DEVELOPING A BLENDED-LEARNING MODEL IN AN L2 CLASSROOM

Abstract

The study analyzes the pedagogical model of the blended-learning delivery format that may be incorporated in an L2 classroom. The study begins with the introduction of current developments in the area of blended-learning in higher education and in second-language acquisition research in particular. The focus is on scholarship that empirically informs the instruction and acquisition of language competence in an L2 classroom with an added computer-assisted language-learning component, blended-learning in particular. The model studied is a combination of face-to-face instruction as the basis of learning experience and an online teaching and learning tools. The focus is on specific tasks to be incorporated into the design of activities for both methods of learning and instruction. Five types of tasks, interactive, adaptive, communicative, productive and instructional, are studied as the main building blocks of an L2 learning environment. The discussion focuses on ways the blended-learning model allows reconfiguration of specific tasks in the two, face-to-face and online, components, leading to changes in the dynamics of an L2 classroom, shifting also the role of student and instructor in the studied blend. The analysis shows that the incorporation of the studied model may contribute to the increase of students’ engagement in the learning process at both learning spaces, face-to-face and online, fosteringa learner-centered L2 environment. The study concludes with a discussion of benefits the blended-learning approach offers in an L2 classroom and suggests directions for further empirical investigations.