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Running head: TEACHING AMERICAN DIPLOMATS 1

Teaching American Diplomats: Best Practices in the Distance Learning Program at the Foreign Service Institute

Erika Del Rocio Celedonio-Peñaflor

University of Maryland University College

TEACHING AMERICAN DIPLOMATS 2

Abstract

Current best practices in education have not always been part of the traditional

educational system. As in many other disciplines, the field of education sets out standards for

each subject and quantitative goals for schools in almost every state in this country. Many

teachers in this country and around the world want to provide the highest quality education for

their students. Innumerable educators implement best practices to attempt to supply students with

a first-class education. To implement best practices effectively, educators need to change and

adapt their teaching methods and keep up with new research. Best practices is a term used in

every educational setting, and distance learning is no exception. Teachers should take advantage

of new ideas and utilize new developments in teaching to continue to educate global citizens.

Distance education professionals need to understand the differences between distance learning

and face-to-face instruction to ensure quality instruction for distance education students.

This research project examines the contemporary literature on best practices in distance

education applicable to distance language teaching particularly to the Distance Language

Program at the Foreign Service Institute. This paper will also propose recommendations to

improve the program based on research-based findings. As with many subjects, distance

language instruction has grown in recent years because of increased usage of the Internet. It is

imperative to understand which methods work best for teaching languages in a face-to-face

setting in order to analyze what practices could be useful in providing a meaningful experience

to language learners in distance education.


Introduction

According to Cynthia White (2003), distance education (DE) has emerged through

different generations as a result of technological advances. In her book Language Learning in

Distance Education, she notes that the most common way to classify the waves of distance

education is

1. correspondence systems,

2. multimedia systems, and

3. online systems.

These systems have had an impact in distance language course design and delivery and

will most likely continue to affect the way teachers prepare their classes and guide their students.

Currently, language distance learning programs have expanded with the accelerated progress in

information and communications technology and the demand for global education (White, 2003).

The need for language learning has always existed, and distance learning has been an option for

students to learn a foreign language. According to White, distance language professionals and

other stakeholders who see the endless possibilities offered by distance learning have a

widespread desire for modernization in the field of distance language learning. This desire for

modernization is true of the School of Language Studies faculty at the Foreign Language

Institute (FSI). Currently, the Distance Learning Program at FSI offers 35 distance language

learning courses taught by 32 language and cultural instructors who are native speakers of the

language they teach. The learners are Foreign Service officers who are seeking to develop

proficiency in a specific language to work at the US embassies or consulates around the world.

The context of teaching students who are working all over the world brings unique difficulties

for the teachers and learners, such as security issues. Another challenge for teachers is


scheduling because students are dispersed around the globe. It is difficult for teachers to maintain

the flexibility and adaptability to distance learners’ needs. Presently, the teachers at FSI use the

Learn Center as their Learning Management System, a Share Point site to promote asynchronous

students’ participation, MS Outlook, a telephone, a chat room, and sometimes Skype to interact

with students synchronously.

As in many other institutions, at FSI, there is a focus on technology. The following quote

from the director’s vision statement exemplifies the way in which he sees technology as the

defining feature of the institution’s mission:

The Institute is an internationally renowned center of excellence, which utilizes a broad

array of cutting edge technologies to maximum impact in fulfilling its core mission to

train and develop a globally deployed workforce across an entire career span. We use

technologies as a tool to energize and engage, to boost impact, accelerate learning, and

enable a training environment that is experiential and hands-on. (Foreign Service

Institute, 2013)

Despite the difficulties of teaching in such a unique context, the faculty members of the

School of Languages at FSI have expressed the need to improve the distance language

teaching program. Language and cultural instructors are also willing to enrich their

teaching abilities. Best practices are a demonstrable way to uphold the State

Department’s mission, which is to advance the national interests of the United States and

its people (Diplomacy−State, n.d.).

Best practices are ideas, approaches, or policies teachers and administrators use to

promote student-centered learning that combine research-based information and professional

wisdom.


The aim of this paper is to answer the following questions: What are the best teaching

practices used effectively in different distance learning environments? What are the current

teaching practices in the language courses at the Foreign Service Institute? The answers to these

questions will provide information that could be used to improve the performance of language

and cultural instructors and, ultimately, to enhance the learning experience of US diplomats who

participate in the Distance Learning Program at FSI. This paper includes a thorough literature

review; a context analysis about the Distance Learning Program at FSI; and, finally, a set of

recommendations to improve teaching and learning through the implementation of best practices.

Literature Review

The investigation carried out for this paper has been gathered from many scholarly

articles, books and some internal documents from the Department of State, particularly from the

Foreign Service Institute. The scholarly articles sited through the paper provide a general

overview of best practices in face-to-face and distance learning courses. In order to show how

distance language teaching has evolved a short explanation of distance language teaching

throughout the years and specific recommendations for teachers and a proposal released by the

National Council of State Supervisors for Languages.

Background on Distance Language Courses

Most people associate distance education with Internet availability. However, distance

education has affected many students around the world since the 19th century. Moore and

Kearsley (2005, p. 2) defined distance education as planned learning that normally occurs in

different places than traditional teaching does and, therefore, it requires special course design


and instructional techniques, communication through various technologies, and special

organizational and administrative arrangements.

Like many other subjects, distance language learning has gone through a transformation,

and the variety of courses is immense. Marie-Noelle and Regine Hampel (2007) summarized key

events in computer-assisted language learning:

1. During the era of behaviorism, computer-assisted language learning techniques

comprised the use of computers to focus on drills, preferably used to develop reading

and writing skills in a foreign language.

2. During the 1980s, there was a shift to more interactive activities and greater student

choice and control to complement a communicative teaching approach.

3. From the 1990s to the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a combination of

media used in distance language learning instruction because of increased

accessibility to the Internet. Currently, teaching a language through an online course

allows for the ability to teach to a group, which before on the first generation of DE

was not possible, and there is a greater possibility than in face-to-face instruction to

implement socio-cognitive and collaborative pedagogies.

This summary of the evolution of distance language teaching demonstrates how

pedagogies and technology have influenced language courses and how different times call for

improvements and adaptations in instruction techniques. Language courses must adapt to the

students’ needs and incorporate technologies and instruction strategies from the three generations

of computer-assisted language learning.

In distance language courses, the use of synchronous tools allows students to

communicate and engage in real-time from different places. Learners and instructors can access


asynchronous tools anytime, which permit dialogue and knowledge sharing. However, it is

difficult to coordinate and integrate these learning opportunities with the needs and willingness

of the students.

What Are the Best Practices?

Steven Zemelman, Harvey Daniels, and Arthur Hyde (2005) defined “best practices as

solid, reputable, state-of-the-art work in a field” (p.6). In their book, Today’s Standards for

Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools (2005), these authors also explained that this term

originally comes from the professions of medicine, law, and architecture. Best practices

comprise techniques, activities, and approaches congruent with the latest research that have

proven to be adequate for the target audience. Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde (2005) provided

three key principles of best practices (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Key principles of best practices.

Student Centered

Social

Cognitive


These three characteristics are essential for teachers to understand what suits their

students and to take advantage of the environment in which they find themselves. Student-

centered describes a suitable environment for learning; student-centered teaching means

encouraging active learning through the use of hands-on activities. It also implies the use of

authentic material such as videos or newspaper articles to teach. Student-centered instruction

also suggests including challenging activities with adequately explained objectives that allow the

learners to be accountable for their own learning. The constructivist approach presents learning

as a series of obvious steps that give the learner and the teacher enough flexibility to modify

activities if necessary. In addition, this principle empowers students to express themselves

through writing, drawing, speech, or simulations. Finally, the social principle demands

cooperation and the establishment of classroom rules. These principles are correlated, influence

each other, and should guide teachers in deciding how to implement best practices in the

classroom.

Best Practices in Online Teaching

Larry Ragan, from Rice University in Houston Texas, wrote a thorough guide for

distance learning instructors. The best practices in table 1 are applicable to most subjects

available through online instruction. However, there are some that do not apply to the Distance

Language Program at FSI.

Table 1: Best Practices in Distance Learning Instruction

Best practice Explanation

1. Prepare for success. Get familiarized with the classroom and the LMS features before class begins. Contact instructional designer to learn


about course operation. 2. Use course management

system in teaching. Use the learning and management tools the course management system offers to communicate, assess, deliver content, and grade students.

3. Prepare students for learning online.

Welcome students. Make a brief orientation for students. Provide contact information and guidelines for participation.

4. Specify course goals, expectations, and policies.

Provide a course syllabus and guidelines for netiquette.

5. Create a warm and inviting atmosphere in which to build a learning community.

Welcome students. Post a personal introduction and try to send weekly emails to students to remind them about assignments and to motivate them to continue to work hard.

6. Promote active learning. Encourage students to think critically and be proactive in their learning.

7. Model effective online interaction.

Respond to student comments or questions. Provide general and specific feedback and reassurance to students who have completed assignments.

8. Monitor student progress and encourage lagging students.

Contact students who are not participating actively and those who have not completed assignments.

9. Assess messages in online discussions.

Set standards for online discussions to encourage student participation and dialogue in class.

10. Sustain students’ motivation.

Set up collaborative activities. Make students feel comfortable conversing online to mitigate feelings of isolation for DE learners.

11. Provide feedback and support.

Stimulate students to express questions and concerns. Provide meaningful feedback on graded and non-graded assignments.

12. Manage grades and exams.

Communicate grading policies to students in the syllabus. Assessment activities must correspond with learning objectives presented in the syllabus.

13. Follow intellectual property guidelines.

Be knowledgeable of intellectual property guidelines. Make sure students follow copyright laws.

14. Manage time and workload effectively.

Use the Course Management System tools for the appropriate task (gradebook). Establish a routine for asynchronous and synchronous interactions.

15. Communicate with an expert.

Get advice from an experienced distance learning instructor. Participate in institutional distance learning instruction training.

Larry Ragan shares a compendium of exceptional best practices that many teachers may

find valuable in performing their jobs. It is important to begin a course by making students feel at


ease. Most learners do not have previous experience in distance education and it is challenging

for students to deal with the content and the technology. As a teacher it is imperative to provide

feedback and encouragement throughout the assigned task. Students tend to feel isolated and

confused at times. Constant communication and support substitute the lack of face-to-face

interaction. Another valuable practice suggested by Larry Ragan is to communicate with those

students who are not participating actively. Distance learning intimidates many students and

some others feel their contributions are not meaningful to the group. It is important to

differentiate those students who are lurkers and those who are in risk of withdrawing. Larry

Ragan also emphasizes the importance of teacher organization. Working at a distance is

demanding and most communication happens asynchronously. Teachers must set up a routine

and manage their workload.

Teaching and Learning Tools

It is not a mystery that teaching online is not the same as face-to-face instruction.

Teachers should not replicate the instructional techniques or the same activities they use in a

traditional classroom setting with their distance learning students. Robert Thiede (2012) offered

the following ideas to engage students and to challenge and enrich the learners’ experiences. The

techniques are (a) discussion boards, (b) blogging, (c) simulations/case studies, (d) wikis, (e)

videos tapes, and (f) e-portfolios. Table 2 includes a summary of some of the advantages of these

techniques.


Table 2: Benefits of Online Instruction Activities

Resource Benefits

Discussion boards Generate debate. Provide a location where teachers and

students can clarify doubts if necessary.

Encourage discipline and communication.

Archive student comments and posts so teachers can assess students’ participation.

Blogging Promotes collaboration and knowledge creation.

Allows creative and analytical participation.

Permits frequent updates for posted work.

Provides linking capabilities.

Simulations/case studies Represent real-life problems. Encourage students to be analytical

and make decisions. Give students time to reflect on their

learning and how they solved the problem.

Wikis Allow students to organize their learning.

Make collaborative feasible. Provides a virtual space where

students can present research and redefine problems.

Videos Allow students to use their creativity to show what they have learned.

Facilitate the explanation- Comprehension of concepts.

E-portfolios Encourage learners to reflect on their own learning.

Promote problem-solving skills. Promote creativity and discipline in

completing assignments. Allow teachers to visualize students’

needs and modify curriculum if necessary.


Robert Thiede offers a variety of activities to challenge students in distance learning

environments, which are both challenging and engaging. Discussion boards allow students to

participate and maintain a dialogue with classmates and teachers. Students feel free to share

concerns and doubts and more importantly, the instructor presents the objectives and activities

and students see discussion boards as a guide to their learning. Blogs, wikis and e-portfolios can

be a group or an individual activity. These tools invite the students to reflect on their learning or t

propose new ideas or alternatives to topics discussed in class. Teachers must have a clear

objective and provide clear guidance when assigning these applications. Students may feel

overwhelmed or may lose focus on the course objectives and competencies the learner needs to

develop. E-portfolios document achievements, reflections and the learning process of each

student. The student creates, reflects and demonstrates how meaningful a course has been and

primarily, the impact it has made on the student. E-portfolios enable students to document their

own learning in a systematic and organized way. Teachers are also able to assess students’

learning and modify curriculum or class activities. Simulations and case studies promote active

learning and students are faced with real-life situations they may encounter in the future.

Simulations and case studies also leave room for auto evaluation while collaborating with others.

The student sees his accomplishments or his challenges, all of these techniques promote the three

principles cited earlier. Teachers must exercise caution and elect what is pedagogically sound

with their objectives and learning environment.

Best Practices for Language Learners


Joy Kreeft Peyton, Sarah Catherine K. Moore, and Sarah Young (2010) wrote an article

that discusses best practices specifically for the language classroom teacher and student. These

practices encourage instructors to do the following:

1. promote interaction among learners,

2. use native language when possible and appropriate,

3. connect instruction with learners’ lives, and

4. teach learning strategies explicitly.

According to these authors, promoting interaction among learners through collaboration

with other learners results in compressible output, and students feel comfortable producing

language at their level (2010). Fostering these types of interactions among distance language

learners is complicated because most students live in a different place and probably live in a

different time zone. The authors encourage the use of native language when possible and

appropriate as a best practice; however this is a controversial topic among language instructors.

The authors argue that using the native language in activities such as reading and interviewing

people and then translating the product into the second language can help students to use both

languages effectively. Teachers can also include instructions in the native language to let learners

know what is expected of them. The third suggestion is to connect instruction with learners’

lives. In a changing world that demands learners to be global citizens, it is imperative that

learners see the applications of their learning. The authors suggest using the learners’ lives and

work as a resource for class discussion and interaction. The language teacher needs to point out

and suggest specific strategies in reading, writing, speaking, or grammar to maximize students’

understanding. For example, reading in a foreign language can be difficult; nonetheless,


understating how discourse works in the second language or the purpose of connectors in

readings can make an enormous difference when learners try to comprehend a text.

Competencies for Distance Language Teachers

For best practices to work, teachers should possess specific qualities to allow them to take

advantage of the different approaches, ideas, and techniques for teaching at a distance. Cynthia

White (2003) has identified the following competencies for the successful distance language

educators:

1. Adjust to the new distance language learning settings.

2. Help learners adapt as well.

3. Identify the characteristics and needs of language learners at distance sites.

4. Provide ongoing support for learners in a new learning environment that often has

unfamiliar elements.

5. Respond to a range of issues and affective states in relationships with learners,

beyond what may generally emerge in face-to-face settings.

6. Motivate learners at a distance.

7. Support students at a distance in taking responsibility for their learning.

8. Work as part of a team with, for example, technology experts and learning support

staff.

9. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of new language learning

environments, and develop appropriate strategies and relevant responses.

10. Work within a context of ongoing change and innovation.


It is important to mention that teachers may have most of these qualities when they begin

teaching, whether the instruction is online or face-to-face. Nevertheless, the institution where

they work should be supportive and must provide the adequate training and resources to make a

smooth transition into distance language teaching.

Best practices are ideas, approaches, or policies teachers and administrators use to

promote student-centered learning that combine research-based information and professional

wisdom. Best practices can be described as what works in a particular environment and

circumstance. Teachers in distance education may be new to distance education and need to find

out what works. How do teachers know what works in DE? To adapt to DE, educators should

have constant communication with instructional designers, access to adequate training, and a

support system. There are many approaches and ideas applicable to language teaching at a

distance. However, the teachers must know their limitations as well as what is appropriate for

their contexts.

General recommendations from the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages

According to their website The National Council of State Supervisors for languages

(NCSSFL) is an organization for agency personnel from all states of the United States who have

the responsibility of foreign/world language education at the state level (NCSSFL, 2014) This

organization is aware of the potential and growth of distance foreign language instruction and

has prepared a statement to expatiate on the topic. These are the guidelines that should be taken

into consideration (NCSSFL, 2014):

1. Foreign language distance learning courses should be interactive and should include a combination of multimedia forms.


2. The courses should focus on the four linguistic abilities and the activities presented should help students to improve their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities.

3. Students should have the 2-3 opportunities every week to practice the target language orally with a certified teacher.

4. Foreign language distance learning programs present an understandable and sequential program.

5. Each distance learning language course is evaluated annually.

6. The foreign language distance learning program focuses on the students’ needs instead of the novelty of technology.

7. There should be 20 students or less on each course.

8. The distance learning teacher is a qualified professional with enough training to perform his/ her duties as a distance language teacher.

9. The distance language teacher provides a syllabus with clear expectations and shows organization warning students about up-coming activities and tasks.

10. The instructor provides opportune feedback on the students’ achievement.

11. The institution that offers the language course provides training in classroom management, course organization and technical support for the teachers.

12. The institution responsible for the course also provides information about best practices in foreign language teaching and learning.

13. There is technical support available to install, maintain and upgrade equipment.

14. The distance learning teacher has an alternate strategy in case of technical difficulties.

15. Students have access to supplementary materials which allow them to review, repeat,

practice concepts reviewed in class. Homework is also a fundamental part to reinforce

content from class.

These general suggestions are ideal for a distance language courses. There are several

ideas from the instructional design point of view, which should be emphasized. The need to

focus on instructional needs that complement the students’ learning styles rather than focusing

on the technology is an important piece of information to keep in mind. Additionally, to provide


practical activities in different presentation formats that allow students to continue developing

their written, oral, reading and listening skills. Most of the other suggestions address teacher

experience and training and how the instructors must provide timely feedback and constant oral

interactions for students. Throughout the NCSSFL report cited before there is a recurring theme

which is teacher training before teaching at a distance and the need for technical support for

students and teachers. It also suggests that teachers must provide clear objectives and enough

flexibility to provide students with daily or at least 2-3 oral interactions between the student and

the teacher. According to the NCSSFL a course should be evaluated every year. These guidelines

represent an exemplary model to follow. Nonetheless, each institution should strive for the best

language experience for their students within their context limitations.

Analysis

The Foreign Service Institute and the Distance Learning Program

The distance language program at the Foreign Service Institute is only a small section

within the school of languages nonetheless it provides a significant and robust distance language

programs. The uniqueness of the context results in many adversities such as time differences and

security bans to use some technology.

The following paragraphs contain important information about the context, the

stakeholders and some recommendations based on best practices for language teaching and

learning.

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the main professional training institution for

Department of State employees and other federal agencies. The training programs offered by FSI

are administrative, consular, economic, political, management, security, medical and public


diplomacy courses for Foreign Service officers. In addition, FSI’s course offerings include 70

languages that are taught on site. FSI has five schools:

The School of Language Studies,

The School of Applied Information Technology,

The School of Leadership and Management,

The School of Professional and Area Studies, and

The Transition Center.

Table 3: Type of courses offered by the Distance Language Program

Type of course PurposeDiplomatic Security This course assists security officers with a

level 2 speaking proficiency. The course focuses on speaking, listening comprehension and reading skills specific to security.

Express 1 This kind of course provides basic familiarization with the language. The focus of the course is to be able to operate in basic life situations.

Express II Is a continuation of Express I and focuses on everyday interactions such as giving and getting directions, food and dining and making appointments.

Intermediate I and II These courses are designed for learners who have a basic understanding of the language. A minimal S1 proficiency is required to take the course. The students will engage in casual conversations, request information and make a presentation.

Introductory Language The two primary goals of these courses are to provide students with basic grammar structure and high frequency vocabulary.

Language Conversion These courses help students who have a level 3 language proficiency in one language and wish to use that proficiency to learn a similar language. Instruction focuses on essential differences between the source and target language.

Language for Consular Tradecraft Courses assist consular officers with a speaking 2 proficiency or higher to acquire


speaking, listening, comprehension and reading related to consular work.

Listening Comprehension This course enhances listening comprehension skills through video and audio clips and practice activities. The learner is required to have a speaking 2 proficiency.

People to People A specialized language course that focuses on cultural and linguistic nuances of the language

Reading Maintenance Designed to maintain highly-developed reading skills in the target language. Learners with a speaking 3 proficiency are advised to take the course.

The Distance Language program is an offering of the School of Language Studies. There

are 35 language courses available that are taught by 32 language and cultural instructors. Courses

are offered three times a year with duration of 14 weeks. The language courses go from

elementary to advanced levels and are aligned with different proficiency levels. The students

study independently the content of the course and complete the multimedia activities on each

lesson. The student and the teacher hold a weekly meeting to interact using the target language to

accomplish the learning objectives for each unit or lesson.

Teachers Working in the Distance Learning Program

The role of the Distance Language Instructor is to serve as a mentor and to monitor the

students’ performance. Most instructors work with an average of 25 students every term and

tailor his or her class to the students’ needs and level. The teacher also tracks students’ progress

and sends out a completion assessment for the students’ file. There is no letter grade for the

courses.

Most Language and Cultural Instructors are contractors, hired through commercial

schools. The requisites to be a teacher at a distance are to be a native or near-native speaker of


the language. It is desired that the instructors be educated in their native language at least up to

secondary school. The instructors must also demonstrate ability to use Microsoft tools such as

Word, Excel and Outlook. The instructors must be familiar with tools such as Adobe Acrobat

Reader and be skillful using the Internet and a variety of asynchronous and synchronous tools for

example web video chat, and video sharing websites.

The instructors’ abilities in English and technology vary greatly. Most of the instructors

are familiar with the Interagency Language Roundtable, a scale used by different federal

agencies that provide language training to government employees. The scale consists of a set of

descriptions for 6 different skills (Brau and Brooks, 2009) listening, reading, speaking, writing,

translation and interpretation) with a scale from 0 to 5.

In most cases, distance language instructor do not have access to the internal network of

FSI. In Proposal for Distance Learning Mentors (2013), Dora S. Chanesman, training specialist

in the European Language Department, elaborated the diagram presented in figure 2 to describe

the language and cultural instructors.


Figure 2. Describing the Language and Cultural Instructors at FSI

A particularity of the Distance Language Program is that it relies on the telephone as the

primary tool to teach students. Teachers may use the chat packaged in the language management

system to communicate with students at the same time they are having their weekly class by the

phone. The use of the phone has proven to be the most reliable way to communicate with

students who live around the world in places with undependable Internet connections.

Who are the students?

The Foreign Service Institute provides training for State Department employees and

eligible family members, as well as other employees from 50 other U.S. agencies. It is important

to note that any U.S. Government agency may send employees and their adult family members to

FSI for language training in connection with their jobs. According to an internal Foreign Service

report (2013) about 90% of the students are career Foreign Service Officers or Foreign Service

Specialists.


There are five career tracks for Foreign Service generalists:

1. Consular Officer

2. Economic Officer

3. Management Officer

4. Political Officer

5. Public Diplomacy Officer

Foreign Service Specialists provide different kinds of services in embassies and

consulates around the world and here in the United States. There are seven specialized functions

for these diplomats:

1. Administration Specialist

2. Construction Engineering Specialist

3. Information Technology Specialist

4. International Information and English Language Programs Specialist

5. Medical and Health Specialist

6. Office Management Specialist

7. Security Specialist

It is important to understand the different types of Foreign Service Generalists and

Foreign Service Specialists because they take distance language courses to improve their

proficiency to communicate with their counterparts overseas. The distance language courses not

only provide the students with a foundation in the language but also job-related professional

language training.

Why do students take distance language courses?


Most students who decide to take a language course with the DLP are motivated to learn

the language. Many external factors encourage Foreign Service Officers to learn or maintain a

level of proficiency in a specific language, including (1) monetary incentives, (2) job

opportunities in the future for Foreign Service Officers and their family members, (3) requisite

for tenure, and (4) many positions overseas are language designated, which means the student

needs to acquire a specific level of proficiency.

Instructional design for the distance language courses at the Foreign Service Institute

The ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) model is

used by the Instructional Design Department at the Foreign Service Institute. The most common

approach for distance language learning courses is the collaborative approach, which allows all

the contributors to engage in different aspects of course design and promotes professional

development for the different participants. The collaborative model enables the different experts

to think critically about their role and the roles of others and to come to a consensus to improve

the course as a whole.

The collaborative team consists of the following experts:

Project managers

Content developers

Instructional designers

Programmers

Audiovisual producers (if needed)

Graphic designers

Copyright experts


It is imperative to clarify that in the last couple of years the production of situational

videos to illustrate everyday language has been reduced due to the constraints on funding.

What does a language course look like?

Figure 3: Screen shot of Spanish express course cover

Most language courses in the Distance Language program at FSI are very uniform. The

menu is on the left side of the screen. The first tab on the menu is a general introduction that

provides clear explanations about how to study, technology and tools used in the course, and

student and teacher roles. The introduction starts with a student guide. This includes an

introduction to the course and the role of the teacher throughout the course, the course syllabus,


the expectations for the students, the basic system requirements to use the Language

Management System, and the synchronous and asynchronous ways of communication while

taking the course. There is also a brief description on learning strategies.

Figure 4: Course introduction showing course overview


Figure 5: Features of the course


Figure 6: Explanation of features record and play

Within the first tab is another subtopic that the program navigates. There are specific

guidelines on how to use the main menu, the search menu, and activity buttons and icons, as well

as explanations on how to use specific features such as record and play, which allows students to

record their voice and play it back to check their pronunciation. Some courses also include a

special keyboard feature to type in some activities; an explanation on how to utilize this tool is

also included.


Figure 7: Acknowledgements

The last part of the introduction includes acknowledgements, including the names of the

collaborative team that developed the course and some copyright acknowledgements. The second

part is the course content, which is divided into units and lessons. There also are some

supplementary resources, such as glossaries, cultural information, and grammatical information.

How are the distance language courses taught?

The language and cultural instructors working for the Foreign Service Institute are

assigned an average of 25 students. The courses span over 14 weeks; the students’ are provided

with a syllabus and they generally have to cover a lesson per week. The language practice

happens between the instructor and the student via telephone. All students have to pick a specific


day and time to call the teacher for the quarter. There is some schedule flexibility and there are

constant changes in the instructor’s schedule, which are reflected on the LMS calendar. The

instructors have a weekly interaction with the students to complete the speaking task in most

cases, and to review grammar or lexical topics if necessary.

Generally, the instructors are contractors hired by the School of Languages. Some

instructors work at the Foreign Service Institute and others telecommute. Due to the security

measures on the FSI network, those who work on-site are unable to use some tools, such as

Skype and any downloadable application. Additionally, teachers who work onsite has access to

lab materials available to all language instructors at the Foreign Service Institute and could find

appropriate resources to recommend to students.

The clear differences between the onsite and telecommuting instructors create training

barriers because there are two distinct teaching contexts within one distance language teaching

department. It is recommendable that the Department makes adequate accommodations for all

instructors to work at a distance or to work on-site to reduce the differences among the

instructors’ access to technology. Moreover, the training the instructors receive on their weekly

meetings could address similar problems and create less division among the instructors. This decision

would have to be made by the upper management and due to on-site space and conditions not all

teachers are able to work from the Foreign Service Institute. Additionally, some technologies

may not be used even if the instructor has access to them and students may be in countries where

the Internet speed is too slow or the security rules at the embassy or consulate forbid their

accessing the tool. The language and cultural instructors must be ready to teach with no

technology other than the phone.


Why the phone?

Historically, the phone has been used to teach distance learning courses because security

restrictions prohibit a webcam installation in any State Department computer or the download of

programs such as Skype. Even though technology has advanced greatly in the past few decades,

the phone remains relevant and appropriate in this context. To improve the use of the phone

during classes, the language and cultural instructors blend different tools such as the chat in the

learning management system to share messages and to provide corrections for the students.

Security measures have made it difficult for instructors to use some other tools to communicate

synchronously with the students. Nonetheless, talking on the phone without an image sets a more

comfortable environment, especially for introverted students.

Weekly telephone conversations reinforce a close teacher-student relationship and also

encourage the students to communicate without relying on body language, a common aid for

learners in face-to-face language teaching. Additionally, rescheduling a phone call is easier than

setting up another synchronous interaction; the teacher and the student only need to pick up the

phone and begin with class immediately. Moreover, phone conversations permit the student and

the instructor to have equal participation during the individual session and the teacher can adapt

his/her accent and tone of voice to simulate different speaking scenarios to reenact with students.

The telephone may not be the latest technology in the market available to teach a language, but it

serves its purpose within the objectives of distance language courses. It will take time and

changes in the security policies at American embassies to allow other technologies for language

training purposes. The DL program has used the telephone satisfactorily as a primary tool of

communication between teachers and students.


Weaknesses of the Distance Language program at the Foreign Service Institute

The Office of Inspector General prepared a report in 2013 based on interviews conducted

at the Foreign Service Institute in 2012. The report highlights the strengths and weaknesses of

this particular office. The inspectors gather and assess information through interviews with

employees and supervisors; they also direct observation of the environment. The inspectors

interviewed all direct-hire staff and selected contractors in the 5 l largest language programs

which are Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. The inspectors asked open ended

questions and allowed the interviewees to express their concerns and suggestions at the end of a

20 minute interview with each employee. This report concludes that the Foreign Service

Institute has not defined the goals of language learning programs and has not tracked their

effectiveness. This observation from the inspector general requires action beyond distance

language learning specialists who work with teachers and students who take the courses. Even

though this recommendation cannot be solved within the department, it will facilitate

introspection and self-evaluation within the staff.

In her report, Instructional Need Analysis Dora S. Chanesman cited that the language and

cultural instructors needed training in the following areas:

1. Teaching skills

2. Technology skills

3. Communication skills

4. Organizational skills

The following diagram describes these skills in greater detail. The Distance Language

Specialists know that training is the best way to tackle the issues. Kristen Mulligan, the distance

language specialist, holds weekly meetings where teachers share best practices on the listed


skills. However, the DL department should consider professional training that will allow the

instructors to reflect on their current skills and to incorporate research-based proposals, such as

the best practices listed in the beginning of this article. Another way to provide high-quality

training is to reach out to the Professional Development Division at the Foreign Service Institute.

The School of Languages offers has face-to-face training for the rest of the instructors who teach

on site. Unfortunately, the instructors who work at a distance cannot attend these sessions

because of their class commitments. Perhaps the DL department and the Professional

Development division could formulate a plan specifically for distance language instructors.

Figure 8: Detailed findings


What are the DL program’s weaknesses according to the students and teachers?

Students and teachers fill out a questionnaire at the end of every term, although their

participation is not mandatory. The students who complete the survey suggest changes they

desire in the course. On the other hand, teachers must answer the questionnaire. They are asked

their opinion about the weaknesses of FSI’s Distance Learning Language program. The

following chart summarizes the most prevalent observations from the students and the teachers.

The following chart describes briefly the most palpable changes the Distance Language Program

needs to address. This list summarizes the results from the student and teacher end of training

questionnaire from the spring of 2014.

202 out of 735 total students responded to the survey and 32 instructors responded to the

questionnaire.

Students’ opinions Teachers’ opinions

1. There is a lack of intermediate

language courses in world languages.

The reading content is extremely

advanced for some students.

2. One weekly phone conversation is not

enough, especially for super hard

languages for Anglophobes.

There isn’t enough time to have at least

two sessions per week with each student.

3. There is a need for concrete

grammatical study guides and

summary of vocabulary for the whole

course.

The number of students makes it hard for

teachers to schedule makeup hours.

4. MAC users cannot access most

courses due to compatibility issues.

There is a need to develop supplementary

material, but there is no time to do it.


5. The reading content for some courses

is outdated.

Courses need to be updated.

6. Students wish all teachers had access

to Skype or FaceTime.

There is a need for more training in

technology and a site to share best

practices.

Most of the program’s deficiencies cited by students and teachers in the end-of-training

questionnaire, match each other’s opinions. Flexibility to hold more than one weekly phone call

with each student seems to be the greatest obstacle. Scheduling is difficult in the DL program

because students are working and taking the course at the same time. They need to reschedule

constantly and teachers have very little availability to do makeup hours. The number of students

each instructor is assigned depends on the demand for the course, and some students drop due to

work and family commitments. The DL program supervisors believe that adding an extra hour

will only complicate the scheduling. The Distance Language program is part of the continuing

education and students feel that teachers should have more time to reschedule classes.

The second biggest challenge is the course materials. Students want more variety and up-

to-date materials. The teachers also are aware of the need develop more up-to-date content and

take it upon themselves to try to solve this situation. However, there are no clear guidelines for

content development and teachers do their best to develop supplementary materials. The lack of

congruency in content development may cause more work for teachers, and students may not be

receiving quality supplementary materials.


Recommendations for the Distance Language Program at the Foreign Service Institute

The following recommendations are based on the best practices in different teaching and

learning styles cited above. Additionally, some of the needs identified through the distance

learning (DL) surveys from students and instructors are discussed. These suggestions will allow

those individuals involved in the supervisory level to decide what is feasible at this moment. The

intent is to promote a procedural change that will encourage the institution to generate a plan,

decide which resources are available, and to consider other variables to implement the necessary

changes.

The need for designing supplementary material

The instructors and the students both have expressed the need to update content in the

language courses. Perhaps updating all courses may not be an option for the Distance Language

Program. However, there is also a palpable need to design supplementary materials for most

courses. The learners have expressed the desire to have more challenging activities, perhaps

because the content is considerably easy. Designing supplementary materials for the intermediate

level learners may alleviate the current need to have more suitable levels for students. Designing

supplementary materials in foreign language courses is not an easy task and the Foreign Service

Institute (FSI) relies heavily on homegrown developed material because, in some cases,

commercial materials do not satisfy the learners’ needs. American diplomats learn languages to

communicate mostly in professional settings and as a result the content has to be tailored to their

professional setting abroad.


According to Dora Chanesman (2013) in her report Proposed Plan for Distance Learning

Mentors, she learned from her interviews with instructors at the DL program that most of them

make time to develop supplementary materials. The effort of the instructors is not in question;

however, the instructors should follow clear guidelines and should have standards when

designing new activities or informational resources for the students. No such standards are

currently implemented. While the teachers have students’ best interests in mind the outcome of

such laborious tasks may not help the students in the best ways possible.

In his book Language Curriculum Design, John Macalister (2010) offers a simple format

for curriculum design that could be used by instructors at the Distance Language Program.

Goals List goals and objectives for each lesson

Content and sequencing Decide on the number and size of lessons Choose the ideas of the content Choose language content Consider students’ current proficiency and wants Choose high frequency language items Start with the most useful language items Separate opposite and closely related items Vary repetitions

Format and Presentation Decide on the presentation form for the material Choose suitable activities to improve the four

language competencies Decide on the lesson format and fit the activities into

the lesson Produce material Prepare a teachers’ and learners’ guide

Monitoring, Assessing and

Evaluating

Decide the measurability and observability of objectives


Decide how to evaluate the developed material and revise it after the evaluation

The listed steps are a simple guide to produce quality materials for students to expand

their knowledge and to provide students with more levels of learning. Following a framework to

develop supplementary materials will also promote uniformity and similar quality across

languages.

Best practices in the Distance Learning Program at FSI

Larry Ragan (2008), Robert Thiede (2012), and Cynthia White (2003) propose holistic ideas to

promote in DL classrooms. Lamentably, the FSI is not a regular school. The teachers and

students face security restrictions; therefore, fewer opportunities exist for asynchronous and

synchronous individual and group activities. The students and teachers communicate by phone

once a week on at individual sessions. The Learning Management System includes features such

as chat, forums, and a resource list to external websites with grammar explanations and readings

in most cases.

The use of forums and discussions is not a priority for the teacher at the DL program

because there are strict security measures that discourage students from sharing and dialoguing.

E-portfolios and blogs are also not common within the program. Security and confidentiality are

huge concerns in the State Department and, regrettably, these best practices cannot be

implemented.

The teachers working in the DL program strive for quality and try to communicate with

students before the beginning of the semester and send out a welcome letter and distribute a


syllabus that explains the course structure for each language. The instructors also provide

support, especially at the beginning of the semester when students are less familiar with distance

language learning. The teachers keep track of students’ participation since the language courses

offered are part of continued education and do not require a grade; there is a minimum

requirement of 80% course completion. Language and cultural instructors do not have to submit

grades; they only have to submit completion assessments. With the restrictions faced by

instructors, students find the individual attention to be an asset to the program and feel

encouraged to continue improving their language skills.

Larry Ragan (2008) emphasizes the need to prepare students for learning online and the

Distance Language Program does not have a formal orientation for students. A proposal is to

make a video for all the students to communicate general guidelines such as who to contact in

case of technical problems, how to use the Learning Management System, and to explain the

general expectations the teachers have for students and the time commitment to successfully

complete their language course.

Robert Thiede (2012) also indicates that the use of simulations and case studies

encourage students to be analytical and promote problem-solving skills. The DL program should

also study the feasibility to develop more job-related courses for both Foreign Service Officers

and Foreign Service Specialists. A need analysis should to be implemented. Nonetheless, there is

a huge benefit for students, like State Department employees, who are seeking professional

proficiency.

The need for tailored training for language and cultural instructors working in the

Distance Learning Program


The School of Language Studies at the FSI is privileged to have the Curriculum and Staff

Development (CSD) Division. The division’s mission is to assist and improve the quality of

language teaching and learning in the School of Language Studies through faculty training and

student development. There are specific training needs for the language instructors working from

a distance, especially feedback, time management, and business English. In order for instructors

to use best practices recommended by the different authors cited in this paper, they need

specialized attention form the CSD Division. According to the National Council State

Supervisors for Languages (2014), institutions must promote the use of best practices in foreign

language learning and training and should train the instructors in course management, course

organization, and technical support. The CSD Division could train instructors using Adobe

Connect which is used through the FSI to have meetings at a distance. The training would have

to accommodate the teachers’ hectic schedules and meet their needs as distance language

teachers.

Most teachers who work at the DL program have considerable experience teaching face-

to-face. It is important that the distance learning DL specialist who is in charge of the training

reminds language and cultural instructors how distance language teaching differs from face-to-

face instruction. Teachers tend to replicate what has worked for them throughout their career,

and it is complicated to understand all the instruction implications that come with DL. The FSI’s

role is to train teachers to educate in congruence with Distance Education and also to use

technology as a medium for effective teaching. There may be teachers who may not be able to

perform all these competencies to perfection; however, adequate training and time to become

familiar with a new environment should encourage teachers to transition smoothly and provide

quality instruction.


Time management: An organizational issue

Best practices are methods and techniques that promote a holistic learning environment.

However, if teachers know about best practices but do not have time to develop supplementary

materials and to mentor and advise students, promoting best practices seems useless. There is an

evident desire from students to have more than one weekly phone session with their instructor.

Teachers also have expressed the desire to have more individual interactions with students. It

may be possible for the DL program to hire more instructors who would teach more than one

course in the most popular languages to help those teachers who have more than 25 students

every week. Languages such as French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic have a wide variety of

courses that could allow teachers to teach different courses to redistribute students if necessary.

It is important to clarify that it is common for students to drop out of language courses and it

may not be cost effective to implement this proposal for every language.

These recommendations represent the desires and opinions from students and instructors

and depict an ideal for the Distance Language Program. Additionally, the best practices

discussed in this section of this paper demonstrate the need to continue improving distance

language teaching and learning within this department. Nonetheless, the Distance Language

Program continues to thrive in a very challenging teaching setting due to the nature of the

context. Teachers, training specialists, and administrators in upper management should come

together to elaborate an action plan to improve the overall program.

Conclusion

Teachers at a distance face different challenges and encounter a unique teaching setting.

Best practices represent a valuable resource to implement researched based methods in distance


language teaching. Distance language teaching at the FSI is an opportunity for many American

diplomats to acquire and to improve language proficiency. The DL program has a good

reputation with students around the world. Supervisors should take advantage of the

opportunities and challenges in the DL arena to continue providing cutting-edge language

courses. Language and cultural instructors are at the front line of the program and should be

aware and willing to provide quality teaching. Best practices and teacher training are two

effective ways to improve the program. The intention to present proposals for designing new

supplementary materials and to integrate more professional training for instructors getting the

CSD involved are necessary to provide a quality service to the students. Indirectly, the Distance

Language Program at the FSI contributes to the mission of the State Department which is to

advance the interests of the American people abroad.

References

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http://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/diplomacy101/issues/170606.htm


FBI. (2009). ILR 101. Washington, DC: Author

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DC: Author.

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Lamy, M., & Hampel, R. (2007). Online communication in language learning and teaching.

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Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2005). Distance education: A systems view (2nd ed.). Belmont,

CA: Wadsworth.

Nation, I., & Macalister, J. (2010). Language curriculum design. New York: Routledge.

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