In our Top 10 E-Learning Trends for Languages in 2019, we explore the technology and advances that will influence online and blended language learning this year. The e-learning world is rapidly evolving and it is important to keep up to date with any developments that will become real trends in 2019.

op 10 E-Learning Trends for Languages

For 2018, we discussed new features such as gamification and adaptive learning. Both have proved they are not just a passing fad in the sector. Proof of this is the proliferation of e-learning. During 2019, the opportunity to continue to evolve and improve is there, especially for adaptive learning, which is just beginning to emerge from tentative punctual tests to complete experiences based on this technology.

On the list of trends, we find some repeats from 2018 but they will become even more important this year, as is the case of social learning or virtual reality.

Methods such as collaboration and immersive technology are two of the major trends for language training. On the one hand, they enable students to practice languages with other students and turn studying into a fun and entertaining experience, and on the other, they help achieve 100% language immersion, which is necessary to study languages like a native.

 

Top 10 E-Learning Trends in 2019

#1 Video-learning: interactive video

Video is the most valued medium for students and teachers, especially for young people. This year, the presence of videos in courses will continue to increase as an indispensable resource, but it will go a step further. In CAE’s educational platforms (Voluxion), teachers will be able to introduce interactive audiovisual formats where students will not just be mere spectators, but rather they will be required to participate and follow directions from interactive videos.

 

#2 Micro-learning or Instant Learning

Flexible schedules and curriculums are one of the features that have made e-learning so successful, and possibly one of the main reasons for the tremendous growth that it has shown in the last decade.

This flexibility is clearly seen with microlearning, concentrated learning nuggets that allow short training sessions with access to specific content, also known as instant learning. In this way, those who are in charge of e-learning lower their costs, and students with less time or means can access training that accommodates both their schedule and wallet.

In online language courses, these specific learning nuggets make it possible for teachers to work on students’ weaker areas individually and specifically.

 

#3 Mobile Learning

Current phones have technical features that make it possible for you to use them to learn online (screen size, resolution, touch properties, network connection, RAM, processor).

Given the number of cell phones in circulation, it is inevitable to rely on them as one of the fastest growing supports for online language learning, especially because of the versatility they give students both in terms of scheduling and location. In general, we carry a phone around all day, which makes it is easy to find time to study the online courses we are enrolled in, and in the case of languages, it strengthens language immersion.

 

#4 Content Curation

The proliferation of e-learning is such that a phenomenon called content curation will be widespread among courses in 2019. Content curation refers to selecting relevant information in order to offer students specialized training, with up-to-date and important information that distinguishes certain training from others. This is the opposite of courses that contain enormous amounts of information since quantity has more weight than quality.

In this sense, contents of the English Primary and Secondary Classroom Companion feature a “content curation” that ties the course in with the rest of the students’ curriculum for transversal learning that includes history, philosophy, the environment or personal growth.

 

#5 Digital ID

An innovative tool that is being praised by teachers is digital identity. In face-to-face classes, facial recognition of each student has started to be used in China to monitor student attention, among other things. In self-learning language courses, a digital identity will allow teachers to ensure that the exercises and lessons have been completed by the person registered for the course.

 

(This article continues in “Top 10 E-learning Trends for languages in 2019 II”)

 

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