Here - EnglishAgenda - British Council

In both scenarios, the ratio of content delivered face-to-face and online is 70:30.The number of face-to-face teaching hours has remained identical, thus the overalltime learners spend learning the language has increased. (See, for example, Hocklyand Clandfield [2010: 11]. They suggest starting by putting 10–20 per cent of thecourse content online. Since the MVHS courses do not lose teaching time we optedfor slightly more than 20 per cent, thus replacing the average time spent on revisionand homework.)After this introductory phase, scenario 1 courses use MEC as a complement to faceto-facesessions with a focus on consolidating or reviewing language. The teacheruses the messaging system to assign homework and checks the learners’ progressbefore the next lesson. This enables him/her to plan subsequent lessons to target thelearners’ needs more closely: if a specific topic causes little difficulty to learners athome, the next face-to-face lesson will not have to begin with a detailed review of it.If, however, learners are struggling with a given task, lesson plans for the next faceto-facesession will take this into consideration. The number of hours spent onlineis higher during school holidays when classes do not meet face-to-face. Thus MECprovides for continuation and review during non-teaching times.Since scenario 2 courses take place in the institution’s own buildings, they use MECboth inside and outside the classroom. Usage outside the classroom is the same asdescribed above. Inside the classroom, 90 minutes per week are spent working withMEC, either as a class activity projected onto the wall or as individual tasks in thelanguage lab. Whereas whole-class activities introduce new topics or providean opportunity for review, individual work mainly serves as consolidation.In both scenarios the teacher acts as intermediary, previewing the content of eachunit of the online course and selecting the activities most suited to his/her learners’needs. When the messaging system is used to alert learners to homework, learnersare more likely to log on regularly; MEC thus becomes an integral part of theirlanguage learning.Lessons learnedAll in all, user feedback from teachers as well as learners is positive. Questionnairesstudents filled in at the end of the first term of using MEC, along with feedbackretrieved from teachers, illustrate that implementing a blended learning approach asillustrated above was a step in the right direction. Of the 336 questionnaires sent outto course participants, 42 per cent (141) were sent back. Teacher feedback was evenhigher: 18 of 25 teachers (72 per cent) replied to an email questionnaire asking fordetailed feedback.Teachers mention the following:■■MEC gives access to quality resources and tools (95 per cent).■■MEC makes lessons more interesting (70 per cent).■■Teachers can tailor the syllabus to suit their students’ needs (82 per cent).■■MEC helps keep track of students’ progress (79 per cent).216 | Lessons in blended learning