Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

Secondly, through the work of the OCT, who will adopt an appropriate tone when
communicating with trainees online and who will foster the use of the site as a ‘warm’
online community. The OCT on the pilot refers to the possibility of encouraging
trainees by clicking on ‘smileys’ in the Liveroom as useful but not particularly
spontaneous. A more effective approach to building rapport developed naturally:
‘the main way you can do it is what you write in the discussion forums and what
you write in the emails, so the written style you need to use, I think, has to be really
enthusiastic, very warm and very friendly … when you have discussion forums, when
you weave together everyone’s opinions at the end, you can make clear, positive
references to what different people have contributed and I think that also helps
to develop a sort of sense of an online community’ (Cambridge ESOL Teaching
Qualifications, 2012b). One of the course participants interviewed supports this
point, commenting that ‘the online tutor always responded to emails quickly and
the technical support has been amazing’ (ibid). Furthermore, Klímová, writing on
the distance learning element of blended learning, asserts that it ‘can offer more
information to students, better and faster feedback and richer communication
between a tutor and a student.’ (2008: 58).
The development of the online materials presented an opportunity to re-think the nature
and content of face-to-face input sessions and design materials that would not just try
to replicate the face-to-face input sessions, but in key areas improve upon them by:
■■ weaving throughout all the materials the voice of the language learner and trainer
– through video, audio, image and text
■■ allowing trainees to work through key methodological areas at their own pace
■■ allowing trainees to return to work through units in a linear fashion but also
jump ahead and go back to materials when needed
■■ providing a permanent resource trainees could use long after the course
had finished1 ■■ encouraging active and reflective learning through materials that ask
trainees to process information, test their understanding through activities
and receive feedback
■■ making full use of multimedia (audio and video) to provide lots of exposure to
the views and practices of a wide range of experienced teaching professionals,
in a range of contexts
■■ fostering a socio-constructivist approach to learning through integrated
collaborative activities.
Teaching practice
Teaching practice is one of the cornerstones of CELTA assessment and candidates
rely on the centre to provide classes to teach. Therefore candidates are obliged
to come into the centre to teach, be assessed by the TP tutor(s) and receive
feedback. As with face-to-face courses, before this assessment begins, they have
the opportunity in unobserved lessons to familiarise themselves with the classroom
1 Trainees are given access to the materials and all discussion forums for one year after the course has finished.
The Cambridge CELTA course online | 119