Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

Internet – links and WebQuests:
Some elements did not exist in the face-to-face course as it was originally
designed. Students are faced with a window of opportunities on the internet and
they are encouraged to look at it to enlarge their content or communication skills
knowledge. This blend has incorporated and carefully selected links and inquiry
oriented tasks. One example of this is the Brain Quest, which is based on the idea of
WebQuests coined in ELT as TalenQuest. (Koenraad and Westhoff, 2003). These are
student inquiry guided tasks in groups (usually four). Each member of the group is
responsible for one of the topics in the site and learning happens collaboratively.
Future innovations – growth
Possible expansions of the blend for this course suggest tandem learning as
exchange projects with other institutions. This experience is in a pilot project phase
at the moment (see a compilation of pilot project unedited student material at http://
youtu.be/Qg0d67lE1Do) and I have seen up to now that it could provide a new kind
of socialisation in the blend, and would incorporate elements of intercultural learning
in a more vivid way. Also, since students demand the use of the blend in their next
levels, this process has expanded to other levels of the English programme, with
successful results. In addition, the blend has become appealing to other languages
in the Department and I have started a training course on how to implement blended
learning in foreign language classes such as French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese.
Lessons learned, key elements, and advice
While this project was in process, during and after its implementation important
issues came to light. To carry out this blend the following elements needed to be
considered: analysis, process, integration, innovation, improvement, material design,
and research. These elements can be summarised in the following tenets:
■■ Use an existing face-to-face course as the basis for the blend.
■■ Use the context (campus limitations, infrastructure) to promote the use of
blended learning.
■■ Sell administrative requests as needs and desires of instructors.
■■ Begin with instructors that are willing, even if they are not technology oriented.
■■ Instructors will learn to love technology, but this is a process.
■■ Relax! Instructors will improve their ICT literacy on the way.
■■ Instructor training in the blend is also an ongoing process and depends directly
on instructor turnover in the institution.
■■ Trained instructors will help you promote the blended learning idea to other courses.
■■ Students and instructors will change the roles they have in a face-to-face classroom.
■■ A large-scale project is achieved step-by-step; therefore clear goals per year
are necessary.
■
■ Blended learning needs to be seen as an ongoing and gradual process in which
the course evolves. It is not a final product.
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| Incorporating blended learning