When choosing a distance language training course, nothing should be left to chance! Why? Because, the wrong choice would result in your embarking on a training course that will not ensure your commitment. Result: lack of motivation, absenteeism and worse of all dropping out. We all know that motivation in distance language training is the key to success! We believe that we can spare you the headache of trying to select the right training course among the multiple offers on the market.
Distance training choices: too wide a range?
Training: no more face-to-face, make way to remote training!
For several years now, distance learning has been gaining ground. Between the emergence of increasingly powerful digital tools and changes in day-to-day ways of life, distance learning now makes it possible to free oneself from a certain number of constraints.
The current health crisis has intensified the trend and need for distance training. It’s pretty clear that a training organisation without a distance offer is an organisation living on borrowed time! Trying to escape the inevitable, more and more training organisations are offering distance learning . But all offers are not quite the same.
Don’t get lost in the maze of distance language training
A good distance training course is one with a programme built through genuine pedagogical engineering and that delivered through appropriate tools. Unfortunately, not all training courses on the market meet these quality criteria.
When you search for distance training in English on the site MonCompteFormation, for example, you get close to 140,000 results. Only certified courses that are eligible for CPF are listed on this site. Do you think every single one of these offers is worth it? Clearly not possible! Some of them will offer the right conditions to promote motivation… and many simply won’t.
So, what is distance training exactly?
Before finding distance training conducive to motivation, it is necessary to determine what distance training is first.
A motivating distance training course is…
The official definition characterises distance training as « a type of tutoring (…) without the physical presence of a teacher ». But the fact of the matter is a bit more complexe than that. A real distance language training offers:
- a clear training programme in line with the learner’s objectives ;
- tutoring through digital solutions;
- well-thought out training sessions, educational resources and exercises ;
- a follow-up of the learner with regular feedback;
- and a human touch! (Yes, a real person, even at a distance).
… But it is not
On the contrary, distance language training is not:
- a random selection of exercises made available online;
- lessons are not correlated to a specific and mapped out programme ;
- pure digital without the right amount of human support.
Motivation in distance language training: finding the right modality
Asynchronous or synchronous, that is the question.
There are two main modalities of distance language training: the asynchronous form and the synchronous form.
When it comes to the asynchronous modality, the process is different. This is for example what is found in the classic (non-tutored) form of E-learning, where the learner can study the course material at the time he or she finds most appropriate. There are also other forms of asynchronous learning such as:
- Micro Learning and « Nuggets » Learning ;
- MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) and SPOC (Small Private Online Course).
The main perk of the asynchronous modality is that it offers great freedom of organisation. On the other hand, from a support perspective, it is far less interesting.
On the other side of the spectrum of training modalities is synchronous training. Here, learner/trainer exchanges are live via :
- individual or group lessons by visio or by phone;
- Webinars.
Synchronous training requires a certain amount of organisation (planning according to time constraints), but it provides the learner with the necessary human support key to motivation.
👉 Discover (or rediscover) all the benefits of phone and visio lessons in our previous article.
Blended Learning, the best of both worlds wrapped in a hybrid form
There is a training modality that combines the advantages of the synchronous and asynchronous forms: le Blended Learning.
It is a blended modality that combines live training sessions with a trainer and offline learning sessions using digital tools and materials. The right balance between human support and the freedom offered by digital technology, training naturally becomes more motivating.
Because of the dynamism it offers, Blended Learning is the solution most likely to generate commitment when it comes to distance language training.
Sorting through the numerous training offers is only the first step in finding a motivating distance training course! Want to find out what the 7 other key points to take into consideration are?
Don’t wait any longer and download your free white paper “The 8 must-know tips to motivation and commitment in Distance Language Training”.
You will find 20 pages of concrete advice on how to select the distance language training that is sure to get you or your employees involved!