Innovation in Language Learning

This paper presents the rationale, methodology and design principles of a new university course that combines an integrated content and language learning approach with blended learning and flipped classroom techniques.

The subject of the course, taught in French, is the study of French and Francophone social media, their specificity in relation to English-speaking social media, their place in youth and minority cultures and their impact on the French language and French social and political interactions. Since the course involves more than 50 students in a single two-hour weekly seminar, the curriculum has been designed to maximize face-to-face research, creative and analytical group work while the presentation of knowledge and ‘content’ is done online and outside class through activities in (mostly French) social media platforms. The course involves team-teaching in two adjacent rooms and students moving between the two rooms according to the types of activities they are required to do.

The paper will outline the learning design decisions and process, in particular how the principles of blended learning and the flipped classroom have been combined with the fully integrated use and practice of selected social media environments. Preliminary evaluation results, from both students and tutors, will be presented and analysed in terms of student engagement, class management and integration between language and content learning.