ICT as Blending Methodology: A Case Study in a Bilingual School in Castilla la Mancha

Abstract

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is increasingly affecting every aspect of our daily lives, including the educational field where new approaches and methodologies are being developed. CLIL is currently one of the most popular educational approaches in Europe as it combines specifically created online course materials with more traditional teaching strategies. The case study introduced in this paper involves a charter school in Castilla-La Mancha called La Merced where CLIL was introduced in 2013. In the academic year 2018-2019, the school was taken over by an international educational network named Red Educativa Arenales, which decided to modernize the school by introducing highly innovative education teaching strategies related to ICT methodology. The initial stage of the modernization plan consists of equipping every classroom with digital devices such as laptops and tablets, as physical textbooks have been substituted by an online learning platform. Most school stakeholders agree that this first year has proved to be highly satisfactory regarding students’ motivation and academic achievement. Drawing on my experience as an English teacher in La Merced since 2011, in this paper I compare the classroom atmosphere and the academic achievements of my students until 2018, when more traditional methods were in use, to last year’s textbook-free pilot program. I will focus on my own grade, namely 3rd level of secondary education class (age 15-16) whose exam results have remarkably improved since the implementation of ICT blending methodology.