Resumen de In Search of the Perfect Blend: An ESL Hybrid Course for Prospective Primary Teachers

María Fernández-Agüero, Isabel Alonso Belmonte

• This article reports on a blended learning (BL) experience designed for use in on-site English as a Second Language (ESL) courses for Primary student teachers at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The online part of this BL experience consists of six online teaching units that integrate ESL and authentic samples of narrative and poetry related to the student teachers’ interests. The typology of online activities presented was designed to improve student teachers’ strategic competence in ESL. To assess the pedagogical impact of this BL course, a mixed assessment system was applied, involving both measurement through written tasks and pre- and post-questionnaires, and interpretation of discussion group participation. Results show that online integrated work in an on-site ESL program endows students with a set of linguistic competences needed at a user level and improves their capacity for autonomous learning. Findings are discussed in relation to the use of e-learning material to improve autonomous learning in the teacher education context.