Here - EnglishAgenda - British Council

What we blendBy 1993 we were already fairly grounded in the communicative language teaching(CLT) pedagogy (Dudley-Evans, 1984; Bloor and St John, 1988; Hyland and Hyland,1992). The requirements of this approach drew us to look for alternative methodsof course delivery beyond the constraints of the face-to-face teacher-fronted,rote learning mode. The courses were already task- and skills-based, adoptingthe process-product and problem-based approaches. We had students working incollaborative groups to carry out investigations (for example on HIV/AIDS or climatechange) and to write term papers. What remained was to enable learners to do moreon their own, to help teachers be able to give more support by giving more frequentfeedback and providing links to diverse materials and sources and, especially, tocreate avenues for greater interaction amongst learners in the target language.GNS 102, for example, followed a seven-stage process up until the writing of theterm paper, and each stage had a number of steps with varied tasks: 1) raisingawareness of language use, 2) choosing a topic, 3) sourcing for materials, 4)structuring the essay, 5) drafting the essay, 6) writing references, 7) using checklists.All of the stages, except 5, start off in an face-to-face meeting, presenting andexplaining the ideas and principles. Tasks and samples of good practice are set,but are only available online. However, most tasks are carried out at group meetings,while answers are uploaded onto the learning site. Stage 5 takes place basicallyonline on the groups’ wiki pages but a sample writing of the introductory paragraphusing ‘moves’ begins in the classroom. Students have the opportunity at face-to-facemeetings to debate, brainstorm and raise queries on aspects of each stage whilecollaborating and communicating on their group tasks out of class. Online workextends students’ working hours; enables flexibility of work mode and variety ofwork styles. Equally important is the opportunity this affords to explore materialsthe teacher is unable to provide as they investigate their project topics.We use the face-to-face meetings to build the group teams after explaining anddebating the course rationale, goals and learning outcomes. Also important is givingan explanation on how the online component integrates and works. Each stage ofthe course and the expectations are clarified. Feedback is given on issues aroundthe tasks that students carry out. On the Moodle VLE the learning materials areavailable for download; links to other sites with useful materials are provided (aregular one is www.uefap.com); a news forum is provided enabling teachers to postinformation regularly, and a course discussion forum enables learners to share ideas,ask questions and discuss their progress on the course. Students collaborate on thegroup wiki pages to share information on meeting times and draft/edit their termpaper; students are also encouraged to use micro-blogs on their profile pages toreflect on their learning and record ideas they have gained which they might liketo develop later. The totality of the blend is a learning experience that has keptstudents engaged, interacting in English and interested in learning like they neverhave been before.Figure 1 presents the evaluation of a first semester 2010 –11 session for GNS101 using the Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES).The format of the survey questionnaire requires the respondent to indicate a38 | Blended learning in English for Academic Purposes courses