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A blended learning course for the
aviation industry: A case study

Lynda Beagle and Graeme Davies

Course overview
RMIT English Worldwide (REW) is an English language centre owned by RMIT
University in Melbourne, Australia. REW has been developing and publishing
courseware and assessment for use at the Melbourne campus and for offshore
partners for the last 12 years.
REW has developed two English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, one for
pilots and the other for air traffic controllers, which employ a blended learning
approach and focus on extending English language speaking and listening skills
in aviation contexts. The courses, named Beyond Level 4 (BL4), are targeted at
practising aviation professionals who work in international airspace, and are
designed to assist them to move from Operational Level 4 to Extended Level 5
or Expert Level 6 according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
Language Proficiency Rating Scale. It should be emphasised that the BL4 courses
are focused on developing industry-specific language for learners who already
have good functional and operational competency in aviation English.
Each course is accompanied by a supplementary grammar book, a guide to
monitoring and assessing performance for the language instructor, and a separate
script and answer guide to assist in administering the parallel face-to-face
component of the course.

Course description
A review of the literature shows there is no single accepted definition of blended
learning, but it can be understood to combine computer-mediated delivery and
face-to-face interaction. Garrison and Vaughan suggest that in blended learning
‘face-to-face oral communication and online written communication are optimally
integrated such that the strengths of each are blended into a unique learning
experience congruent with the context and intended educational purpose’ (2008: 5).
The use of e-learning resources in the BL4 courses is ideal for the aviation industry,
as it enables pilots and air traffic controllers to study without interrupting their work
schedules. The online platform not only facilitates convenient and efficient delivery
of content, but also has the clear benefit of replicating the context in which aviation
personnel primarily use the language; that is, via radio telephony. Online delivery
reproduces the challenges of this medium, namely oral interaction without the benefit
of visual cues.

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