INTRODUCTION

One of the most important challenges facing materials writers, curriculum designers and organisations who adopt a blended learning (BL) approach is the need to develop an understanding of how learning actually ‘works’ in a face-to-face classroom so that at least some elements of the learning process might be adapted for online use or ‘flipped’ to the opposite environment. It is clear that certain classroom practices, processes and procedures facilitate learning, while others may hinder learning (Walsh, 2002). For advocates of a BL approach, this proposition raises questions such as: what features of a typical language classroom are central to learning? Which of these features could be transferred to the online environment? Should a BL approach attempt to replicate those features which promote learning in a ‘normal’ classroom? In this chapter, I argue that the prime role of the language teacher is to enhance learning, which, I suggest, occurs most effectively when teachers understand the complex relationship between language, interaction and learning. The problem which is addressed is how to sensitise language teachers to the centrality of interaction to teaching and learning, which requires a detailed understanding of their local context and accompanying roles. In this chapter, I propose that teachers and learners need to acquire ‘Classroom Interactional Competence’ (CIC), defined as ‘teachers’ and learners’ ability to use interaction as a tool for mediating and assisting learning’ (Walsh, 2011 : 130). For teachers working in a BL context, understanding CIC might be regarded as the first step in designing and using materials which facilitate learning, whether for in-class use or in an out-of-class computer-mediated environment. If CIC is indeed central to the learning process, then its core elements of real-time interaction in exploring the language, negotiating meanings, monitoring learning and seeing learning opportunities must be considered for their potential or otherwise to be ‘flipped’ out of the face-to-face classroom into the online world.

The assumption is that by first understanding and then developing CIC, there will be greater opportunities for learning: enhanced CIC results in more learning-oriented interactions. Teachers, by varying their roles in order to ensure that language use and pedagogic goals are aligned, may demonstrate CIC using a variety of methods, discussed in this chapter in some detail.