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It organizes essential orientation details on expectations and technology while supporting an inquiry community through teaching, social, and cognitive presence. The module also helps build anticipation about language and cultures and creates a space to address language-learning anxiety and common misconceptions, guided by best practices for online and online-language teaching.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-start-here-module-creating-a-first-day-impression-in-an-online-language-class/601313/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-start-here-module-creating-a-first-day-impression-in-an-online-language-class/601313.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"hdkawk","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the Start Here module’s purpose in an online language class?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It provides orientation on expectations and technology requirements while helping instructors establish teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. It also supports community-building and reduces anxiety through discussion.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the article connect the Start Here module to the community of inquiry model?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It argues that the first weeks should build an inquiry community using strong teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. The Start Here module is positioned as the first opportunity to begin that process.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why is planned online language education emphasized, especially after COVID-19?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The article describes crisis-prompted online teaching during the pandemic and then highlights the need for planned online language education informed by best practices. Planned preparation helps ensure effective learning comparable to in-person instruction.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},601313,1792190472,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},3985747859855,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","2  \nThe Start Here Module: Creating a First Day Impression in an Online Language Class  \nSabrina Wengier  \nMiddle Georgia State University  \nAbstract  \nStudents gain a lasting impression of a course and of the instructor on the first day of class (Lang, 2019). In asynchronous online or hybrid classes, the equivalent of the first day of class is the Start Here module. This orientation module should contain essential information about class expectations and technology requirements and provide help and accessibility resources. However, it is also the first opportunity for the instructor to establish a community of inquiry (Garrison et al., 2000) through a strong teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. The Start Here module in an online language class is also fertile ground to build anticipation about the language and cultures taught, and to provide a space to discuss potential language anxiety and common misconceptions about language learning.  \nKeywords: asynchronous classes, first day of class, community of inquiry, community building online, language-learning anxiety, language-learning expectations, online course orientation, Start Here module  \nBackground  \nIn 2017, I taught my first asynchronous online language course to address my institution’s need to reach students on all five of our campuses (I am the only French instructor at Middle Georgia State University) . I completed the training offered by our Center for Teaching Excellence but still felt unsure about the class. My concerns were threefold: (1) I was uncertain how I would interact with students and establish connections with them; (2) I was worried about losing the immediacy of the language practice; and (3) I was concerned whether students would receive enough exposure to the language. I attended professional development workshops, read literature about general online teaching and teaching languages online, and eventually found ways to establish my teaching presence and connect with my online students.  \nI believe that establishing strong foundations for the class in terms of teaching, social, and cognitive presence (Garrison et al., 2000), building a community of learning, and motivating students to learn the language and cultures begin with the Start Here module. For me, the Start Here module is the online equivalent of the first day of a face-to-face class. It should provide students with the orientation information they need to be successful in the class, but it should also be an opportunity for students to establish connections with their instructor and their peers (Asgarpoor, 2019;  \n36 Dimension 2022  \nNilson & Goodson, 2018; Russell & Murphy-Judy, 2021) . The Start Here module is also fertile ground to start building anticipation about the course content (Darby & Lang, 2019) and the language-learning journey (Russell & Murphy-Judy, 2021) . Boettcher and Conrad (2021) contend that presence, community, and clear expectations should be the three pillars of the beginning weeks of an online class. In this article, I will provide suggestions on key elements of the Start Here module that are supported by best practices for online learning and online language learning in asynchronous and hybrid language classes that can be adapted to other delivery modes.  \nLiterature Review  \nPlanned Online Language Education  \nIn spring 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced instructors into teaching online, what happened was “crisis-prompted online language teaching”(Gacs et al., 2020, p. 380). Instructors had to find ways to adapt quickly, whether or not they had prior experience teaching in the online environment. In fall 2020, several U.S. institutions, mine included, partially returned to in-person instruction and chose among a variety of online delivery modes: synchronous (through videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom), asynchronous (in which students and instructor do not meet at the same time), hybrid (a mix of in-person and asynchronous online), ","cbCaidlzVhRPgE5b","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidlzVhRPgE5b","pdf",203060,22,"English","# Abstract\n# Background\n## Instructor experience and initial concerns\n# Literature Review\n## Planned Online Language Education\n## Universal Design for Learning and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion","[{\"question\":\"What is the Start Here module’s purpose in an online language class?\",\"answer\":\"It provides orientation on expectations and technology requirements while helping instructors establish teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. It also supports community-building and reduces anxiety through discussion.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article connect the Start Here module to the community of inquiry model?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that the first weeks should build an inquiry community using strong teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. The Start Here module is positioned as the first opportunity to begin that process.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is planned online language education emphasized, especially after COVID-19?\",\"answer\":\"The article describes crisis-prompted online teaching during the pandemic and then highlights the need for planned online language education informed by best practices. Planned preparation helps ensure effective learning comparable to in-person instruction.\"}]","The Start Here Module - Creating a First Day Impression in an Online Language Class | PDF",1792092382,55]