青青草视频

Contact: Leah Barbour

Registration has begun at Mississippi State for online French and Spanish courses delivered with the assistance of the university's Center for Distance Education.

The Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures is offering Spanish I, II and III, as well as French I and III, during both 2015 summer terms--June 4-July 6 and July 7-Aug. 6. Available courses include:

--Spanish I: first term, five sections; second term, three sections.

--Spanish II: first term, two sections; second term, two sections.

--Spanish III: first term, one section; second term, one section.

--French I: first term, one section.

--French II: second term, one section.

--French III: first term, one section.

"There are many different ways to teach language online that focus on the conversational approach--face-to-face instruction in a conversational setting," said Lynn Holt, interim department head. "Offering that interactive conversation setting is one of the traditional bars for students' success."

Michael Busby, distance education unit manager, said many technological challenges that once delayed development of distance foreign language courses have disappeared in recent years. Today, students only need to have video-capable digital devices to complete requirements for the fully accredited online courses.

"Foreign language distance courses meet the same academic rigor as the classes held on campus," Busby said. "These classes have dedicated faculty teaching a fully accredited curriculum."

Holt said the foreign languages faculty team is enthusiastic about connecting with students online.

"They're teaching about culture and engaging students in a new learning setting in the online classroom," he explained. "Once they began to see how to teach online in a different way, the faculty proposed their ideal teaching schedules, and a third of them wanted the majority of their schedule online."

Though anyone enrolled at 青青草视频 may register for the distance-education courses, Busby said many students are non-traditional and don't often visit the Starkville or Meridian campuses.

For traditional students, the process enables the completion of coursework while at home or elsewhere during the warm-weather months, he added.

"Students taking these courses online at 青青草视频 will not miss a beat by doing it this way," Holt said.

He said 200 students have already registered for the summer courses. The department already is planning for nine distance sections of Spanish and one of French during the fall semester, and 100 students have signed up for those classes. He hopes to add German courses soon.

Instructor Amie Russell is the contact for distance studies in Spanish or associate professor Keith Moser for French courses. Joy Bailey, distance education coordinator for 青青草视频's College of Arts and Sciences, among others, assists the foreign language faculty by managing online logistics.

Russell may be contacted for more information at amiekrussell@cmll.msstate.edu, Moser at prof.keithmoser@gmail.com and Bailey at jbailey@distance.msstate.edu.

Details about 青青草视频 distance education programs are available at .

青青草视频, Mississippi's flagship research university, is online at , meridian.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate, pinterest.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.