Page 166 - BLENDED LEARNING

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Using a wiki to enhance the
learning experience on a

business English course

Louise Ingham

Introduction to teaching and learning
context and brief course overview
The context was a part-time adult Cambridge Preliminary Business English class at
intermediate level which took place in a further education college in Warrington in
England. The cohort consisted of ten female learners of mixed nationalities, aged
19 – 35, dominated by European cultures. All were working in the UK but some were
here for a limited time. The course began in September 2010 and had established
a supportive atmosphere before the blend was introduced in March 2011. Learners
needed to improve their knowledge and use of business vocabulary and their
accuracy and fluency with English in business contexts, to prepare for an exam.

Reason for employing a blended approach
The course was restricted in the number of contact hours and in content. Adding a
wiki to create a blended course would compensate for these limitations, allowing more:
■ ■ flexibility of time, place, pace and material
■ ■ responsiveness to learner needs
■ ■ opportunities for skill development including digital literacy
■ ■ practice and feedback
■ ■ collaboration
■ ■ student-centred approaches.

These benefits are possible because wikis are interactive and offer flexible spaces
which can be accessed and edited by any user at any time via the internet. A wiki is a
type of website where users can add and remove content, ‘Wikipedia’ being a famous
example where users can create or update the information included on any topic. All
wiki users have writer status and can easily add text, photo, hyperlink or video that
they want to share, so the teacher is no longer in control of the course content if a
wiki is incorporated. The balance of power may shift because any user can view and
edit the contributions of others so peers as well as the teacher can correct mistakes
or give feedback.

162 | A longitudinal case study of the ‘blends’ Using a wiki to enhance the learning experience on a business English course | 163