NEW Learning English with Technology (LET) Online Modules and Lesson Plans

Technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) has long become an integral part of education in Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the need for Online Learning offerings has been tremendous. LINC programs had to pivot from in-person to remote instruction, and many accomplished this rapid response with the support of the Avenue – LearnIT2teach project.

Over the course of the pandemic, we have observed that programs that had already been engaged in Blended Learning and instructors who had been trained to use Avenue (formerly EduLINC) were better prepared to meet the needs for Online Learning and pivot to distance program delivery. As programs prepare for the transition back to in-person, we believe that TELL and blended program delivery are more important than ever. These approaches not only provide the level of responsiveness needed to meet challenges like a pandemic in the future, but it also ensure flexibility to respond to meet the needs of diverse student demographics.

Avenue – LearnIT2teach has recognized and supported the professional development and content development needed to make Blended Learning work for instructors and students since its inception in 2010. The project’s efforts to provide instructor training and learning resources have been ongoing. As one of our research and evaluation activities, we introduced a student survey and embedded it in a lesson plan and learning activities in 2012. Since then, 273 students have been learning about common technology terminology and provided information about their use of technology for learning English.

Just before the pandemic began, we launched an updated version of the print lesson plans and learning activity sheets for various CLB levels. Now we invite you to use our NEW online modules. The modules are available for CLB 1-2, CLB 3-4, CLB 5-6, and CLB 7-8. Each module can be added to a new or existing course on Avenue and is fully customizable to meet your students’ needs.

The learning activities included in the lesson plans can be used in-class or remotely, in print or online. They were developed to support LINC instructors’ use of Blended Learning in their teaching and foster an understanding of the challenges and opportunities for integration of learning technology. Newcomers understand the importance of digital literacy in their lives and the LET modules engage them in low-stakes online interactions that will prepare them to access resources and services related to their settlement that are increasingly offered online.

One of the activities is an online survey. Many students may not be familiar with completing an online form or have little opportunities to engage in low stakes but meaningful form-filling tasks. With our survey, students practice common online form-filling features and share their experiences and opinions about learning English with technology.

The survey results are collected by New Language Solutions for the Avenue-LearnIT2teach project. The survey is anonymous. The surveyresults may be used locally to inform technology planning and Blended Learning at your program. Program administrators can request program-level results to inform technology planning and Blended Learning implementation. If you are interested in receiving program-level results, please ask your administrator, before students complete the survey, to contact Matthias Sturm at support@learnit2teach.ca.

Preview and request a copy of the LET online modules here: https://avenue.ca/classroom/course/view.php?id=2685

We would like to thank Mary-Ellen Gillespie for the development of the initial lesson plan and learning activities, as well as Catherine Porter and Marijke Geurts for their redevelopment for lower, mid, and higher CLB levels. Marijke Geurts and Matthias Sturm also served as the main content developers of the LET online modules.