The sudden, online shift imposed by covid-19 on all high education institutions has caught all educators in general, and us, language instructors, in particular unprepared. The closing down of the University, the repatriation of our exchange and study abroad students seemed like the apocalypse of language learning, not only for language instructors but also for program directors who had to sustain their language program missions in unfamiliar territory. In my department it left the director disarmed from a repertoire of more than a 50 years’ tradition in Arabic foreign language teaching. Although language instructors had extensive and intensive training to learn how to teach using online tools and resources, Language program directors were not receiving the same focused attention and training to help them sustain their programs within the new normal. They were stripped of the cultural immersion component that provided unparalleled communication and interaction opportunities for American and students from other nationalities to learn about Arab culture. Many questions with regard to teacher presence, cross cultural interaction and performance were raised and were in need for innovative strategies that create positive learning experiences for students and instructors. Experiences that are difficult for “Simple onlinification" of in-person classes to attain. This presentation will showcase examples of how the Department of Arabic Language Instruction at my institution overcame initial, preset perceptions about technology as an artificial and restricting medium of communication in language instruction. How appropriate use of technology enhanced International student’s independent and active learning and teacher’s teaching and sustained program’s mission through: offering humanized Arabic courses, virtual online cultural clubs, online language exchange partnerships, cross institutional internationalization at home initiatives that addressed issues of presence, interaction and performance. In doing so, the presentation will also provide the perspective of a language program’s director on how academic librarians or libraries in general can support language online teaching and facilitate the interaction of students.