This document describes a blended learning course on World Englishes and miscommunications involving five universities from the Asia-Pacific region. The course utilized both online and face-to-face components, including prerecorded lectures, online discussion forums, and live video conferences. Its goals were for students to learn about different Englishes, communication issues that can arise, and develop their language skills through interactive activities. Assessment involved self-reflection, assignments, and participation in online and face-to-face discussions.

1. Aiden dela Cruz-Yeh Rita Zeinstejer
Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages Asociacion Rosarina de Cultura Inglesa
Kaohsiung, Taiwan Argentina
Blended Learning
Activities:
Making Them Work for You
and Your Students
Becoming a Webhead 2007 EVO Seminar

2. World Englishes and
Miscommunications II -
International Collaborative
Project
Aiden dela Cruz-Yeh
Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages
Kaohsiung, Taiwan

3. Five universities in the Asia-Pacific
Region joined the course in 2006

4. Blended Learning Contexts
• Traditional f2f class
• Technologically-equipped classroom
• Students and teachers: the human factors that
make this blended learning environment work

5. Sponsors
• Waseda University On-Demand Internet
Course (OIC) and Cross-Cultural Distance
Language Learning (CCDL)- Digital
Campus Consortium
• Project Head: Prof. Michiko Nakano
http://www.cit.nus.edu.sg/dli2003/Biography/ProfMichikoNakano.pdf

6. International Professors who
contribute to the course
For 2006

7. The goals of the course
“English has been used as a common tool of
communication in Asia. It has been reported that non-
native users of English in the so-called Outer Circle and
Expanding Circles outnumber the native speakers of
English in the Inner Circle. ... As long as regional group
accents do not jeopardize mutual intelligibility, World
Englishes should be accepted as part and parcel of
EIL. However, in our experiences of communication in
cyberspace, learners' English reveals some difficulties,
often leading to inadvertent misunderstanding. For this
reason, in this omnibus course, we would like the
students to learn the phonetic features, syntactic
features, socio-cultural differences, and para-linguistic
features which might cause some misunderstanding
among native speakers and Asian interlocutors.”
http://www.waseda.jp/dcc/jcc/we2/index.html

8. By the end of the course, students
will be able to:
• learn about World Englishes and how this concept
relates to them as EFL learners
• Learn about the goals of English language teaching in
international/regional contexts and
• Establish a common ground to evaluate the local English
language teaching and learning environment
• use the target language to interact and communicate
with other students
• engage in synchronous and asynchronous
communications
• and enhance students’ oral presentation and
interpersonal skills

9. Outline of the Course
• This course consisted of live sessions and on-demand
lectures. Live sessions were conducted using
videoconferencing system during the course period.
• Each participating university provided on-demand
lectures, and students were expected to view all lectures
during the 2-month course period.
• Live sessions and on-demand lectures, including course
materials, Q&A and discussions on the BBS and quizzes
were conducted in English.
http://www.waseda.jp/dcc/jcc/we2/index.html

10. http://www.waseda.jp/dcc/jcc/we2/index.html

11. Course Period: Late August 2006-
early January 2007
http://www.waseda.jp/dcc/jcc/we2/index.html

12. On-demand Lectures (OIC)
http://www.waseda.jp/dcc/jcc/we2/index.html

13. http://oic.wls.jp/eng/cgi-bin/bbs_login.cgx

14. Sample Screenshot of a lecture
http://oic.wls.jp/eng/cgi-bin/bbs_login.cgx

15. Screenshot of the BBS

16. Live Session
http://www.waseda.jp/dcc/jcc/we2/index.html

17. Waseda University
students (Japan)
Fudan
University
students
(China)
Wenzao
College
Ss
(Taiwan)
Namseoul
University Ss
(Korea)
Hannam
University
Ss (Korea)

18. F2F session during the live-on
presentations
Wenzao
College
students

19. The gadget used for live-sessions

21. Culminating Activity
http://www.waseda.jp/dcc/jcc/we2/index.html

22. Managing the Course
• Redefining learner autonomy
• Providing sufficient learner support using class blog and
yahoogroup
• In-class lectures to discuss online lectures on video
(OIC)
• Preparing comprehension questions to guide students
• Giving writing task questions to help students generate
and maintain discussion topics on the BBS
• Giving task-based photostory projects to be presented
during the live-sessions
• Maintaining a high level of motivation

23. Tools and Content ≠Learning
Teachers need to:
• Put the pieces together, and present them
as one unified learning framework
• Help Ss make sense of the learning
materials i.e. detailed syllabus, clearly
defined learning goals, pointers for review,
etc.
• Assign creative tasks where Ss can apply
what they have learned in class

24. Putting the pieces together
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wenzao/

25. Making sense of learning
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

26. Bonding to learn
http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/64423.194af54d7ce/overview#2087045

27. Linking the tools
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

28. Relating topic with Ss’s frame of
reference
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

29. Making sense of learning
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

30. Guide questions to generate online
discussion
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html

31. Photostory Projects: Cultural Links
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

32. Pointers
Students get to choose the main focus of their presentation from the
list of guide questions provided.
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

33. Sharing Lecture Notes: Slideshare
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html
http://multienglishes.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

34. Assessing your individual/group
efforts in class
1. Did you follow the requirements in doing the tasks?
2. Did you submit your assignments on time?
3. Did you read the required readings, watched online video lectures
way before the assignment deadline?
4. Did you watch the online video lectures before each video
conference? (10/12, 10/19, 11/16)
5. Did you participate in the discussions during the video conference
by asking questions and/or sharing a point of view?
6. What is the level of your motivation in participating in this course?
7. Attendance- How many times did you miss the class?
8. How many times did you fail to submit your assignments?
9. How many times did you turn in (submit) late assignments?
10. How would you rate the level of effort that you exerted in doing the
required tasks in this course?

35. Evidence of learning
1. Writing sentence outlines
2. Writing feedback on each video online
conference.
3. Enhanced meta-cognitive skills through
reflection
4. Enhanced asynchronous communication skills
5. Those who participated during the online video
enhanced their oral skills
6. Audio/video presentations enhanced oral skills,
collaborative skills, and creativity