Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

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A description of the blend/materials/software used I blended an established face-to-face class based on the coursebook Business Benchmark (Whitby 2009) with online learning via the creation of a wiki on ‘PBWorks’. This was simple to achieve by following the instructions on the PBWorks website to create and name a wiki. It did not require any programming skills or knowledge as the software includes all of the design features. I invited the students to join by adding their email addresses to the wiki which sends out email invitations, including a link to create individual passwords for the site. A learner without an email address was given a username. The site was private and learners created their own passwords so only this group could see or edit the content of this wiki. Each learner had writer status so could immediately add or modify content from any internet connection which meant that the site could grow with their interests. The online wiki provided the freedom to enhance student opportunities for learning, both in and outside the classroom. It meant more authentic materials could be shared plus it allowed asynchronous interactions between users, which all students could learn from. The wiki The ‘front page’ included a short video of the class saying ‘hello’ which we made in class using a flip camera so the learners would feel welcome. I asked the learners to post a photo of themselves along with an introduction. This initial activity was not done in class but it built student confidence with the technology. It was useful as an initial step in the eventual formation of an online community where participants asked for and gave advice or made comments on the page (see Figure 1). Participants could learn from their mistakes and share those experiences because wiki is easy to add to and edit like ‘Word’. This activity created a real need to communicate in English and six learners succeeded in attaching their photographs and introductions. Figure 1: Student comments on initial activity 164 | Using a wiki to enhance the learning experience on a business English course
The ‘history feature’ which can show past versions of wiki pages and ‘push notifications’ to students’ emails allowed participants to see who had created, moved or deleted content. This encouraged responsible participation. Timetabling The face-to-face class ran on Wednesday evenings at 6.30 p.m. for two hours in term time from September 2010 until the paper-based international exam in June 2011. It provided 60 guided learning hours, was teacher controlled and included institutional requirements (i.e. individual learning plans, register) so time was precious. In contrast, from March 2011 the wiki could be used any time asynchronously, from any place and at the learner’s own pace. How the modes were blended The face-to-face aspects of the course were compulsory as the students had enrolled on a traditional classroom-based course which included individual, pair and group work. I planned lesson content which included activities from the coursebook, and listening tasks from CDs, responding to learner needs including exam practice. In contrast, contributing to wiki was optional as it was experimental. It would be possible to organise a fully online course or a stronger blend with more weight given to online aspects but only if learners were aware from the start about what the expectations and requirements were. I felt that it would be unethical to change the primary mode of delivery part way through a course, which is why the wiki was optional in this instance. The wiki complemented the face-to-face class when we examined recent wiki activity during the class. A different learner each week would log into the wiki which was displayed on the interactive whiteboard for about 15 minutes. The class discussed the week’s content and sometimes edited it collaboratively so that everyone had the chance to participate. Outside class time, learners’ talents were utilised on the wiki as they had freedom to organise and produce content and develop the site. One learner created a ‘news page’ where ideas, gossip and opinions were shared (see Figure 2). Using a wiki to enhance the learning experience on a business English course | 165
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Blended Learning in English Languag
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ISBN 978-0-86355-706-4 © British C
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Part 3 - English for Specific Purpo
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Acknowledgements We would like to t
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To address this deficit I proposed
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Introduction This introductory chap
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an almost identical definition in h
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■■ Learners’ expectations - l
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To achieve a ‘principled approach
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its weakness in speaking.’ Contra
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References Adair-Hauck, B Willingha
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Rossett, A, Douglis, F and Frazee,
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1 A collaborative online reading an
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engaging approach to teaching, wher
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page evaluation strategies, and col
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Conclusion Students received course
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2 Blended learning in English for A
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All in the blend Reports on the app
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level of agreement or disagreement
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Hyland, K and Hyland, F (1992) Go f
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Why blend? The decision to offer th
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to complete during the before, whil
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In addition, there are a number of
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Turgut, Y (2009) ‘EFL learners’
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■■ English for Academic Purpose
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Figure 1: Stages of the incorporati
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Table 3: Schedule for Unit 1 Week U
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Internet - links and WebQuests: Som
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References Allan, M (1985) Teaching
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My advice to intending EAP course d
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5 A blended learning teacher develo
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The face-to-face element Because of
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ookmarking because social bookmarki
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and instructional design of the onl
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Encourage learner autonomy and refl
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packages, setting up online account
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Clearly there are advantages to hav
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Lessons learned When deciding what
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References Osguthorpe, RT and Graha
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The learner and the context Althoug
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typically involve writing or applyi
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where possible, to bring them toget
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8 Blended learning: The IDLTM exper
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learning and characteristics, and k
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There is a fourth activity type in
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their own style of learning. At the
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Garrison, D and Vaughan, ND (2007)
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variety of teaching contexts (e.g.
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Figure 3: The homepage in a Module
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Figure 5: The projects page carries
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Page 115 and 116: ■■ Fine-tuning of online course
Page 117 and 118: Comments on Part 2 Brian Tomlinson
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Page 125 and 126: Making recommendations My friend An
Page 127 and 128: Sustainability Blended learning oft
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Page 131 and 132: The face-to-face aspect of the cour
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Page 143 and 144: 14 A longitudinal case study of the
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Page 157 and 158: Teaching methodology The blended de
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Page 181 and 182: Recommendation 2 Ensure that the on
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Page 195 and 196: Introducing Macmillan English Campu
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Conclusion Claire Whittaker
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Table 1: Neumeier’s (2005) framew
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Reasons given in the literature for
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Software Author and Chapter New Lea
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Keedwell’s (Chapter 13) blend on
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Table 7: Learning theories, languag
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What will the interactional pattern
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Whittaker (Chapter 16) believed tha
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Summary This chapter draws on the l
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Appendix 1 - Questions for blended
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Contributors Peter Aborisade lectur
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Jody Gilbert taught in post-seconda
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Juanita Pardo-González (BA Hons in
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The British Council is pleased to o
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Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

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