OER in University Language Courses

Open Educational Resources (OER) offer incredible advantages in language teaching and learning. Implementing an OER curriculum can result in benefits that go far beyond controlling costs for students, which is itself a significant step toward improving equity. Drawing on your own experience and expertise as language educators, as well as the contributions of collaborators around the world, it is possible to build a curriculum customized for your unique student group. With thoughtful design, your program can help students achieve desired learning outcomes not just in language acquisition, but also in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In this talk, I will give a brief introduction to OER, its general benefits and drawbacks, and its specific application to world language teaching at the university level. I will also share my own experience designing and implementing an OER textbook and curriculum for first-year Spanish at Portland State University, including my challenges and successes. DEI, adult education, assessment, and second language acquisition are all important pieces of the conversation. Whether you are in the first stages of brainstorming ideas for implementing OER, or you already have a few chapters written, it is my hope that you will be able to identify practical next steps in your process, which you will bring to the afternoon workshop