Abstract:

In this paper we present a language teaching experience carried out with a group of students from the Universidad Católica de Valencia (Spain) and a smaller group of native English speakers. Prior to the experience, participants were asked to fill a questionnaire assessing their preferred learning style and afterwards they filled another one about their perceptions and reactions. Additionally, we collected observation data to be triangulated with the questionnaire data.

The first group was formed by 15 Spanish learners of English of upper intermediate level enrolled in a face-to-face course which involved two weekly teaching sessions in the classroom. The second group had 4 English native speakers with experience in the use of and the use of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE, a "plataforma"); so, both groups work normally over the Internet using advanced educational technologies.

The aim of the experience was for the Valencian students to work in groups and then interact in an asynchronous forum with the native English speakers who have familiarised themselves with the topic. The learning experience followed these steps: a) preparatory work using different media (video + text on 'Betty la fea' and ‘Ugly Betty') and focusing on content and vocabulary, b) revising grammatical content (the conditional), c) asynchronous discussion in the forum. In response to a final questionnaire, the Valencian students reported having enjoyed the experience, feeling very motivated, and wanting to repeat it.

Keywords:

VLE, learning and teaching methodologies, Spanish as a foreign language, English as a foreign language, blended learning.