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Blended Learning in English
Language Teaching: Course
Design and Implementation
Edited by Brian Tomlinson and Claire Whittaker
Blended Learning in English
Language Teaching: Course
Design and Implementation
Edited by Brian Tomlinson and Claire Whittaker
Contents | 1
ISBN 978-0-86355-706-4
© British Council 2013
Brand and Design/D057
10 Spring Gardens
London SW1A 2BN, UK
www.britishcouncil.org
Contents
1
Contents
Foreword
John Knagg
Acknowledgements
Preface
Claire Whittaker
Introduction
Claire Whittaker
Part 1 - English for Academic Purposes
1 A collaborative online reading and research project
Jody Gilbert
2 Blended learning in English for Academic Purposes courses:
A Nigerian case study
Peter A Aborisade
3 A blended English as a Foreign Language academic writing course
Natalya Eydelman
4 Incorporating blended learning in an undergraduate English course in Colombia
Juanita Pardo-Gonzalez
Comments on Part 1
Brian Tomlinson
Part 2: Teacher development
5 A blended learning teacher development course for the development of blended learning in English Language Teaching
Nik Peachey
6
Reversing the blend: From online to blended
Gavin Dudeney and Nicky Hockly
7 A case study of blended learning: The Communicative Assessment - Development of Testing Skills' project
Keith O'Hare and Xu Bo
8
Blended learning: The IDLTM experience
Ron White, Andy Hockley, Stephen Heap and George Pickering 9
Creating a blended Delta Module One
Sally Hirst and Tom Godfrey
10
The Cambridge CELTA course online
Jacqueline Douglas and Colin Paton
Comments on Part 2
Brian Tomlinson
2 | Contents
Part 3 - English for Specic Purposes
11
Blended learning: Podcasts for taxi drivers
12 A blended learning course for the aviation industry: A case study 13 Blended learning for English for Occupational Purposes:
No frills, soft skills, gaps filled
14 A longitudinal case study of the 'blends' used on courses between the British Council in Bulgaria and Siemens Enterprise Communications Bulgar ia 15
Using a wiki to enhance the learning experience
on a business English course 16
A military blend
Comments on Part 3
Part 4 - English as a Foreign Language/General English 17
A thinking-based blended learning course in an
upper-secondary school in Latvia 18 A blended learning approach to soft skill training at Al Azhar University, Cairo 19 Students' CALLing: Blended language learning for students 20 Lessons in blended learning: Implementing an online learning platform in the adult education sector
Comments on Part 4
Conclusion
Appendix 1 - Questions for blended learning course designers...........................................243
Contributors
Foreword
3
Foreword
John Knagg OBE
In recent years it has become the norm for publishers to include technology- mediated elements alongside traditional printed materials in their publications. At institutional level teachers increasingly include technology-mediated learning in their courses. Yet there has been relatively little discussion and writing about the principles that should be applied in blending elements which use tec hnology with more traditional face-to-face teaching in the same course. This volume is a contribution to such a discussion. While many of the principles will be applicable to wider educational con texts, this publication is rooted in the world of English Language Teaching (ELT). It is centred on the description of 20 real case studies from around the world in the areas of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), English for Specific Purposes (ESP), teach er education and general English as a Foreign Language teaching. These case studies are prefaced, interspersed, and followed by exploration of the concepts of blending and interpretation, and discussion of the application of the concepts in the case studies. We hope that this approach will make the book practically useful as a self-study guide to the area for educationalists, and also be a source of inspiration for students on teacher training and academic courses in the areas of education, language teaching, and applied linguistics. The genesis of this book was an original idea by Claire Whittaker to build on her practical and academic work in blended learning in ELT and to generate principles that would be of real practical help to course designers, which in turn would lead to more effective learning and satisfied students. Brian Tomlinson has edited the papers and added his own commentaries to make the final product a true collaboration between the two editors and the authors of the case studies. The British Council thanks them all, and hopes that you find the book both useful and enjoyable.
John Knagg
Head Research and Consultancy,
English and Examinations, British Council
4 | Foreword
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the British Council for inviting us to edit this volume and in particular Adrian Odell for being informative, patient and supportive throughout the process of its development. We would also like to thank Melissa Cudmore at the British Council for encouraging Claire to submit the proposal for this publication back in April 2011, and John Knagg who drove the process forward. Thanks also go to John for his advice and support along the way. We would like to express our gratitude to all the authors of chapters in this volume for their hard work, their willingness to consider constructive criticism and their speed in completing revisions.
Brian Tomlinson and Claire Whittaker
Acknowledgements
5
6 | Acknowledgements
Preface
Claire Whittaker
When I took up the post of Training and Systems Manager with the British Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003, little did I know that it would result in the proposal for this publication, or better still that the proposal would be accepted. The rest, as they say, is history. Prior to this post my experience of using computers in English Language Teaching (ELT) had been somewhat limited. I had first used them as a teacher in 1997 when I had access to a computer room with an internet connection and a limited number of CD-ROMs. I used them for extension activities to complement my face-to-face sessions by providing the students with additional controlled practice of the grammar or vocabulary that had just been presented. This experience piqued my interest in using computers for language teaching and learning and so I read articles and books on computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in an attempt to find practical suggestions for their successful integration and usage. I also attended courses on information and communications technol ogy (ICT) in ELT, as it was then referred to, in my quest for knowledge. This interest and limited amount of experience and knowledge did not, however, adequately prepare me for my role as Training and Systems Manager in which I inherited' a blended learni ng course that was being used to teach English to military personnel in the armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was also the first time that I had heard the term blended learning' and I have to say, initially, I was sceptical about its longevity; how wrong I was. One of my first tasks in the role was to carry out a study into delivery of the English language in the 13 geographically spread language centres, to become familiar with their working practices. This highlighted the numerous significant inconsistencies in the language delivery between them, for example the length of courses, the timetables and syllabi. I felt that we needed to standardise the language delivery, not only to be able to manage the system more effectively, but also to provide each student with comparable learning opportunities. At this stage I was unconcerned by the fact that these courses employed a blended learning approach rather than a traditional face-to-face approach. Nor did I realise what it entailed or appreciate its potential. My outlook was soon to change though, once I began to underst and the complexities of designing, or in my case redesigning, a blended learning course. Only once the course content and length had been standardised did I begin to question the blend itself and to consider the design, not only at lesson level but also at course level, for the first time. Unwittingly this resulted in what was to become a three-year iterative redesign process. Throughout this time I continued to read articles and books on what was now largely being termed blended learning, but was frustrated by the lack of advice on the principles and practicalities of blended learning course design (above lesson level) and descriptions or studies of blends in
ELT contexts.
Preface
7 To address this decit I proposed this publication so that ELT practitioners could formally share descriptions of their blends from a range of ELT courses (English for Academic Purposes, English for Specic Purposes, teacher training, and general English) and contexts, which most likely had been designed in relative isolation. It is hoped that these blends can be replicated or adapted by other practitioners to suit their particular teaching and learning contexts. In addition, the guiding principles and practical considerations that shaped the blends will hopefully help practitioners achieve a principled approach to blended learning course design in their contexts. 8 | Preface
Introduction
Claire Whittaker
Introduction | 1110 |
Introduction
11
Introduction
This introductory chapter will provide an overview of blended learning by considering where the term originated and by seeking to define what it means in 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 in which blended learning is effective. It will conclude with a summary of why getting the blend right is important, whilst acknowledging that this is not an easy task and that further research on blended learning is required in ELT contexts.
Blended learning - a denition
The term blended learning originated in the business world in connection with corporate training (Sharma and Barrett, 2007), then was employed in higher education (MacDonald, 2006) and lastly it appeared in language teaching and learning. It is difficult to say exactly when the term became commonplace in ELT although I suggest that it coincided with the publication of Sharma and
Barrett's
book 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 in corporate 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 Bonk and Graham (2006: 22), appears to agree with this by boldly stating that all learning is 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 days when the pedagogical approach involved a number of different teaching strategies. Personally I feel that the adoption of the term symbolises a change in wh at is being blended nowadays, as it signifies the inclusion of computer technology providing online or ofine activities and materials in the mix, rather than implying this is a wholly new approach to teaching and learning. Despite its widespread use in corporate training, higher education and latterly the field of ELT, many claim that the term blended learning is difficult to define (Kerres and de Witt, 2003; Oliver and Trigwell, 2005; Sharpe et al. 2006; MacDonald, 2006; Sharma and Barrett, 2007), the difficulty arising because consensus has not been reached on one definitive definition. Furthermore, the term itself has not been fully adopted in these three settings, where it is at times referred to as hybrid or mixed learning' (Stracke, 2007: 57); e-learning' (Shepard, 2005) or b-learning' (Banados,
2006: 534). Smith and Kurthen (2007) in Gruba and Hinkelman (2012: 4) attempt
to differentiate some of these terms by using percentages (see Table 1).
12 | Introduction Introduction | 13
Table 1
Taxonomy of terms related to blended learning (Smith and Kurthen 2007, in Gruba and Hinkelman 2012: 4)
TermDenition
Web-enhancedSubjects that make use of a minimal amount of online materials, such as posting a syllabus and course announcements. BlendedSubjects that utilise some significant online activities in otherwise face-to-face learning, but less than 45 per cent. HybridSubjects in which online activities replace 45-80 per cent of face-to-face class meetings. Fully onlineSubjects in which 80 per cent or more of learning materials are conducted online. In relation to ELT, Dudeney and Hockly (2007) also use percentages to differentiate between online courses, blended language learning courses, and face-to-face language learning courses with additional online materials (for more information see section below entitled ELT blends'). Despite these perceived differences I would argue that many of the terms are synonymous and that in ELT blended learning' is the term most commonly used to refer to any combination of face-to-face teaching with computer technology (online and ofine activities/materials). From a corporate perspective, Singh and Reed (2001: 1) describe blended learning as being a learning program where more than one delivery mode is being used with the objective of optimizing the learning outcome and cost of program delivery'. They do not expand on what the delivery modes are in their definition, yet a more explicit definition from Valiathan (2002: 1) suggests they may include face-to-face classrooms, live e-learning, and self-paced learning'. Reid-Young (n.d.) also provides us with a set of delivery modes which differ slightly from Valiathan's (2002) and may range from classroom sessions to mentoring arrangements or the support of a subject matter expert in the same office or area.' With reference to blended learning in higher education, it has been defined as: a combination of technology and classroom instruction in a exible approach to learning that recognises the benefits of delivering some training and assessment online but also uses other modes to make up a complete training programme which can improve learning outcomes and/or save costs' (Banados, 2006: 534). Here the lead modes are identified as technology and classroom instruction, although interestingly the other modes' are not specified. This reference to other modes' is of personal interest as the blend I helped redesign had three modes, face-to-face, computer, and self-study that took place in self-access centres situated in the same building as the classrooms and computer rooms, which in my opinion is atypical of most blends described in ELT. Similar definitions to Banados's (2006) are given by de Gregorio-Godeo (2005) and MacDonald (2006). Unlike the definitions found for blended learning in corporate training and higher education those provided in relation to language teaching and learning seem rather succinct. Neumeier, for example, describes blended learning in relation to her study as being a combination of face-to-face (FtF) and computer assisted learning (CAL) in a single teaching and learning environment' (2005: 164). Stracke (2007: 57) offers
12 | Introduction Introduction
13 an almost identical definition in her study into why learners leave blended learning courses (for further details on this study see section below entitled Why a good blend is important'): blended language learning (BLL) - a particular learning and teaching environment, that combines face-to-face (f2f) and computer assisted language learning (CALL). In this instance, the blend" consisted of lear ners' independent self- study phases at a computer, with a CD-ROM, and traditional f2f classroom learning.' Dudeney and Hockly (2007) and Sharma and Barrett (2007), who to ELT practitioners are probably the most widely recognised authors on the topic, provide remarkably similar definitions to Neumeier (2005) and Stracke (2007) with the only slight difference concerning the reference to the CAL(L) mode. Sharma and Barrett (2007:
7) substitute it with technology': Blended learning refers to a language course which
combines a face-to-face (F2F) classroom component with an appropriate use of technology. The term technology covers a wide range of recent technologies, such as the Internet, CD-ROMs and interactive whiteboards'. Dudeney and Hockly (2007:
137) also avoid using the term CAL(L) and substitute it with online' delivery instead:
[Blended learning] is a mixture of online and face-to-face course delivery'. However, they go on to widen this description by stating that in some situations the digital element is done ofine with a CD-ROM'.
Why employ a blended learning approach?
According to Dewar and Whittington (2004) differences have been identified as to why the corporate sector and academic sector introduced blended learning solutions. For the corporate sector the results from an online survey reported by Sparrow in Dewar and Whittington (2004: 5) list the following reasons: ability to match learning styles (80 per cent); individually tailored solutions (70 per cent); improve the learning rate (62 per cent); exploit the investments they have already made in re-usable training resources (59 per cent); shortage of time to use purely classroom events (57 per cent). They do not elaborate on the content of this list, nor provide evidence that any of the reasons given are actually valid and not purely assumptions, for example. improving the learning rate. There are commonalities between the above list and that of Singh and Reed (2001). They identified four benefits to using a blended learning solution a co uple of years before the above study was conducted, which were: improved learning effectiveness; extending the reach; optimising development cost and time; optimising business results (reduces travel costs and learning objectives are obtained quicker). Sharma and Barrett (2007) also refer to the cost-saving element of blended learning with reference to the business world, as work time is not sacrificed for training and furthermore travel costs are negated. In addition to cost savings they also emphasisequotesdbs_dbs27.pdfusesText_33
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