Here - EnglishAgenda - British Council

In each of the above parts, the learner works with one of the systems of tasksdealing with a certain communicative function, for example speaking about the past,expressing modality, describing objects, etc. One system includes about 35 tasks(Sokol et al., 2002 – 09).The novelty of the online modules is reflected in the following underlying principles:■■■■■■■■■■■■■■no grammar explanations are offered to learnerstasks ask for new knowledgelearners build their own grammar modelslearner models are tested and improved instead of being evaluatedas right or wronglearner banks are major tools for learninglearners define learning goals and finalise contenteach learner works at his/her own pace.Blend: online and face-to-face timeDespite the trend to include less grammar in General English courses, in Latviait traditionally receives a lot of attention. Although we do not have any researchevidence to support this, practically any local educator knows that both teachersand learners want to deal with grammar as part of their courses. The approach togrammar within the Thinking Approach, where learners develop and test their owngrammar rules, normally requires more time than a more traditional approach. Givenonly three academic hours of classroom time for English, allocation of even one thirdof this to grammar was seen as unaffordable luxury. Thus, a decision was made toallocate one academic hour per fortnight to face-to-face work on grammar. The reststudents had to do independently through work with the online modules. On average,students spent about two months on one system of grammar tasks. The table belowgives an overview of how the work was normally organised.WeekTime(mins)ContentPart of thesystemMedium1 15 Entry test 1 Online10 Results overview 1 Classroom2 60 – 90 Work on the discovery of structures 2 Online20 Overview: major problems, questions,technical support2 Classroom3 15 Formulation of aims 3 Online60 Work on concept questions tasks 4 Online20 Overview: major issues, hints 4 Classroom40 Development of models 4 Online20 Support session 4 Classroom4 60 –120 Testing the model 5 OnlineA thinking-based blended learning course | 191