Evidence of Learning through Videos

BACKGROUND

We organised a Spanish language course for a large American retailer. Participants were primarily multilingual, living and working in different offices around the UK and Europe, mainly young professionals. Due to their different locations, we opted for online lessons. As lessons were just 45 minutes long and once a week, we decided to focus on evidence of learning to maximise participants’ exposure to the language and group work.

CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS

The main objective for our corporate client was to offer their staff lunch time lessons to raise morale and give them an opportunity to learn with other teams from other offices. Lessons were to be taken during their lunch break so just 45 minutes each. Lessons had to focus on communication and interaction.

CHALLENGES

• 45 minutes for each lesson
• The course was to be delivered live online
• 10 lessons in total
• Multilingual participants
• Some participants had already some knowledge of Spanish
• Participants had different expectations
• Absences linked to COVID and work commitments

RESULTS

As lessons were short and just once a week, we decided to experiment with an online platform called VideoBit to help participants evidence their learning each week. Lessons focused on the basics of Spanish with focus on communication. After each lesson, the tutor posted a short video, maximum 60 seconds, with an example of what they should post as their homework. This was a fun and relevant way to engage participants scattered across Europe and the UK to connect between lessons, learn from each other and showcase what they learnt each week.

SUMMARY

Thanks to our fantastic teachers, participants achieved:

• A basic knowledge of Spanish
• The ability to interact in simple everyday situations
• The opportunity to interact with their colleagues 
• Showcase their learning each week

Written by Lara Panzini

About the author

Lara Panzini started her carrier in education as a qualified primary school teacher. She holds a BSc (First Class Honours) Professional Studies from London University – Academic research methods applied to the workplace. She specialised in language teaching by obtaining a TEFL certificate and a certificate in Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language, RSA Diploma in Teaching Foreign Language to Adults (DTFLA), RSA Assessor Award: Training and Development (NCVQ: Level 3) and is a Business Cultural Trainer.