Marie-Françoise Narcy-CombesUniversity of Nantes

CRINI-EA 1162mf.narcycombes@wanadoo.fr

A blended Learning environment to cope with large groups of

students in French Universities

Teacher involvement = teamwork

Teachers: Jemma Buck, Françoise Hautcoeur, Martine Stirling, Françoise Tusques-Venisse, Jackie Baker.

PHD Students: Rebecca Starkey-Perret. (lectrice)

Master student: Julie McAllistairTechnicians: Christian Chervet,

Frédéric HabertCoordinator: Marie-Françoise Narcy-

Combes.

OUTLINEContext and problems to solveHow we attempted to solve the problems

- Theoretical background- Implementation of the blended learning system

Findings (April 2009)Generalisation?

1. CONTEXT600 students in Year 1 at UniversityStudents in the Applied Language section - two foreign languages on top of English:

Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese or Japanese

- courses in marketing, accountancy, fiscal law, international trade, business economics, human resources, and communication and computer science

Identified problem:60% fail in their first year

2.1 Theoretical background

2.1.1 A holistic approach (D. Little)

2.1.2 A constructivist answer

2.1.3 Language acquisition

2.2 Implementing a task-based approachA task-based approach will enable the learner

to take an active part in the construction of his/her own knowledge and to interact with other learners

Combine macro-tasks = real life activities such as scenarios, problem solving tasks and projects (Ellis 2003) and micro-tasks = practise and to be carried out individually to cater for personal needs.

2.2.1 Implementing a blended-learning systemUsing technology will greatly help to make

learning enjoyable and memorable and to cater for individual needs.

Distance learning : resources available on the learning platform (Moodle)

lectures, resources, Internet links.Tasks instructions and planning.communication tools (forums => Instructions

– discussion - help)Evaluation and assessmentA virtual resource centre

2.2.2 OrganisationLearners work in teams, hand in their

assignments and meet a teacher in small groups (15) once a week.

Teachers work in teams, and share the work and their experience: they have a space on the platform to that purpose.

2.2.3 AdvantagesSmaller groups = more efficient learning Contact with teachers made easierMore practice (in speaking or writing)Better preparation for adult life: taking on

responsibilities, autonomy, teamwork, using ICT.

A resource centre to help students in need and to motivate the most successful ones.

Dedicated teachersAdavantages for lesser taught languages =>

ability to reach a wider audience.

3 Findings April 2009

Student profile 660 Students in Business English year 1

Gender Women: 66%

Social origin Middle class 25% Lower middle 22% Working class15%

Majoring in Economics 32% Literature 27% Accountancy 16% Sciences 11%

Level in English A1: 3.69%A2 : 29.02%B1 : 41.16%B2 : 20.05%C1 : 6.07%

3 .1 Student involvement

Level in English % of students who never log in

% inside each category

A1 4.35 21.4

A2 43.48 27.3

B1 33.33 14.7

B2 14.49 13.2

C1 .35 13

4 A paradigm shift

Former paradigm

New paradigm

INSTRUCTION AUTONOMYTRANSMISSON CONSTRUCTIONCOLLECTIVE LEARNING

INDIVIDUAL AND INTERACTIVE LEARNING

4.1 GENERALISATION/ Conclusion Using a blended learning system• Helps to cope with large groups of students

AND with mixed ability groups• The various educational cultures should be

taken into account and explored before implementing such a system.

• Developing a database of significant items in university educational culture might prove useful (pedagogy, the respective roles of teachers and learners, materials, institutional issues etc.).

Thank you for your attention