Transitioning to the New Normal and Beyond: Maximizing Students’ Active Learning in Task-Supported Curricula

Abstract

ABSTRACT Amid the lingering impacts of COVID-19, consistently shifting between online and face-to-face educational settings can be particularly challenging for language teachers and learners. Regardless of the learning environment, it is crucial to provide language learners with opportunities to engage in interactive and communicative activities both in and outside the classroom. In the context of a liminal pandemic era, this article aims to share task-supported learning activities developed for Korean learners at the beginner level. The developed task set contains in-class and out-of-class tasks focused on developing the three modes of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational) and intercultural competence. Given as open educational resources (OER), these collaboratively developed tasks have been piloted across two higher education settings in the United States, demonstrating their sustainability in various learning environments, whether they be online, in person, or hybrid. These tasks that are designed based on the backward design process provide a systematic roadmap for the transition from perception-based tasks to production-based tasks that adhere to the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements (2017). Students’ reflections and instructors’ observations indicate that these tasks and assessment tools are beneficial in developing students’ language capacities, intercultural competencies, and sense of achievement in learning.