Gateway
Languages
Integrate virtual international education into existing residential language course offerings and build the next generation of global citizens.
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Gateway
Languages
Integrate virtual international education into existing residential language course offerings and build the next generation of global citizens.
Bridging virtual and in-person proficiency-based language learning
We are a group of passionate and experienced language professionals who partner with colleges and universities around the world to enhance world language course offerings through virtual proficiency-oriented engagement and practice that “snaps-on” as an enhancement to residentially taught courses. We provide faculty with flexible semester-by-semester options to help students to explore the linguistic, socio-linguistic, and socio-cultural aspects of the target language through virtual tutorials and instruction with professional teachers and conversation practice with native speakers.
Our mission is to help students achieve proficiency and persist in their language studies. This is not a replacement to in-class curriculum, but a way to enhance student learning.
Please note that all services and service bundles offered by Gateway Languages are designed for faculty and departments to integrate into their existing courses and programs. Students will only be able to participate as part of their course or group; opting in on an individual learner basis is not possible at this time.
Residential
Language Instruction
Virtual
Language Practice
Enhanced
Student Proficiency
The ongoing shifts in our geo-political and educational landscape is forcing world language educators around the globe to rethink how we innovate and deliver meaningful contemporary instruction. Although many teaching faculty members are overextended, it is now more important than ever to help our students achieve their goals of becoming proficient, active, and culturally responsive language users. At the same time, we must build stronger programs, recruit more learners, and increase retention into higher proficiency levels and counter the downward enrollment trend of the past decade in postsecondary world language education.
Gateway handles all arrangements with service providers and appoints a dedicated program coordinator who ensures that delivery is smooth, fully addresses your needs, and allows you can focus on doing what you do best — educating and preparing students for the future.
Gateway Languages takes the burden off world language faculty to find providers and develop programs that best complement their courses. In direct consultation with language departments, we listen to our clients’ needs, identify and bundle suitable services, and assist with their integration into existing curricula. In this way, we help often overextended language faculty and their programs to integrate authentic virtual and proficiency-oriented supplemental instruction, tutoring, and real-time conversation practice with native speakers into residentially taught language courses – out-of-class practice to complement in-class instruction.
To accomplish this goal, we leverage our global network of reputable language providers to offer students opportunities for real-time language practice without having to travel abroad. Departments may select among Gateway’s three distinct, yet customizable, plans to provide students one-on-one or group tutorials with professionally trained teachers, conversation practice with native speakers, and language enrichment activities. This is achieved in four basic steps:
Gateway will assign a program coordinator who works closely with individual faculty members or language section coordinators to determine which proficiency enhancement modality best aligns with course goals and objectives and would be most attractive to students.
Once determined, Gateway will identify the best-suited provider in the desired target language(s)/country to render all language and intercultural enhancement services for the duration of the course. Gateway will gladly provide directions for faculty members to adapt their course syllabi to explain expectations and outcomes of the program to students.
Students will be assigned to the respective service provider and, if applicable, register on their platform to access scheduled or on-demand, real-time engagement with native speakers. The Gateway program will liaise closely with the faculty member, students, and service providers for the duration of the course. Faculty will be provided with regular feedback and participation/performance metrics as needed.
Gateway will collect and make available provider evaluation feedback and outcomes. As needed, Gateway can provide recommendations for assessment of student learning.
Students need only register for courses as they would normally do, and no additional program applications or approvals are required. Programs offered through Gateway Languages programs should not be viewed as an optional course add-on, but rather integrated completely into the design and delivery of each participating course, with requisite participation of all enrolled students.
Departments select among Gateway’s three service plans that vary by the extent to which students can access virtual language instructional resources. In all plans offered to students, Gateway handles all arrangements and appoints a coordinator who provides personalized language enrichment activities.
We suggest that these services be viewed as an integral part of an institution’s course design and delivery of each participating language course, with requisite participation of all enrolled students. No minimum course enrollment required.
We suggest that these services be viewed as an integral part of an institution’s course design and delivery of each participating language course, with requisite participation of all enrolled students. No minimum course enrollment required.
Gateway will endeavor to accommodate the following commonly taught languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.
World language faculty can easily enhance their residential courses by embedding meaningful virtual language and intercultural experiences into existing course syllabi. Currently, Gateway offers the following program modalities
(Please note that availability of these services differs between languages.)
Gateway works directly with faculty members to integrate customized virtual language learning into residentially taught language courses. As part of Plan A, students will have one-on-one and group-based tutorials with trained language teachers based at reputable language centers around the world. One-on-one tutorials are fully customized to each distinct course syllabus and group tutorial target specific proficiency levels. Gateway provides end-of-term assessment reports that can be factored into course grading. Additionally, students have access to a virtual platform where they can engage in on-demand conversation practice with native speakers. Faculty members can select topic-specific modules to align with course syllabi and monitor student activity. Gateway also offers optional language and intercultural enrichment activities designed to engage students in utilizing the target language in a natural setting. These may include virtual city tours, guest speakers, book recommendations, recipes, links to free podcasts and related media, etc.
Students pay an additional course fee to the home institution that is assessed at the time of registering for each respective course.
Features
Gateway works with faculty members to integrate virtual group tutorials as an enhancement to residentially taught language courses. Faculty members may assign weekly group tutorials with trained language teachers based at reputable language centers around the world. Weekly group tutorials target the development of linguistic skills at specific proficiency levels in the target language. The group tutorials can be customized as needed, and may be structured around a particular language focus or be project based (e.g., senior capstone, language project, etc.)
Additionally, Gateway provides students with access to a virtual platform where they can engage in real-time conversation practice with native speakers. Faculty members can select topic-specific modules to align with course syllabi and monitor student activity. Gateway also offers optional language and intercultural enrichment activities designed to engage students in utilizing the target language in a natural setting. These may include virtual city tours, guest speakers, book recommendations, recipes, links to free podcasts and related media, etc.
Departments pay a one-time fee each semester to Gateway. (Departments may elect to assess a required fee of students to cover cost of plan.)
Features
Gateway provides departments with access to an interactive virtual platform through which their students can engage in real-time, peer-to-peer conversation practice with native speakers. Faculty members can select topic-specific modules to align with course syllabi and review reports on their students’ usage of the platform as part of course participation grades. Gateway provides optional language and intercultural enrichment designed to engage students in utilizing the target language in a natural setting. This may include virtual city tours, guest speakers, book and movie recommendations, recipes, links to free podcasts, etc.
Currently, French and Spanish language learners can earn additional peer-to-peer conversation practice sessions at no cost by serving as ESL peer instructors.
Departments pay a one-time fee each semester to Gateway. (Departments may elect to assess a required fee of students to cover cost of plan.)
Features
Students pay a modest course fee to the university upon registration for the Gateway embedded portion of their course, which, in turn, is paid to Gateway. Gateway prefers not to bill students directly.
| Plan Type | Price Description |
|---|---|
|
Plan A: Course Integration |
$430 per student/semester, includes ten 30-minute custom one-on-one tutorials, ten group tutorials, ten 15-minute peer conversation sessions, and access to language and cultural enrichment activities. |
|
Plan B: Course Enhancement |
$140 per student/semester, includes ten group tutorials; ten 15-minute peer conversation sessions, and access to language and cultural enrichment activities. |
|
Plan C: Language and Cultural Enrichment |
$100 per student/semester, includes ten 15-minute peer conversation sessions and access to language and cultural enrichment activities. |
Gateway Languages is led by Dr. Tim Jansa, an innovative and visionary postsecondary educator with more than 20 years in world language and intercultural education, training, and higher education administration. Dr. Jansa’s professional experience includes a decade-long career as a German language instructor, intercultural trainer, and language program administrator in various secondary, postsecondary, and both for-profit and nonprofit continuing education settings. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Director of Language Programs at the Goethe-Zentrum/German Cultural Center Atlanta. He believes in the transformative power of language and intercultural learning and has used his expertise to reimagine college and university world language curricular with proficiency, student retention, and a holistic educational experience in mind.
His academic research centers on higher education leadership at the intersection of college and university internationalization with postsecondary world language education. His scholarly activity has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications, as well as presentations at both regional and international conferences on topics such as intercultural competence and student motivation for impactful global learning.
Gateway International Group has made the commitment to allocate 5% of all revenue to support traditionally underrepresented student participation in international learning and engagement. We have designated the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) as a recipient of funds gathered through Gateway Education Abroad. FEA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides scholarships and ongoing support to students who are underrepresented in U.S. education abroad.
Gateway Affiliate
Gateway Affiliate
Moderated by Dr. Dennis Looney, this webinar discusses proven and widely applicable solutions for world language departments and practitioners to respond to many of the pressing issues facing our discipline. Panelists share innovative strategies that have helped their programs remain viable and thrive during times of decreased language enrollment and reduced budgets.
Tuesday, April 13 2021
Director of Programs and ADFL, Modern Languages Association
Department Chair, Department of World Languages and Cultures Georgia State University
Professor of German, Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures University of North Texas
Director, School of American & Global Studies South Dakota State University
Co-sponsored by Gateway International Group and the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages.
Effective, sustainable, and meaningful language learning incorporates multiple competencies that allow for a holistic and formative student experience. Gateway’s supplemental instructional modules address both language and intercultural dimensions as determined by our clients. Depending on the proficiency level, Gateway’s providers will target linguistic, sociocultural, and sociopragmatic (behavioral) competencies:
General Language Proficiency:
Institutions or departments wish to support their undergraduate language programs with supplemental instruction and tutoring support for students most of whom who either fulfill a graduation requirement or are basic novice or intermediate users with the desire to develop higher-level proficiency over time.
Intercultural Learning:
Our clients may wish to support their learners at all proficiency levels in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to communicate both effectively and appropriately in a foreign cultural context. Intercultural learning modules are designed to provide instruction and hand-on training both in the institution’s home language, as well as the language(s) spoken in the target country.
Sociopragmatic Competence:
Sociopragmatic competence is a fundamental aspect of language in which speakers are able to effectively adjust their speech based on the specifics of a social situation, such as varying levels of formality, knowing when and how to contribute to a conversation, and being able to incorporate cultural clues into the choice of language used. Gateway clients and their students will have access to learning environments in which realistic language exchange at any proficiency level helps learners develop the ability to transition confidently between various social and cultural situations while using the target-language.
Gateway supports holistic and well-rounded language study and the development of active real-life proficiency in the target language, sociopragmatic competence, as well as intercultural understanding and functionality. Gateway’s services align with both the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and associated can-do proficiency statements by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL), as well as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which provides internationally recognized standards for language instruction and proficiency assessment.
ACTFL’s World Readiness Standards embed a learner’s ability to use, interact, understand, interpret, reflect, relate, investigate, present, and explain within five primary domains (the 5 Cs): effective and appropriate communication, embracing the perspectives of different cultures, forming cross-disciplinary connections, drawing linguistic and cultural comparisons, and participating in multilingual and multicultural communities.
The ACTFL framework includes detailed proficiency level descriptors. A language user’s skills e defined by their ability to perform functions that gradually increase in complexity and mastery.
As ACTFL’s Inverted Pyramid (see image) indicates, learners at the Novice (N) level are able to “communicate with formulaic and rote utterances, lists, and phrases.” Intermediate (I) level speakers can “create with language, ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics, and handle a simple situation or transaction.” Advanced (A) users have the ability to “narrate and describe in all major time frames and handle a situation with a complication,” while learners who have reached Superior (S) and Distinguished (D) proficiency can function in virtually all social situations with relative ease and finesse.
The Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced levels are further divided into three stages of progression: low (L), mid (M), and high (H). This structure results in a total of eleven distinct stages (Novice Low [NL], Novice Mid [NM], Novice High [NH]; Intermediate Low [IL], Intermediate Mid [IM], Intermediate High [IH]; Advanced Low [AL], Advanced Mid [AM], Advanced High [AH]; S[uperior]; D[istiguished]) each of which ACTFL defines in great detail in both the five “C” dimensions, as well as in terms of intercultural knowledge, understanding, and representational ability (ACTFL, 2017).
Alignment with these standards allows Gateway to offer a consistent range of services at various price points and to communicate outcome expectations to our global network of service providers based on clearly delineated proficiency indicators. Gateway will liaise with home institution faculty and host providers to ensure that services and target proficiencies are met. Please note that most college and university students will be studying at the Novice (A1) to Advanced-Mid (B2) level. Gateway strives to accommodate learners at all proficiency levels.
Gateway supports holistic and well-rounded language study and the development of active real-life proficiency in the target language, sociopragmatic competence, as well as intercultural understanding and functionality. Gateway’s services align with both the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and associated can-do proficiency statements by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL), as well as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which provides internationally recognized standards for language instruction and proficiency assessment.
ACTFL’s World Readiness Standards embed a learner’s ability to use, interact, understand, interpret, reflect, relate, investigate, present, and explain within five primary domains (the 5 Cs): effective and appropriate communication, embracing the perspectives of different cultures, forming cross-disciplinary connections, drawing linguistic and cultural comparisons, and participating in multilingual and multicultural communities.
The ACTFL framework includes detailed proficiency level descriptors. A language user’s skills are defined by their ability to perform functions that gradually increase in complexity and mastery. The ACTFL framework includes detailed proficiency level descriptors. A language user’s skills are defined by their ability to perform functions that gradually increase in complexity and mastery. As ACTFL’s Inverted Pyramid (see image) indicates, learners at the Novice (N) level are able to “communicate with formulaic and rote utterances, lists, and phrases.” Intermediate (I) level speakers can “create with language, ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics, and handle a simple situation or transaction.” Advanced (A) users have the ability to “narrate and describe in all major time frames and handle a situation with a complication,” while learners who have reached Superior (S) and Distinguished (D) proficiency can function in virtually all social situations with relative ease and finesse.
The Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced levels are further divided into three stages of progression: low (L), mid (M), and high (H). This structure results in a total of eleven distinct stages (Novice Low [NL], Novice Mid [NM], Novice High [NH]; Intermediate Low [IL], Intermediate Mid [IM], Intermediate High [IH]; Advanced Low [AL], Advanced Mid [AM], Advanced High [AH]; S[uperior]; D[istiguished]) each of which ACTFL defines in great detail in both the five “C” dimensions, as well as in terms of intercultural knowledge, understanding, and representational ability (ACTFL, 2017).
Alignment with these standards allows Gateway to offer a consistent range of services at various price points and to communicate outcome expectations to our global network of service providers based on clearly delineated proficiency indicators. Gateway will liaise with home institution faculty and host providers to ensure that services and target proficiencies are met. Please note that most college and university students will be studying at the Novice (A1) to Advanced-Mid (B2) level. Gateway strives to accommodate learners at all proficiency levels.
Dr. Tim Jansa is a scholar-practitioner and postsecondary administrator with more than 20 years’ experience in adult language and intercultural education, training, and higher education administration. His research centers on leadership at the intersection of postsecondary internationalization with world language teaching and learning. He holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University.
After growing up in Germany, he emigrated to the United States in 1996 and has worked at large, diverse, and internationally active research universities as an international student, faculty member, and administrator. These experiences have granted him profound insights into the dynamics of international postsecondary programs and their ability to change students’ lives. He believes in the transformative power of international and intercultural encounters that help our students grow as global citizens and equip graduates with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to address the many urgent problems facing humankind.
His scholarly activity has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications and presentations at both regional and international conferences on topics such as intercultural competence and student motivation for global learning. He currently researches shifts in leadership behaviors and goals necessitated by changes in internationalization strategies away from student mobility and toward on-campus programs and curriculum integration due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Dr. Rosa Almoguera has worked as an international educator for over twenty years. She was trained as a Hispanic Philologist at the Universidad Complutense, in Madrid, and did her M.A. at the University of Pennsylvania. Her Ph.D., from Universidad Complutense included a field study and edition of written balladry “Romancero”. During many years Rosa combined teaching and her role as a senior administrator at the Fundación Ortega-Marañón in Toledo, Spain. At the Foundation, Rosa directed and, in many cases created, programs for the University of Minnesota, Notre Dame, Princeton, Ohio State, Arcadia, and the University of Chicago. She has also been a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota, University of Portland, and Interamericana de Puerto Rico.
Beginning in 2016, Rosa works as an international education consultant for both public and private European and US higher education institutions. Rosa has been successful in developing new partnerships and programs, as well as helping improve already existing ones.
Rosa is a member of Forum and NAFSA and has presented with higher education professionals on innovative academic and research programming, STEM in study abroad and Nationalism in Europe. Rosa is currently completing the final Professional Certification from the Forum on Education Abroad.
An experienced global researcher and administrator, Mark Beirn brings a critical approach to risk management, factoring structural racism and identity-based violence into his rubric for supporting equitable global mobility.
Specialization Areas:
– Global Risk Management
– Education Abroad
– Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in International Education
– Health and Safety
– Curriculum Development
Stephen Appiah-Padi is an international educator with several years of teaching and administrative experience in both 4 and 2-year HEIs. An experienced global education practitioner-scholar, with a demonstrated history of success in the field.
Dr. Appiah-Padi has a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada in Educational Policy & Administration with a specialization in International/Intercultural Education.
At Northwestern College, he provided oversight in the administration of education abroad and international student services. In Lansing, Michigan, he first oversaw diversity and intercultural education at Lansing Community College, and later created the Center for International and Intercultural Education (CIIE) which merged intercultural engagement and international education programs of the institution, and he became its first director. Additionally, Dr. Appiah-Padi taught a course, “Diversity in the American Workplace”, to undergraduate management students of the College. In his current position, he provides leadership and vision in advancing strategic internationalization initiatives, including international partnerships and study abroad programs at Bucknell University.
Dr Appiah-Padi has created and facilitated several workshops for faculty and staff development in higher education and in business organizations. He has presented at several national and international conferences. In NAFSA, among several volunteer leadership positions, he has served as Dean of the Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication Workshop, the Leadership Development Committee member, Chair of the Africa Special Interest Group, and a Fellow of the Global Fellowship Program for mentoring emerging leaders of internationalization in African HEIs. He currently serves as a member of the NAFSA Board of Directors.
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