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IntroductionThis introductory chapter will provide an overview of blended learning byconsidering where the term originated and by seeking to define what it meansin corporate training, higher education and English Language Teaching (ELT).It will also establish why these three sectors employ a blended learning approach,outline a number of the models they use for blending, and consider the ways inwhich blended learning is effective. It will conclude with a summary of why gettingthe blend right is important, whilst acknowledging that this is not an easy task andthat further research on blended learning is required in ELT contexts.Blended learning – a definitionThe term blended learning originated in the business world in connection withcorporate training (Sharma and Barrett, 2007), then was employed in highereducation (MacDonald, 2006) and lastly it appeared in language teaching andlearning. It is difficult to say exactly when the term became commonplace in ELTalthough I suggest that it coincided with the publication of Sharma and Barrett’sbook Blended Learning in 2007. Although I had first heard the term in late 2003,the publication of this book cemented its place in ELT in my mind.There is some debate as to whether it was simply the term that was coined incorporate training, rather than the actual approach to teaching and/or learning,with Oliver and Trigwell (2005) arguing that it was simply the term. Masie, in Bonkand Graham (2006: 22), appears to agree with this by boldly stating that ‘all learningis blended learning’. In the same article, Masie (2006: 22) goes on to state that‘…blended learning has always been a major part of the landscape of training,learning and instruction’ and encourages us to think back to our college dayswhen the pedagogical approach involved a number of different teaching strategies.Personally I feel that the adoption of the term symbolises a change in what is beingblended nowadays, as it signifies the inclusion of computer technology providingonline or offline activities and materials in the mix, rather than implying this is awholly new approach to teaching and learning.Despite its widespread use in corporate training, higher education and latterly thefield of ELT, many claim that the term blended learning is difficult to define (Kerresand de Witt, 2003; Oliver and Trigwell, 2005; Sharpe et al. 2006; MacDonald, 2006;Sharma and Barrett, 2007), the difficulty arising because consensus has not beenreached on one definitive definition. Furthermore, the term itself has not been fullyadopted in these three settings, where it is at times referred to as ‘hybrid or mixedlearning’ (Stracke, 2007: 57); ‘e-learning’ (Shepard, 2005) or ‘b-learning’ (Banados,2006: 534). Smith and Kurthen (2007) in Gruba and Hinkelman (2012: 4) attemptto differentiate some of these terms by using percentages (see Table 1).Introduction | 11