Toward a Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI) Approach to Online Second Language Instruction

By Stephen Peridore

What if your online language students spoke MORE than they ever would in a physical classroom - without you burning out, without boring rubrics, and without ever feeling like you're just running a glorified correspondence course? I know that sounds like a stretch. But here's the truth most online language teachers never figure out: the problem isn't the technology. It's that almost everyone is trying to copy-paste face-to-face methods onto a digital screen - and wondering why it falls flat. This book was written to fix that. The Distance Language Code gives you a complete system built specifically for the online second language classroom - grounded in real SLA theory, federal RSI compliance, and the kind of interaction strategies that actually get students talking, negotiating, and acquiring language at a level most in-person classrooms can't touch. This isn't a collection of tech tips or a list of apps to try. It's a 15-chapter, step-by-step blueprint that shows you exactly how to leverage the unique advantages of the digital space - asynchronous tools, synchronous breakout rooms, AI-powered feedback, video scaffolding, and more - to create an online environment that runs like a fluency engine. Inside you will find... ...The Comprehensible Input Delivery System - how to use pre-recorded video annotations and embedded questions to deliver perfectly calibrated language content that forces engagement instead of passive scrolling. ...The Formative Video Scaffolding Method - the screencasted feedback approach that replaces soul-crushing generic rubrics with personalized, ongoing dialogues that actually motivate students to improve. ...The Unprompted Oral Participation Trigger - a breakout room design strategy that gets students negotiating meaning on their own, so you're no longer the only one driving every conversation. ...The Asynchronous Fluency Loop - how to use voice boards and structured tandem exchanges to multiply your students' speaking practice time without adding a single extra hour to your schedule. ...The Dynamic Assessment Intervention System - how to use LMS analytics to spot struggling students before they disappear, and how to reach out in a way that feels like support, not surveillance. ...The RSI Weekly Rhythm Template - a predictable, instructor-initiated contact cadence that keeps every student engaged, meets federal compliance standards, and ensures no one goes dark for more than 48 hours. ...The Community of Inquiry Framework applied to language learning - how to balance teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence so your students never feel like they're learning from a ghost. ...The Telecollaborative Task Design Blueprint - how to connect your students with native speakers for authentic, unfiltered target language exposure, and how to make those exchanges pedagogically productive instead of awkward. ...The Automated Motivation Booster Stack - how to deploy AI tools to handle surface-level corrections so you can save your energy for the high-impact, creative feedback that only a human can give. ...The Social Presence Protocol - a simple set of weekly habits that project warmth, build relational trust through the screen, and create the low-stakes environment where students finally take real linguistic risks. Look, online language teaching doesn't have to feel like you're managing a slow-motion dropout crisis while trying to stay compliant and somehow also teach a language. This book was written as an actionable guide - not a theory textbook you read once and shelve. Every chapter ends with a recap and a concrete implementation step you can use immediately, so you always know exactly what to do next. Whether you're brand new to online teaching or you've been doing it for years and know something still isn't clicking - this book will get you unstuck.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GW245DJL
• ISBN13: 9798254661351
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"