The implications of active blended learning for English teaching in a Chinese university

Abstract

Blended Learning (BL), which is usually defined as a combination of face to face (F2F) and online instruction, has attracted considerable interest in recent years and has been increasingly adopted within the higher education sector. In this research, a thematic inductive analysis was conducted to explore how the practice of Active Blended Learning (ABL) at a British university, University of Northampton (UON) might inform the BL College English teaching curriculum design at a Chinese university, Henan Normal University (HNU), so that students may enjoy a more enhanced learning experience in both online and F2F contexts. In the study, 10 teachers from different disciplines at UON and 10 College English teachers from HNU were interviewed for between 45 and 60 minutes. The findings of this study suggest that the implementation of BL in College English courses at HNU should be supported by the institution in terms of pedagogical design, policy, staff development, technical infrastructure and small class size.