Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

teacher development courses should provide trainees with as much experience as
possible of different modes, resources, procedures and techniques and to help the
trainees through reflection and constructive criticism to consciously consider their
application to the teaching of languages in the contexts within which the trainees will
be operating in after the course.
Having summarised some of the undoubted benefits of blended teacher development
courses reported in Part 2, I would now like to point out what I think are the dangers
of delivering too much of a course electronically in order to solve practical problems
of time and attendance. I have been a teacher developer for 40 years and I am
convinced that there are some aspects of a development course that can only be
delivered effectively face-to-face and others which are better delivered face-to-face
than online.
In my view it is important that trainees observe experienced teachers live in the
classroom. Videos can give the trainees useful vicarious experience of teaching
techniques but videos are often edited and carefully selected versions of the
classroom and (unless the centre has multiple cameras and microphones available)
they cannot provide a complete picture of the effect of the ‘teaching’ on the learners.
Trainees need to be present in the classroom to listen to and observe learners, as
well as teachers (especially if the learners are working in groups and pairs), as well as
to experience what being in a school is like. I know of one initial training course which
is actually delivered live in a school and the trainees really appreciate observing
teachers and learners both inside and outside their classrooms.
I also think that it is necessary for trainees to be monitored and assessed live in the
classroom, as that way the observer can take into account the formal and informal
interaction between teacher and learners, the formal and informal interaction
between learners and the effect of the lesson on the learners, rather than just
focusing on the teacher and his/her techniques. I also think that the feedback on a
trainee’s lesson needs to be delivered live. In order to give feedback in the sensitive,
supportive and constructive ways that will maintain trainee esteem and encourage
development the monitor/assessor needs to relate to the trainee as a fellow human
being who happens to have greater experience and the advantage of observing the
lesson impartially. This could possibly be achieved electronically but you would need
to have the writing skills of Shakespeare to achieve it.
In my experience, developing materials in small groups can be a very effective way
of helping trainees to think about and apply what they have learned on the course
about language and its acquisition (Tomlinson, 2013b). This can be done usefully
online but I think it is far more valuable for trainees to collaborate and spark each
other off face-to-face. The excitement and raising of self-esteem which quick and
effective face-to-face group development of materials can stimulate far exceeds
that which collaborative online materials development typically achieves. Excellent
materials can be developed collaboratively online but in my experience it can be
a frustrating and time-consuming process and not as much is gained from the
experience as developing the materials face-to-face.
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