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Language teachingin blended contextsMargaret SouthgateSenior Lecturer and Staff Tutor in LanguagesFaculty of Education and Language StudiesThe Open University in Wales
Pioneers in blended language teaching
Sharing expertise
Four key principles
• creativity
• responsiveness
• openness
• pragmatism
The nature of the blend
An integrated blend
Blending, not layering
Combining tools and resources
• Understanding of strengths, weaknesses, appropriateness
• Strong integration of environments
(Stacey and Gerbic, 2008)
Aiming for strong integration
The four-stage model (after Garrison & Vaughan, 2008):
• Individual work before a synchronous session• Group work during a synchronous session• Activities after a synchronous session• Preparation (individual and/or group) for
the next synchronous session
Implications for assessment• Using a range of media, such as
– Online quizzes– Audio recordings– Blogs– Forum contributions
• Assessment as a teaching tool– Written or audio-recorded
feedback– Sensitive to individual needs
?
The teacher’s role
presenter?designer
?
facilitator?
moderator?learning
adviser?
assessor?
author?
Learner diversity
One size fits all?
Learner diversityConsider some key areas:
• Task choice and design
• Use of personal information
• Activity and group management
• Language use The languages classroom: Place of comfort or obstacle course?
Nicolson & Adams (2010)
Autonomy and motivation
[Autonomous learners] “understand the purpose of their learning programme, explicitly accept responsibility for their learning, share in the setting of goals, take initiatives in planning and executing learning and evaluate its effectiveness.”
Little, 2003
Autonomy and motivation• closely linked
• crucial for successful language learning
• fostered through supportive feedback
Learners need opportunities to communicate in the language
Teachers can encourage learners to make their own choices
Autonomy and motivation
Fostering autonomy
built-in flexibility
guiding rather than controlling
minimal teacher intervention
learners
explore and experiment
take decisions, including opting out
give positive feedback to others
learn from feedback
Teacher development “Blended learning inherently is about rethinking and redesigning the teaching and learning relationship” Garrison and Kanuka 2004
staff developer
learner
teacher
teacher
Teacher development
Teacher
Peer support
Tandemteaching
Mentoring
Workshops& meetingsFace-to-face
TelephoneSynchronous
online
Asynchronousonline
Micro-teaching
Observing
Actionresearch
Shared resource
banks
Virtualstaff
rooms
Intranetnotice board
Chat forums
Wikis
Self-access
materials
Tech
niq
ues
Reso
urces
Where next?
Four key principles:
• creativity
• responsiveness
• openness
• pragmatism
ReferencesGarrison, D.R. and Kanuka, H (2004), 'Blended learning: uncovering its
transformative potential in higher education', The Internet and Higher Education, 7 (2), 95-105.
Garrison, D.R. and Vaughan, N.D. (2008), Blended Learning in Higher Education (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass).
Little, D (2003), 'Learner autonomy and second language learning', The Guide to Good Practice for Learning and Teaching in Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. <www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/1409>, accessed 21 January 2010.
Nicolson, M and Adams, H (2010), 'The languages classroom: place of comfort or obstacle course?', The Language Learning Journal, 38 (1), 37-49.
Nicolson, M, Murphy, L, and Southgate, M (eds.) (2011), Language Teaching in Blended Contexts (Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press).
Stacey, E and Gerbic, P (2008), 'Success factors for blended learning', ascilite (Melbourne, Australia).
Language teachingin blended contexts
Margaret SouthgateSenior Lecturer and Staff Tutor in LanguagesFaculty of Education and Language StudiesThe Open University in Wales
