What is Blended Learning?

    The term blended learning refers “[…] to the practice of using both online and in-person learning experiences when teaching students.”(Hidden curriculum; 2014) This means that students attend regular face-to-face lessons but at the same time “[…] in-class time may be either replaced or supplemented by online learning experiences, and students would learn about the same topics online as they do in class—i.e., the online and in-person learning experiences would parallel and complement one another.” (Hidden curriculum; 2014).

    Both online and face-to-face learning have many advantages and if they are combined the result will be positive. A case in point of face-to-face learning benefit is the fact that teachers can cater for their students emotional needs in irreplaceable ways. Moreover, teachers can provide a stable and comfortable classroom environment to make the learning process more engaging and satisfactory. What is more, for English teachers, it can be said that face-to-face learning is highly necessary. “In situations like foreign-language teaching, where a teacher’s body language and cultural insights provide students with complex information, it’s difficult to imagine a robot or computers entirely replacing teachers” (Partarrieu, S.; 2015)

    On the other hand, the importance of including online instances of learning and teaching cannot be dismissed. First, our students are Digital Natives (Prensky, M.; 2001) and the use of technology can make the learning and teaching processes much more engaging. Second, students can work on themselves, organize their activities around their needs and work at their own pace. Third, teachers can structure and schedule lessons so they can become more elastic. Finally, “Blended learning may also allow teachers to spend less time giving whole-class lessons, and more time meeting with students individually or in small groups to help them with specific concepts, skills, questions, or learning problems […]” (Hidden Curriculum; 2014).

    In conclusion, it can be stated that nowadays a combination of face-to-face and online learning is the most suitable way to carry out foreign language lessons. "There is no single recipe for success when combining traditional and digital methods, but it’s clear that human presence – even remotely – still plays an important role in student motivation and progress" (Partarrieu, S.; 2015). Also, using the web to enhance the learning process allows the students to choose when, where and how to learn. (Itslearning Global; 2013)

    

    

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References:

Hauze, S. (2013, October 22) Blended learning. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVDx6tK_Y9k

Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum

Itslearning Global (2013, may 24) Blended learning in 2 minutes and 38 seconds. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5txJfv2q0c&feature=youtu.be

Partarrieu, S. (2015, October 5) Why we still need face-to-face teaching in the digital era. Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/why-we-still-need-face-face-teaching-digital-age

Prensky, M. (2001) "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" On the horizon 9 (5) 1-6.