Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

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labs with data projectors provide the best support for this, as students can follow the teacher-demonstrated tasks on-screen and immediately attempt the tasks on their own computers. The face-to-face induction sessions provided insight into the kinds of difficulties students might experience while working on the project tasks during the online phase. For example, students can find it challenging to deal with the overwhelming volume of information that is returned when conducting web searches, and an induction period provides opportunities to discuss effective search strategies before students tackle web searches on their own. In this project, I initially provided links to several different web page evaluation templates and asked students to choose the resource that they preferred. However, most students found the choice difficult, and wanted a recommendation instead. In my second experience with the project, I provided more guidance and structure here, making students aware of the different guides available, but recommending the UC Berkley site in particular, based on positive student feedback. Another motivator for students was probably my effort to make clear links between the blended activities and learning aims, and the students’ perceived relevance of those aims. An informal discussion at the start of the project revealed, as expected, that all students in the class regularly searched the internet for information to support their study. However, relatively few students reported that they normally questioned the credibility of the information on the internet. Some were quite surprised to be ‘tricked’ by the unreliable sites in the preparation tasks, and I believe this experience generated interest and motivation to learn. The online user interface for collaboration was not complex, and user issues were minimal. There were no connectivity issues, or technical difficulties with Moodle. Some groups turned to additional technologies to facilitate collaboration, and reported using Skype, MSN, and web-based document storage in their work. Students cited collaborative challenges, including the sharing of workloads and group dynamics, but no students attributed these difficulties to the online mode of work. There were also no concerns about the time required to complete the project, even with the study load of three other Advanced level EAP courses. The online phase of the project allowed group members flexibility in time and place of their work. Most importantly, the forums appeared to facilitate learning in important ways, although they were used mainly to display and share student work rather than as interactive discussion boards. The Moodle forums provided public evidence of the project work and teacher feedback, documenting individual and group learning as the projects developed. In turn, students had opportunities to learn from the work of their classmates. Several students commented that seeing the work of other groups on the forums motivated them to work harder to improve their own work. For example, one student wrote: …I think model [sic] was good. We can see other groups’ work. It motivated us to work harder than them. Furthermore, you can check everyone’s work at the same time which was very convenient. 32 | A collaborative online reading and research project
Conclusion Students received course credit for their work in the Online Reading and Research project, based on a topic proposal and the summary evaluation posts. This no doubt contributed to their motivation to work online, but the class discussions and student feedback also indicated that students perceived immediate practical value and relevance in the project and the use of the Moodle forums to facilitate the group work. For this particular EAP project, the use of technology is inextricably linked to the pedagogical aims and learner needs which inform those aims. Within the teaching context, face-to-face classroom time is quite limited and the time required for effective collaborative work on the project exceeds available classroom instructional hours. A blended design allows for a face-to-face induction period and ongoing instructor support, while providing flexible opportunities for learner reflection and online collaboration. References Gardner, SA, Behnham, HH and Newel, BM (1999) Oh what a tangled web we’ve woven! Helping students evaluate sources. The English Journal 89/1. Available online at www.jstor.org/stable/821354 Garrison, R and Vaughan, ND (2008) Blended Learning in Higher Education. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass. Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jarvis, H (2009) Computers in EAP: change, issues, and challenges. Modern English Teacher 18/2. Available online at http://usir.salford.ac.uk/11266/1/METHJ2009.pdf Jones, D (1996) Critical Thinking in an On-line World. Conference Proceedings, Untangling the Web, University of California. Available online at http://misc.library. ucsb.edu/untangle/jones.html Kasper, L (2000) Content-Based College ESL Instruction. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. Levine, A, Ferenz, O and Reves T (2000) EFL academic reading and modern technology: how can we turn our students into independent critical readers? TESL-EJ 4/4. Available online at www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume4/ej16/ej16a1/ Luzón-Marco, MJ (2010) Webtasks for learning professional and academic English: adapting the WebQuest Model. CORELL: Computer Resources for Language Learning 3. Available online at www.ucam.edu/corell/issues/MJLuzon2.pdf Miller, L, Hanfer, C and Ng Kwai Fun, C (2012) Project-based learning in a technologically enhanced learning environment for second language learners: students’ perceptions. E-Learning and Digital Media 9/2. Available online at www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp?j=elea&aid=4992 A collaborative online reading and research project | 33
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 and 26: 1 A collaborative online reading an
Page 27 and 28: engaging approach to teaching, wher
Page 29: page evaluation strategies, and col
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
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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
Page 77 and 78: References Osguthorpe, RT and Graha
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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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Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

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