Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

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Blended learning in English for
Academic Purposes courses:
A Nigerian case study
Peter A Aborisade
Introduction
When the blended learning project commenced in the Federal University of
Technology Akure (FUTA), it was the blind leading the blind, a foray in the dark.
Other than reading of computer assisted language learning (CALL) in the literature,
none of us had first-hand experience of supporting learning with technology.
Decisions were made ad hoc, and experiments carried out more in hope than in
expectation. The curriculum was tinkered with from time to time. Progress was
slow and challenging. The main challenges included the technical logistics of
implementation and integration, as well as the academic issues of pedagogy.
We did not have the advantage of learning from the experience of any institution
in Nigeria; neither did we have support from any authority. Five years down the
line, from a borrowed Web 1.0 of an external non-governmental organisation (the
ProjektHope) we now have some Web 2.0 tools on our virtual learning environment
(VLE). We started with one English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course and we now
have six courses, EAP (2), Biology (1), Entrepreneurship (1), Computer Science (1)
and Electrical Engineering (1). Uptake is expected to increase exponentially in a
couple of years as we have formed a Blended Learning Research Group (BLRG)
to provide training for the growing numbers of academic staff.
Context
FUTA is one of the few specialised universities in Nigeria, established in 1981. Like most
universities in Nigeria, FUTA has a General Studies Unit, to cater for the arts and social
science subjects with the aim of giving students of science and technology a balanced
perspective of life. The ‘Use of English’ courses aim to remedy students’ language
shortfalls and assist their development of academic skills. All students take the insessional
courses in the foundation year. Nigerian universities are low-resourced with
the triple constraints of few teachers, large classes and grossly inadequate facilities.
Enrolment continues to increase with freshmen now accounting for around 3,000 plus
each year, but staff numbers have remained low, with facilities remaining inadequate.
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