Evolution of Blended Learning

Abstract

Blended, or hybrid, learning has developed in mainstream university teaching to better describe the ‘middle ground’ between critics and advocates of current technologies in education. In this chapter, concepts used for second and foreign blended language learning are defined and compared. Emerging from a related field, computer-assisted language learning (CALL), blended learning demonstrates that digital technologies are now a normal part of everyday practice and merging with face-to-face activities. CALL has disappeared, replaced by models of blended language learning that are more comprehensive and inclusive in integrating all modalities, venues, and aspects of learning. Building on these concepts, four considerations of purpose, multimodality, appropriateness, and sustainability guide a principled approach to designing blended language learning in classrooms.