Blending classroom-based and web-based learning of English for specific purposes for social care specialities at Kuressaare Regional Training Centre

Abstract

The main purpose of this MA thesis is to examine the ways of blending classroombased and web-based learning and teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for adult social care learners at Kuressaare Regional Training Centre. A needs analysis research by means of questionnaires and interviews was conducted at Kuressaare Regional Training Centre in order to determine the needs of learners. The questionnaires were completed by forty learners and graduates of Kuressaare Regional Training Centre in the period of February – April 2016. The interviews were organised among twelve social care learners and graduates in the same period. In general terms, the completed research aimed to determine the language skills needed for social care learners in occupation-related fields, the most practical ESP tasks and activities in order to gain the necessary skills and finally, to evaluate and provide rationales for the implementation of the current web-based course. The thesis comprises the introduction, two core chapters, the conclusion, references and seven appendices. The introduction lists the reasons of the present study, the aims and the introduction of methodology. Furthermore, the background and rationales of the current research are discussed in this chapter. Chapter One presents a theoretical overview of combining technology and ESP, pedagogy in computer-assisted learning and in addition, the learner-centred approach in teaching adults and the discussion of needs analysis are described in this chapter. The practical part consists of the presentation and the analysis of the survey results and besides, the blended course outline is provided in the last section.