Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation
Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation
Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation
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12<br />
A blended learn<strong>in</strong>g course for the<br />
aviation <strong>in</strong>dustry: A case study<br />
Lynda Beagle <strong>and</strong> Graeme Davies<br />
<strong>Course</strong> overview<br />
RMIT <strong>English</strong> Worldwide (REW) is an <strong>English</strong> language centre owned by RMIT<br />
University <strong>in</strong> Melbourne, Australia. REW has been develop<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> publish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
courseware <strong>and</strong> assessment for use at the Melbourne campus <strong>and</strong> for offshore<br />
partners for the last 12 years.<br />
REW has developed two <strong>English</strong> for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, one for<br />
pilots <strong>and</strong> the other for air traffic controllers, which employ a blended learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
approach <strong>and</strong> focus on extend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>English</strong> language speak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> listen<strong>in</strong>g skills<br />
<strong>in</strong> aviation contexts. The courses, named Beyond Level 4 (BL4), are targeted at<br />
practis<strong>in</strong>g aviation professionals who work <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational airspace, <strong>and</strong> are<br />
designed to assist them to move from Operational Level 4 to Extended Level 5<br />
or Expert Level 6 accord<strong>in</strong>g to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)<br />
<strong>Language</strong> Proficiency Rat<strong>in</strong>g Scale. It should be emphasised that the BL4 courses<br />
are focused on develop<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustry-specific language for learners who already<br />
have good functional <strong>and</strong> operational competency <strong>in</strong> aviation <strong>English</strong>.<br />
Each course is accompanied by a supplementary grammar book, a guide to<br />
monitor<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> assess<strong>in</strong>g performance for the language <strong>in</strong>structor, <strong>and</strong> a separate<br />
script <strong>and</strong> answer guide to assist <strong>in</strong> adm<strong>in</strong>ister<strong>in</strong>g the parallel face-to-face<br />
component of the course.<br />
<strong>Course</strong> description<br />
A review of the literature shows there is no s<strong>in</strong>gle accepted def<strong>in</strong>ition of blended<br />
learn<strong>in</strong>g, but it can be understood to comb<strong>in</strong>e computer-mediated delivery <strong>and</strong><br />
face-to-face <strong>in</strong>teraction. Garrison <strong>and</strong> Vaughan suggest that <strong>in</strong> blended learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
‘face-to-face oral communication <strong>and</strong> onl<strong>in</strong>e written communication are optimally<br />
<strong>in</strong>tegrated such that the strengths of each are blended <strong>in</strong>to a unique learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
experience congruent with the context <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>tended educational purpose’ (2008: 5).<br />
The use of e-learn<strong>in</strong>g resources <strong>in</strong> the BL4 courses is ideal for the aviation <strong>in</strong>dustry,<br />
as it enables pilots <strong>and</strong> air traffic controllers to study without <strong>in</strong>terrupt<strong>in</strong>g their work<br />
schedules. The onl<strong>in</strong>e platform not only facilitates convenient <strong>and</strong> efficient delivery<br />
of content, but also has the clear benefit of replicat<strong>in</strong>g the context <strong>in</strong> which aviation<br />
personnel primarily use the language; that is, via radio telephony. Onl<strong>in</strong>e delivery<br />
reproduces the challenges of this medium, namely oral <strong>in</strong>teraction without the benefit<br />
of visual cues.<br />
A blended learn<strong>in</strong>g course for the aviation <strong>in</strong>dustry | 141