The World of Learning Institute’s instructors may only meet monthly in a virtual session, but collaboration is ongoing all the time. Collaboration occurs between instructors that teach the same language or not and it happens in many ways. Instructors are constantly communicating via email to each other sharing best practices, resources, and new tools. We also shared a google drive folder that houses a variety of resources that can be accessed anytime, anywhere and instructors have unrestricted sharing rights.
The truth is that we are addicted to learning because we are surrounded by a great group of individuals who are passionate. So while I share with you my top 3 reasons why we do this, know that it is who you surround yourself with that matters too! Find compassionate and caring individuals who will help you succeed and provide you with tools and communicate to do so. So… here is why we just can’t stop learning!
- New Virtual Tools: There are new virtual tools that come out daily! Virtual tools DO NOT drive our instruction; however, they can help us engage learners and provide them more access to authentic learning experiences. We also like to share new virtual tools with our learners as a means of choice and personalization so they can work in areas of interest and develop learning experiences that are meaningful to them.
- Best Practices in World Language Instruction: In order to ensure our learners get the best instruction, we have to know the best practices and be on top of the research that comes out. Many of our instructors are enrolled in universities taking continuing education courses. Over the course of the year, our instructors attend conferences, join professional organizations, and participate in other local world language groups to identify best practices and resources.
Lastly, and the most important reason we can’t stop learning… the LEARNER and the LANGUAGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE! There is no way we can stop learning on inquiring feedback because our goal is to provide the best virtual language learning experience to our learner. We want them to love learning about a new language and culture to obtain their goals so that is why we keep learning, and learning, and learning!