Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

We were fortunate in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be able to provide intensive English
courses where all three modes took place in one location, i.e. the classroom was next
door to the computer room that was next door to the self-study room, so learners
simply rotated between the three. Anchoring all the modes to one location is atypical
though and in the vast majority of the case studies the face-to-face mode took place
in a classroom, whereas the online element took place wherever the learner chose
to study, which presumably was at home although this was only clearly stated in four
case studies (Eydelman, Chapter 3; Pardo-Gonzalez, Chapter 4, Kern, Chapter 11,
Krake, Chapter 20). In some instances of course the online work had to be carried
out at home due to a lack of facilities at the school, university etc., although six
authors do mention having access to a language laboratory (Eydelman, Chapter 3;
Gilbert, Chapter 1; Pardo-Gonzalez, Chapter 4; Whittaker, Chapter 16; Bilgin, Chapter
19 and Krake, Chapter 20).
How do I design for a ‘suite of courses’?
Most of the blends described in this publication refer to short courses and indeed
Neumeier’s (2005) framework arose from a 33-hour course. However, a large number
of the learners who attended our courses in Bosnia and Herzegovina worked their
way through the levels, often from elementary upwards to upper-intermediate, which
is typical in many language schools I believe. With this in mind the content and design
of the Bosnia and Herzegovina blend altered to realise the learners increased abilities
as language learners, to cater for their needs, to maintain their interest and to fulfil
our aims (Whittaker, Chapter 16). Despite these changes to the content and design
of the blend there was still a high degree of ‘horizontal integration’ where there is
‘some continuity in learning tools across programs and courses as [this] is clearly
advantageous from the student’s point of view’ (Levy and Stockwell, 2006: 30).
This continuity manifested itself in the structure of the timetable, the use of a
coursebook in class, CD-ROMs in the computer session and the types of tasks
in the self-study mode.
3. Learners and teachers/tutors
As the learners, teachers and tutors play such a key role in any blend I believe they
warrant their own section. It is important to note that the teachers and tutors may
need as much support in the move towards a blended approach as their learners. It
may be the case that the teachers and tutors lack the computer skills their learners
possess, and that this can be a daunting prospect for many and may act as a barrier
to change.
Who will be involved in the design process?
The instructors and teachers were involved in every stage of the redesign process
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Chapter 16) as I felt it was vital to have their input in the
decision-making process to create a sense of ownership. Moreover, they attended
training sessions when necessary to prepare them for the changes in advance, for
example familiarising them with new coursebooks before they were introduced. This
ensured to a large extent that we had buy-in from them as ultimately as the end users
they would be responsible for the success and the longevity of the blend.
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