
know and monitoring what they will be capable of is an important
part of the course design, as it helps create the optimum learning
environment.
As was mentioned above, an advantage of online
learning over the traditional classroom is that learners can control the
pace at which they move within the lessons. In order to maximally
take advantage of this benefit, the activity directions in the modules
often remind learners to repeat the language activities until they feel
comfortable. An example of such a self-paced activity is provided
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 47

below in Figure 9, where the goal is to teach the Dari alphabet, using
the Dari script, pictures, and IPA transcriptions, as well as audio
recordings of sound and sequences of sounds represented by
individual letters and words:

Figure 9. Example of a self-paced learning activity

This kind of personalized instructional pace is not realistic in

a classroom setting where the pace of the instruction has to be
determined by the needs of the entire class, not just one student. On
the contrary, a limitation of online learning is often the inability to
provide immediate feedback to the learner, which is important not
only for increasing confidence, but also for learners to self-correct ala
the Output Hypothesis (Swain & Lapkin, 1995). As we continue to
develop the courses, therefore, we continue to search for ideas for
providing immediate feedback or more timely feedback. One way we
do this is via our interactive apps, such as our matching activities (see
Figure 2), fill in the blanks, true or false, etc., as well as computer-
generated corrective feedback, such as telling the learner how similar
their writing of a given grapheme to that of the target language. An
example of this is provided in Figures 10 and 11 below, which
48 Özçelik & Kent

illustrate our Pashto Writing Script Tutorial, a free tablet application

available for download on iOS, Android, or Blackberry devices (and
will soon be made available for Windows touch screen laptops). (See
http://iub.edu/~celcar/language_apps.php)
The Script Writing tutorial (which is available in all of Dari,
Pashto, and Uyghur) is organized into three parts: Alphabet, Script,
and Practice. The ‘Alphabet’ section introduces the letters
themselves, and provides examples of the letters in context of words
(giving pictures and audio for each word). The ‘Script’ section uses
video to show each letter being written, demonstrating the
appropriate direction for writing. And finally, the ‘Practice’ section
allows the learner to practice their writing skills in five different ways.
First, the ‘Letters’ section uses a scaffolding strategy of three steps
towards independent letter writing: (i) learners trace pre-written
letters (shown in isolated, initial, medial, and final forms, as
applicable); (ii) learners are given only dots representing the turning
points; (iii) learners must write letters on a blank canvas. At any point
during these three parts the learner can click ‘Feedback’ to receive
immediate feedback via an accuracy score.

Figure 10. Pashto Script Tutorial: Practice tracing 4-form letters

Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 49

Figure 11. Pashto Script Tutorial: Practice writing letters in isolation.

The other two sections cover reading and writing the letters
in context of words: (iv) the ‘Words’ section provides words that the
learner must write in the same style as the letter practice, and applies
the same scaffolding method for practicing writing these letters in
context. And finally, (v) the ‘Spelling’ section provides learners with a
word, and they must match the written letters to the isolated form.
And as with the ‘Letters’ sections, learners can click ‘Feedback’
anytime for immediate feedback on their practice.

Satisfaction. Good course design provides learner

satisfaction through both intrinsic reinforcement (pride in
accomplishments through measured and authentic praise and
encouragement) and extrinsic rewards (grades, credits, certification, etc.)
(Keller, 2010). We address the intrinsic needs of our students through
clearly designed courses with well-defined learning expectations and
frequent formative assessments (see Figure 8) coupled with
50 Özçelik & Kent

immediate or timely feedback from instructors (see Figures 3 and 4).

Furthermore, we addressed the extrinsic needs of learners during the
planning phase when we performed our initial needs analysis,
establishing the extrinsic rewards/gains desired and then ensuring
alignment of our course deliverables through our subsequent
meetings with university officials.

3.2.3. Second Language Acquisition and Teaching

Theories

Currently the data and research on second language

acquisition (SLA) theories as they apply directly to online learning is
still very limited. And most published articles examining how the
existing language teaching methods and strategies work, or more
accurately do not work, within the online learning framework are
descriptive or inquisitive in nature, rather than prescriptive (see e.g.
Echavez-Solano, 2003, Chenoveth, Ushida & Murday, 2006; Murday,
Ushida & Chenoveth, 2008; Blake et al., 2008, White, 2006, 2008,
2014). So those of us who are delving into this territory are still
negotiating exactly how to proceed by incorporating existing SLA
theories, strategies, and methods into our design and development
and assessing how effective they are.

While we are incorporating several previously mentioned SLA

frameworks and language teaching strategies that stem from these
approaches into our design and development process, such as
employing learner-centered instruction, scaffolding, chunking,
sequence of acquisitions, input+1, focus on learner output, and
incorporating the 5cs of language learning; our main approach to
language teaching is a modified version of the Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT) approach that we have successfully applied
in all of our other language learning materials.

The main tenets of CLT include emphasis on communication

through interaction, using authentic texts, inviting the learner to
focus on the learning process itself, incorporating the learners’ own
personal experiences, and linking classroom learning with realistic
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 51

language use. The incorporation of authentic texts and realistic

language in our online language materials with the purpose of
building confidence has already been explained in Section 3.2.2
above. Accordingly, we make a conscious effort to encourage
communication through interaction as much as possible; however,
admittedly, options are limited in an online platform, especially with
respect to oral communication (see e.g. Blake, 2009; White, 1999,
2003, 2006; though see Wang, 2004; Wang & Sun, 2001). In order to
optimize opportunities for oral communication, however, we ask
learners to record themselves and either send the product to the
instructor for feedback or post it on the discussion board to elicit
peer feedback (see Figures 3 and 4).

We have found that the online setting actually provides a

potentially greater opportunity for incorporating the learners’ own
experiences and reflecting on their learning process and meta-
linguistic knowledge through the use of delayed production and the
discussion board, especially at the introductory levels. In a traditional
classroom, learners’ fluency at the introductory level can be a barrier
to sharing personal information and discussing high level concepts
about the language; in the online environment, on the other hand, we
are able to provide learners with the ample think-time and practice to
access the words and structures they need for accomplishing these
goals. In fact, in the online environment, we have had to incorporate
a greater emphasis on self-evaluation (listening to their own audio
and comparing it to a sample audio) and peer-evaluation (posting
their audios and recordings in the discussion boards and asking
students to evaluate or respond) out of necessity, but the by-product
we are anticipating is a heightened sense of the meta-linguistic and
meta-cognitive learning process. Of course, things are different at
advanced levels; in order to reach ACTFL’s Superior Level of
proficiency in the target language (ILR 3+), a learner would need
ample interaction with native speakers, and preferably to spend some
time in the country where the target language is spoken. A year-long
program abroad may be a necessity for these learners (Davidson,
2007). In other words, not only an online setting, but a traditional
classroom setting remains insufficient to reach such levels of
52 Özçelik & Kent

proficiency. It is, however, possible to receive the same benefits at

introductory and intermediate levels from online language courses as
traditional language classes (see e.g. Echavez-Solano, 2003,
Chenoveth, Ushida & Murday, 2006; Murday, Ushida & Chenoveth,
2008; Blake et al., 2008 for research that compared online vs. face-to-
face language classes). 1 And we have illustrated here a potential way
of doing so for LCTLs, for which online courses may be even more
crucial than more commonly taught languages.

Ultimately though, the greatest advantages we are counting

on for developing online language courses versus traditional courses
is the effect of intrinsic motivation, which we believe to be much
higher in our target population for two reasons. One, our perspective
learners have self-selected as highly motivated and genuinely
interested in learning the language. Unlike someone who might be
studying a more commonly taught language for a language
requirement, learners of LCTLs are usually more motivated to
actually learn the language because they will most likely be studying it
for a specific purpose, as was demonstrated by our survey results (see
Section 2.3). In addition, the online language classes tend to self-
select for learners who have the linguistic skills for and positive
attitudes towards working independently, as well as being
autonomous enough to have the ability to manage their own learning,
as has been emphasized in much recent research (Ushida, 2005; Blake
et al., 2008; Murphy, 2008; Murphy & Hurd, 2011; White, 2011;
Fuchs, Hauck & Muller-Hurtmann 2012; Furnborough, 2012).

3.3. Module Design

All the content of the modules and lessons are initially

created in Microsoft Word. Once the instructional designer and
developers are satisfied with the content, they transfer non-interactive

1
In fact, through the integration of such methodology as “telecollaborative
language learning” (Belz, 2002, 2003; Warschauer, 1996; O’Dowd, 2005),
online language courses can arguably do a better job in integrating intercultural
communicative competence (Byram, 1997) than traditional face-to-face classes
where the language is taught in a country with few or no native speakers.
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 53

content directly into the course management system (Canvas), using a

course shell template previously developed by the instructional
designer. This template follows the four main principles of visual
design: repetition, contrast, alignment, and proximity (Williams,
2014).

First, Repetition in design is used to create a consistent and

cohesive product (consistent heading styles, limited font styles,
repeating background colors based on table contents, etc.). Contrast in
color use and font styles is employed sparingly to bring attention and
make clear the most important elements (new terms are bolded,
important notes are larger and italicized, color is used to differentiate
between words and terms in examples, etc.). Alignment is used to
make the information on the page flow smoothly, and not pull
attention unnecessarily or confuse the learner about the order of the
learning process. Finally, Proximity is used to create a cohesive and
organized look, so that learners do not have to guess what text
accompanies what image or multimedia.

Once a lesson is entered completely into the online form and

the basic design is set, the instructional designer steps back and
allows the developers and multimedia specialist to review and tweak
the design and add the more complicated multimedia elements such
as audio and videos.

3.4. Course Evaluation

In the six months since beginning this project, in addition to

planning-related activities, such as performing a needs analysis and
creating templates for language experts to use, the development team
has completed 4 modules (3 lessons each) in Introductory Dari and
Pashto, and 3 modules (3 lessons each) in Introductory Uyghur. At
an estimated 4 hours per lesson, that is a total development of 48
hours of online language learning for Dari and Pashto and 36 hours
for Uyghur. The team’s goal is to develop 10 modules of three
lessons each, for a total of 120 hours of language learning per course.
Concurrent with module development, CeLCAR has also developed
54 Özçelik & Kent

a three-fold assessment plan for performing both formative and

summative evaluations of our materials, which is composed of (i)
self-evaluation, (ii) inter-evaluation and (iii) external evaluation.

First, regarding (i) self-evaluations, the team created an

evaluation checklist based on our own criteria of pedagogical
principles and methodology (see sections 3.1 and 3.2) and the 5 Cs
defined in the National Foreign Language Standards. These include:
Does the module provide opportunities for learners to communicate with each other
and the instructor in the target language, both written and oral? Is cultural
learning embedded in the module? Do the module activities allow learners to
express and share prior knowledge and personal experiences? Are learners
encouraged to compare their own language with the target language? Are learners
given opportunities to extend their learning experiences about the target language
and culture through interactions with native speaking peers? (email exchanges,
social media, etc.) Each question is rated on a scale of 0 (Almost never)
to 3 (Always/Almost Always), and the evaluations are then examined
to identify potential weak areas.

During the research phase, the team conferred with CITL

and OOID, two units at IU that specialize in online course
development and instructional design, to seek advice and gather
resources. As part of our collaborative agreement, CITL and OOID
have agreed to conduct on-going (ii) inter-evaluations on our materials
using the Quality Matters program, which is a “collegial review
process in which reviewers provide feedback on course design in two
ways: (1) awarding of points for specific review standards, and (2)
providing substantial, constructive, and specific comments and
suggestions with regard to both course strengths and areas for
improvement” (Quality Matters, 2011). The Quality Matters program
is based on eight standards: (i) Course Overview and Introduction, (ii)
Learning Objectives (Competencies), (iii) Assessment and Measurement, (iv)
Instructional Materials, (v) Learner Interaction and Engagement, (vi) Course
Technology, (vii) Learner Support, and (viii) Accessibility. The following are
examples to each of these standards: 1.1 Instructions make clear how to get
started and where to find various course components. 2.1 The course learning
objectives describe outcomes that are measurable. 3.2 The course grading policy is
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 55

stated clearly. 4.4 The instructional materials are current. 5.1 The learning
activities promote the achievement of the stated learning objectives. 6.1 The tools
and media support the course learning objectives. 7.1 The course instructions
articulate or link to a clear description of the technical support offered and how to
access it. 8.3 The course design facilitates readability and minimizes distractions.

And finally the team is conducting (iii) external evaluations by

distributing a modified version of the (i) internal evaluation form to
learners and asking for feedback on their opinion and experiences, as
well as rating how well the material has met their expectations.
Additionally, during the prototyping stage, the team plans to compare
the performance assessments of traditional classroom learners with
the performance assessments of their online counterparts to compare
and contrast the effectiveness of achieving proficiency levels in each
course, which will help us identify weak spots in the course design.
We also have plans to ask a couple of external evaluators (a general
language pedagogist and a specialist in the target language) to review
our materials.

4. Conclusion
The past few months spent developing the online courses in
Introductory Dari, Pashto, and Uyghur has been challenging and
enlightening work. Members of the online development team have
pushed themselves to ensure that the course curriculum and materials
being developed are linguistically, pedagogically, and technically
strong by incorporating relevant current research and methodology
of the respective fields into the overall course design, in addition to
designing a solid three part evaluation plan.

The first two modules in the languages were the most

difficult and time-consuming to develop, since team members were
still negotiating the landscape of the online platform in addition to
considering the actual content of the course. Throughout the entire
process, the team has invested a lot of time figuring out how to make
the course truly interactive, and not just a digital version of a
56 Özçelik & Kent

textbook. Additionally, we have challenged ourselves that, once we

develop a solid lesson or activity, to not simply repeat the same
design over and over again throughout the other modules, because
this kind of repetition quickly leads to learner boredom. We sought,
and continue to seek, ways to develop activities that engage the
learners both in content and skill variability. Furthermore, the team
continues to seek alternative methods of learner assessment,
especially the productive skills of speaking and writing, but improving
assessment of the receptive skills as well.

The second two modules have come together faster, and the
team projects the rest of the process to move along faster still. The
goal is to complete three modules during Fall 2015 and three more
modules during Spring 2016 (including conducting the ongoing
formative assessments), so that all 10 completed modules can be fully
tested with students during Summer 2016. Because the materials are
all online, the team hopes to integrate feedback as it is received so
that the entire course is ready for enrollment by Fall 2016. This
means that each course is intended to take 2 academic years (i.e. four
semesters) to complete.

In addition to the team’s private development goals, a goal

from the beginning of the project has been to document the ongoing
development process in an effort to provide a solid framework on
which other centers and departments of LCTLs can build their own
online programs, allowing them to benefit from the advantages of
online courses previously mentioned: such as increasing the number
of language offerings, increasing enrollment in LCTL courses,
lowered operational costs, greater geographical access to students,
etc. By publishing the accounts of the team’s journey along with an
explanation of the research and methodology that guided our
decisions, the team will not only make it easier to develop our own
subsequent online courses in Uzbek, Mongolian, and Tibetan (slated
for Fall 2017), but will also inspire other LCTL professionals to
establish similar developmental teams and use similar methods and
principles in preparing their own online LCTL courses. In order to
achieve this goal, the team will continue documenting the rest of the
Research-Informed Online Language Course Design and Development 57

developmental progress, including the course evaluations and

prototyping process, as well as the comparative statistical analysis of
learners’ summative performance assessments between the traditional
classrooms and online courses, all to be published and made available
through our department website: http://www.indiana.edu~celcar.

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