Learners' Perceptions of Online Elements in a Beginners' Language Blended Course--Implications for CALL Design

Much research has been done on blended learning and the design of tasks most appropriate for online environments and computer-mediated communication. Increasingly, language teachers and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) practitioners recognise the different nature of communications in online settings and in face-to-face settings; teachers do not simply attempt to replicate face-to-face interactions in online synchronous tutorials, but combine their pedagogical expertise with the affordances of the computer-mediated system they use to produce the conditions for effective language learning. However, there is less evidence that the role and importance of the interplay between pedagogy and technology in online language teaching has been taken into consideration in the learning design of blended courses, where the emphasis is increasingly on the online elements. There is also scant evidence on students' perceptions of the online components in blended language courses. This paper reflects upon the experience of the delivery of a beginners' language course using blended learning in an open and distance learning context. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]