This proposal seeks funding to present the following methodology that I have been developing and using in the beginning level French courses over the past year. Receiving feedback from attendees as well as connecting with new colleagues from other institutions will help to strengthen this and other assignments used in the courses that I coordinate.

Using Technology to Promote Real Language Use in Authentic Situations

Traditionally, students' speaking proficiency is assessed at the presenter's institution through an end-of-semester conversation in front of the instructor with a partner from their own class section. This leads to inauthentic conversations, as students know one another and can practice. This poster highlights the use of a program, Bluejeans, to pair students from different sections and record their conversation. Since students do not have any information on their partner before the conversation and recording begins the instant both students enter the virtual classroom, students are held responsible for meeting and finding commonalities exclusively in the target language. Initial feedback from students after the pilot semester was that they will remember this experience above all others in their first semester French course, as it showed them what they had accomplished. Additionally, not having the instructor present at the time of recording promoted natural and real conversation.