The Challenge & Needs 

• Unspoken cultural norms in an international workplace were reducing collaboration efficiency (misinterpretations, misaligned expectations, delayed decisions).

• Staff and faculty lacked practical, actionable strategies to recognize cultural differences and adapt communication behaviors in daily work situations.

The Solution

• A concise, scenario-based eLearning course developed in Articulate Rise 360, focused on real workplace communication challenges in international teams.

• The course deliberately prioritizes realistic decision-making scenarios over extensive theoretical input, balancing cognitive load and supporting immediate workplace transfer.

• Learning experience: Learners engage with short conceptual inputs and realistic scenarios to analyze situations, make decisions, and apply intercultural communication strategies in a safe, simulated environment—supporting immediate transfer to day-to-day work.

Instructional Approach

• Design Frameworks: ADDIE (process) and Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction (activation, demonstration, application, integration) to support learning transfer.

• Authoring Tool: Articulate Rise 360.

• Learning Strategy: Scenario-based learning focused on realistic workplace situations.

• Interactivity: Simulated dialogues, decision-making activities, knowledge checks, and performance support tools.

• Media Production: Animated videos (Vyond, Renderforest, Biteable), voiceover and captions (Vidnoz, CapCut), and visual job aids (Canva).

• Design Workflow: Selected media assets and early drafts were prototyped using AI-assisted tools and refined through pedagogical review, scripting, and iterative improvement.

Measurable Outcomes

• Skill Application: Learner mastery was validated through scenario-based assessments requiring the selection and application of appropriate intercultural communication strategies in realistic workplace situations.

• Performance Insight: Pilot participants reported immediate applicability of strategies in daily communication with international colleagues, helping reduce misunderstandings and friction.

• Learning Transfer Readiness: Integrated performance checks demonstrated strong achievement of terminal objectives, indicating readiness to transfer skills beyond the course environment.

The Challenge & Needs 

• The university did not have an existing Spanish language program, resulting in fragmented offerings and no defined progression for learners interested in acquiring functional communicative skills.

• The institution required a coherent, scalable curriculum capable of taking absolute beginners to functional conversational proficiency, with clear English-language scaffolding to support autonomous learning. Learners needed an approach that prioritized spoken communication and real-life language use from the first semester, within a clearly structured pathway aligned with CEFR standards.

The Solution

• A three-module curriculum (A1–A2–B1) designed as a single, integrated textbook series, establishing a complete instructional architecture for the university’s Spanish program.

• Learning experience: The curriculum applies an Action-Oriented Approach, combining structured linguistic input with communicative tasks that require learners to actively use Spanish to accomplish meaningful goals. English-language scaffolding supports comprehension while gradually increasing learner autonomy and communicative complexity across semesters.

Instructional Approach

• Methodology: Action-Oriented Approach aligned with CEFR descriptors.

• Curriculum Architecture: Structured progression mapped to A1, A2, and B1 across three academic semesters.

• Learning Design: Communicative tasks, integrated skills practice, and contextualized grammar.

• Assessment: Unit-level formative assessments and semester-end summative evaluations aligned with CEFR outcomes.

• Production Tools: Canva for layout, visual structure, and learner-friendly presentation.

Measurable Outcomes

• Institutional Adoption: Officially adopted as the university’s core Spanish curriculum, establishing the first structured Spanish learning pathway on campus.

• Learner Impact: Consistently high student satisfaction, with learners reporting increased confidence in real-life communication and clarity of progression.

• Program Scalability: Enabled sustainable delivery of Spanish instruction across cohorts through a reusable, standardized curriculum framework.

The Challenge & Needs 

• At the Instituto Cervantes, advanced learners completing C1 programs lacked a clear instructional pathway to progress toward full C2 mastery, particularly in professional discourse, abstract reasoning, and nuanced language use.

• Learners required specialized resources and a coherent curriculum architecture to bridge the gap between advanced fluency and near-native performance, supported by authentic input, complex tasks, and explicit performance criteria aligned with real-world language use.

The Solution

• A performance-based digital curriculum designed specifically for C2 mastery, formalized as a published textbook. The solution provides a structured learning pathway focused on advanced communicative competencies, professional discourse, and analytical language use.

• Learning experience: Learners engage with authentic multimedia input and task-based activities that require analysis, interpretation, and production of complex language, progressively developing near-native competence through realistic, high-level performance tasks.

Instructional Approach

• Design framework: Performance-Based Instruction combined with Task-Based Learning (TBL).

• Core competencies: Advanced grammar and lexicon, analysis of complex texts and data visuals, structured argumentation, and professional discourse.

• Learning activities: Authentic tasks, guided analysis, and production-based assignments aligned with real communicative demands.

• Media & tools: Curated audio and video resources integrated as primary learning input, supported by digital publishing and multimedia authoring tools.

Measurable Outcomes

• Learner Retention: Achieved a 100% retention rate during pilot courses, significantly exceeding previous institutional benchmarks.

• Solution Validation: Validated as an effective learning solution for the underserved C2 proficiency level through high engagement and full pilot retention.

• Competency Achievement: Enabled learners to perform near-native, professional-level discourse through task-based learning and authentic multimedia integration.