Blended Learning in Spanish Classes
“The most important aim of a Blended Learning design is to find the most effective and efficient combination of the two modes of learning for the individual learning subjects, contexts and objectives.”
Blended Learning is the combination of F2F (face-to-face) teaching with online learning. Blended learning is becoming a popular technique in a classroom that has shown to provide more meaningful and authentic learning experiences. While it is being used across all contents, second language acquisition classrooms are still mainly providing F2F instruction and while some courses offer online laboratory-based programs, language teachers are facing challenges adopting an effective blending learning perspective.
The article, "Using the Spanish Online Resource Aula Virtual de Español (AVE) to Promote a Blended Teaching Approach in High School Spanish Language Classrooms" propose an online Spanish resource for language teachers to utilize with blended learning and evaluate its effects. This study was conducted in two Spanish classrooms, both at a different high school but within the same district in Alberta, Canada. The online program studied was AVE, which follows the curricular plan of the Instituto Cervantes and is divided into six levels- four courses of three lessons.
The study's findings concluded that Blended Learning (in this case with the specific program Ave) "promotes the maximizing of the learning experience and demonstrates great potential in impacting the language learning process" by positively impacting the attitude that students have towards learning the Spanish language (pg 18). The study rationalizes that although F2F is important to engage the students in authentic dialogue, it can be difficult to accommodate different or individual learning styles and needs. With the support of online resources, instruction can be targeted to varied learning styles and, resulting in greater engagement. For example, when analyzing authentic texts or media from the target culture, students would be able to choose materials that actually interest them, specifically.
Many of the teachers that I work with at my school site use online resources minimally, usually just to show quick videos or documentaries for students to discuss. Working in a high school Spanish classroom as a student teacher for 8 months, I feel that I have incorporated online resources more than what I am around, but have still strategized ways incorporate blended learning more. The program AVE seems like a great resource, but it must be paid for, so I was not able to use it for myself however it is something I am keeping in mind for the future.
Article:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ968186.pdf
I do not ever remember using blended learning techniques during my language classes in high school. I know that the benefits would have been helpful for the students in that class, so I am glad that your student are begin exposed to this type of learning and resources. We know that every student is at a different level in their learning, and therefore with this program and type of learning it is beneficial for the individual because the material is differentiated for them.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
Hi Angelica,
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that you focused on blended learning in your content area. It is also refreshing that there are resources for Spanish classes! My experience with teachers who use online resources is similar to yours. They tend to include them in whole-class discussions instead of individual ones, so students are set on a fixed schedule and not able to process the information at their own pace. I hope to hear more about how you incorporate blended learning in your student teaching this quarter!
Hi Angelica!
ReplyDeleteI am interested to see how blended learning would look like in a Spanish classroom. In high school, I took 4 years of Spanish and I have never seen this teaching strategy be demonstrated in the classroom. AVE seems like a great resource for you to use with your students. Do you think there are other programs out there to use for free? I can't wait to hear/see how you illustrate blended learning into your classroom this quarter!
I think blended learning in a Spanish class is a great idea! This reminded me of a time I worked at a San Bernardino elementary school that had a dual language program. 4th grade students were being taught Chinese, but they were reluctant to participate, were very rude to the teacher and they refused to show interest in learning the language. Keeping this in mind, I think incorporating blended learning may be helpful. By incorporating something students enjoy and are familiar with (technology) can encourage them to be more willing to learn. In addition, using technology in the classroom opens up a large range of opportunities to allow students to be explore their interests which I think would also be very helpful in this case. Thank you for your helpful and informative post!
ReplyDeleteAlong with everything that you mentioned, I have also found that listening to others speak a foreign language is extremely beneficial in my feeling more comfortable with the language. Incorporating blended learning would give students a chance to hear others, other than their teacher or peers, speak the language they are studying. I especially liked what you wrote about how students could choose texts that actually interested them because that is the same issues I face in an English Language class. Autonomy is so important for our high school students and would help more students engage and participate with the class content.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your insights in this post and am glad that you are analyzing how blended learning can be incorporated into your content area. Also, I think you made a key point when you discussed the fact that blended learning can be a tool to help target specific learning styles. Great post!
ReplyDelete