French studies: blended learning in modern languages using WebCT

Abstract

The project aimed to promote learner autonomy, especially in the areas of listening, reading, vocabulary acquisition and the development of grammatical competence. Supplementary aims included:

• to extend staff’s pedagogical expertise to areas of e-learning of direct benefit to CML programmes;
• in Stage 1, to prepare non-specialist learners from across campus for residence abroad;
• on Open Access courses, to widen access to digital learning resources for part-time students of the University whose commitments or attendance patterns mean they are unable to use the facilities of the LMRC;
• to support student’s preparation for both, coursework assessments and summative assessments;
• to increase non-specialist language students’ exposure to the target language and direct their learning of key linguistic and cultural features, in order to achieve the module outcomes more effectively, especially those relating to ‘receptive’ language skills.