Title: From blended to virtual learning: insights from a language enhancement workshop programme

Authors: Jun Pan; Jackie Xiu Yan; Jing Zhang

Addresses: Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China ' Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China ' Department of Liberal Education, Linyi Vocational University of Science and Technology, Linyi City, Shandong, China

Abstract: The past decades have witnessed great advances in the development of tools and resources for blended and virtual learning designs: the latter, in particular, have become a daily reality for many educational institutions during COVID-19. This study reports findings obtained from action research on a language enhancement workshop programme, a Chinese writing and translation workshop, which was carried out under the environment of blended and then virtual learning in AY2018/19 and AY2019/20, respectively. Through results obtained from the analysis of feedback gathered from participants of each workshop session, the study identified the challenges and merits associated with the two types of learning, as well as those of skill- and topic-based training. The study also addresses issues relating to the extracurricular training of learners from different backgrounds and discusses ways to better cope with a mixed-background educational setting in the future. Teachers need to be more creative and develop adaptable pedagogies. Institutional and technology support are equally important to better facilitate learners of different needs.

Keywords: blended learning; virtual learning; workshop series; skill-based training; topic-based training.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMLO.2022.124179

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 2022 Vol.16 No.3, pp.349 - 376

Received: 12 Sep 2021
Accepted: 21 Jan 2022
Published online: 15 Jul 2022 *

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