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Each summer, CASLS hosts twenty high school students on the University of Oregon campus for a Swahili STARTALK program. Students spend two weeks learning Swahili while getting a taste of college life by staying in the residence halls. Students can opt to continue their learning by enrolling in a one semester online Swahili course.

The online course follows a narrative woven with task-based learning activities and traditional vocabulary activities. "Task-based learning makes the language come alive for the students," says Krystal Sundstrom, CASLS Online Learning Specialist who developed the curriculum. "It places the student in a context in which they are using language in real life, which helps them engage more in the learning process."

For an online course, engagement is critical. Online environments can lend themselves to opportunities for interaction, but curriculum activities must be rich and engaging to motivate students to complete them, especially in a course such as this where it is not part of student's regular school requirements.

CASLS online Swahili curriculum uses real-life tasks to keep students motivated and engaged.

In the Swahili course, students "travel" to East Africa for a leadership camp and learn Swahili along the way. When students arrive, they must introduce themselves in the target language to their host family and answer questions about foods they like and dislike so the host family can plan a welcome feast. At the end of the course, students complete an independent research project. They select a topic that interests them, complete some research, and give a presentation in Swahili. Students' presentations ranged from the ivory trade to music to the East African educational system.

"These students were completely self-directed and completed the course on their own time," says Krystal. "I was impressed that the majority of students stayed engaged throughout."