About Material Types

Assessment Object

Assessment Objects (2004-present) are designed to help learners prepare for high-stakes proficiency examinations and consist of authentic audio or written passages in a target language, accompanied by three multiple-choice or constructed-response comprehension questions per passage. Each set of three passages takes about 45 minutes to complete. Multiple-choice Assessment Objects provide detailed feedback explaining why each answer choice is correct or incorrect. Constructed-response Assessment Objects provide a sample answer. Assessment Objects are available in a mobile-friendly HTML5 user interface.

Assessment Object Screencast


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Compact Learning Object

Compact Learning Objects (2016-present) are sets of five short lessons on a single topic. Each lesson is based on an authentic audio, video, or written passage and takes about ten minutes to complete. Lessons are sequenced to increase in difficulty. Support components include a transcript and translation with text-tracking options, cultural and linguistic notes, a glossary, and synchronous English and target-language captions for videos. Compact Learning Objects are available in a mobile-friendly HTML5 user interface.

Compact Learning Object Screencast


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Language Learning Object

Language Learning Objects (2012-2016) are based on an authentic audio or written passage on a broad range of topics. A subset of these objects addresses cybersecurity topics aligned with the Critical Security Controls. Each lesson takes about 30 minutes to complete and includes comprehension activities in English. Support components include a transcript and translation with text-tracking options, cultural and linguistic notes, and a glossary. Language Learning Objects utilize a Flash-based user interface.


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Thematic Unit

Thematic Units (2015-present) are sets of seven in-depth lessons on a common theme. Each lesson is based on an authentic audio, video, or written passage and takes about 60 minutes to complete. Lessons are sequenced to increase in difficulty and include comprehension, linguistic, and synthesizing activities. Some language-pair sets present the same theme from different perspectives (e.g., Russian/Ukrainian, Hindi/Urdu). Support components include a transcript, a translation, cultural and linguistic notes, and a glossary. Thematic Units utilize an HTML user interface compatible with modern browsers.

Thematic Units Screencast


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Video Learning Object

Video Learning Objects (2011-present) explore language and culture through short segments from contemporary films and television dramas. Each lesson takes about 45 minutes to complete and includes comprehension, cultural, and linguistic activities in English. Support components include a transcript, a translation, cultural and linguistic notes, and a glossary. Older lessons include synchronous target-language captions, while newer ones have both target-language and English captions. Video Learning Objects are available in a mobile-friendly HTML5 user interface.

Video Learning Object Screencast


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