Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

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Advanced level students are expected to demonstrate a high degree of autonomy when undertaking key tasks such as writing research papers and delivering presentations. In many of these assignments, students use internet-based information for content. My personal observations and evaluations of student work led me to research use of the internet by English as a Second Language (ESL) students, both in general and in my immediate teaching context. Students in the Advanced Writing course often include internet-based references in their work. Sometimes this information is taken from religiously biased, commercial, or politically motivated websites, where more objective or neutral evidence was required for the assignment. In one instance, I observed a student who was searching for information on the website http://worldhealthorganization.com. The student believed that she was viewing the official World Health Organization website (http://who.int/en). She remarked that she had spent around 15 minutes exploring this commercial site before I approached her. Teaching English for speakers of other languages (TESOL) researchers also recognise that students may require specific guidance on appropriate use of internet-based information to support academic study. For example, Hedge (2000: 215) remarks that problems are ‘increasingly noticed by teachers as students access information on the internet’ and that ‘there are no gatekeepers here [on the internet] and users may need to evaluate information carefully’. Jarvis (2009: 51) questions whether EAP students are able to make appropriate and effective use of internet resources in their academic work. He writes, ‘The notion of equipping learners for academic study raises specific challenges of e-literacy skills for non-native speakers (NNS) of English and it is by no means clear whether EAP providers are rising to this challenge’. Based on this evidence, I determined that my Advanced level students needed further guidance and preparation if they were to make properly informed decisions about the credibility and applicability of information they were finding on internet web pages. In response, I created the ‘Online Reading and Research’ project in the Advanced Reading course. The Advanced Reading course curriculum is based on a core ESL reading text which is used for the length of the course, but the course instructor is free to choose further readings and activities to supplement the text. Key tasks and skills in the course include summarising, critical reading, reading strategies, and reading response. The activities in the project were created with these learning goals in mind. Design and rationale The design of the project was underpinned by the notion that the critical literacy and language skills which support effective online reading and research are probably best developed through student-centred experiential learning. Experiential learning allows students to explore ideas from their own perspectives, building individual understanding of new ideas and information based on previous experience and knowledge. Many learning theorists reason that the current information-driven environment demands a student-centred, relevant, and 28 | A collaborative online reading and research project
engaging approach to teaching, wherein students are equipped with the dynamic skills and autonomous strategies for managing information in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing society. Based on their study, Levine et al. (2000) conclude that an online networked reading environment can provide opportunities for authentic reading experiences, and is conducive to the development of critical reading skills. Slaouti (2002: 119) stresses the need for EAP learners to ‘experience the texts that websites provide as part of a strategy to develop real world skills’. In order to build awareness and develop critical literacy skills for reading and researching online, a number of authors recommend having students work through web evaluation experiences (see Gardner et al. 1999; Kasper, 2000; Stapleton, 2005). Slaouti (2002) and Jones (1996, cited in Slaouti, 2002) recommend a constructivist, learner-centred pedagogical approach to developing critical literacy skills in learners, which can prepare them to work more effectively with constantly changing technology. Miller et al. (2012: 184) note that a project-based learning approach ‘…lends itself to the use of new technologies because students can be encouraged to draw on a range of technological tools in order to research, present and share their projects’. My strong belief in the potential benefits of integrating technology into the project, and confidence with the technical aspects of campus resources (networked computer labs, data projectors, Moodle) led to a blended learning design. As determined by the pedagogical aims, the project necessarily involved student use of the internet to search for, read, and evaluate web-based information. In addition, the project required groups to post their initial summaries and evaluations on the Moodle forum. According to Garrison and Vaughan (2008: 24), such asynchronous text-based environments can decrease cognitive load and ‘…would appear to offer students a considerable advantage in processing information and constructing meaning’. Moodle was already established as an online learning space in the course, serving administrative functions such as scheduling and posting of course grades, and hosting a variety of learning activities including links to interactive reading skill exercises and course vocabulary learning resources materials. The availability of well-equipped computer labs meant that induction and other initial online work could occur in a face-to-face setting during regular classroom hours. Groups could then do the project work outside of regular class time by using the online Moodle forums, which allowed students the flexibility to choose when and where they would contribute to their group project. The project: preparation and induction At the beginning of the Advanced Reading course, the class met face-to-face in the computer lab to take part in general induction activities on the Moodle website, such as navigating the site, accessing site resources, creating forum posts, and hyperlinking in forum posts. Students then regularly used the Moodle site to access course resources and activities. Specific preparation for the Collaborative Online Reading and Research Project occurred in the third and fourth week of the course and required a total of around five hours of computer lab class time. A collaborative online reading and research project | 29
Page 1 and 2: Blended Learning in English Languag
Page 3 and 4: ISBN 978-0-86355-706-4 © British C
Page 5 and 6: Part 3 - English for Specific Purpo
Page 7 and 8: Acknowledgements We would like to t
Page 9 and 10: To address this deficit I proposed
Page 11 and 12: Introduction This introductory chap
Page 13 and 14: an almost identical definition in h
Page 15 and 16: ■■ Learners’ expectations - l
Page 17 and 18: To achieve a ‘principled approach
Page 19 and 20: its weakness in speaking.’ Contra
Page 21 and 22: References Adair-Hauck, B Willingha
Page 23 and 24: Rossett, A, Douglis, F and Frazee,
Page 25: 1 A collaborative online reading an
Page 29 and 30: page evaluation strategies, and col
Page 31 and 32: Conclusion Students received course
Page 33 and 34: 2 Blended learning in English for A
Page 35 and 36: All in the blend Reports on the app
Page 37 and 38: level of agreement or disagreement
Page 39 and 40: Hyland, K and Hyland, F (1992) Go f
Page 41 and 42: Why blend? The decision to offer th
Page 43 and 44: to complete during the before, whil
Page 45 and 46: In addition, there are a number of
Page 47 and 48: Turgut, Y (2009) ‘EFL learners’
Page 49 and 50: ■■ English for Academic Purpose
Page 51 and 52: Figure 1: Stages of the incorporati
Page 53 and 54: Table 3: Schedule for Unit 1 Week U
Page 55 and 56: Internet - links and WebQuests: Som
Page 57 and 58: References Allan, M (1985) Teaching
Page 59 and 60: My advice to intending EAP course d
Page 61 and 62: 5 A blended learning teacher develo
Page 63 and 64: The face-to-face element Because of
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Page 67 and 68: and instructional design of the onl
Page 69 and 70: Encourage learner autonomy and refl
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Page 73 and 74: Clearly there are advantages to hav
Page 75 and 76: 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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adding things in response to feedba
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Appendix 1 Extract showing first th
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■■ Cambridge ESOL was reporting
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■■ Including later units on, fo
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The rationale behind the blend The
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Figure 2: An example screen from a
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environment and to meet the student
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■■ Fine-tuning of online course
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Comments on Part 2 Brian Tomlinson
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Learning a new language and reflect
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11 Blended learning: Podcasts for t
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to the content (see below). Additio
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Making recommendations My friend An
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Sustainability Blended learning oft
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Kukulska-Hulme, A and Shield, A (20
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The face-to-face aspect of the cour
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The course covers listening, speaki
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latest, most secure and flexible pr
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not so much for language improvemen
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the reader/listener as customer) an
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2. ‘Technology is only important
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14 A longitudinal case study of the
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In the next version (v3) of the cou
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of a blend in Collis and Moonen’s
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of telecoms engineers, but it was w
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15 Using a wiki to enhance the lear
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The ‘history feature’ which can
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Figure 4: Student created listening
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Teaching methodology The blended de
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Figure 8: Student reaction to probl
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Lund, A (2008) Wikis: a collective
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hazard a guess that it was over con
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the management of the centres would
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There was a steady increase in the
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3. User experience - feedback on th
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17 A thinking-based blended learnin
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In each of the above parts, the lea
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Figure 1: Cycle of working with gra
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Model by JP, Form 10 Structure Mode
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Recommendation 2 Ensure that the on
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Sokol, A (2008) Development of Inve
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Moreover, as a result of increased
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In general, the students remarked t
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19 Students’ CALLing: Blended lan
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The students were taken to the comp
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When considering blended learning,
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Introducing Macmillan English Campu
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In both scenarios, the ratio of con
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attending scenario 1 courses. The o
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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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