Finding the new normal

Blended learning at Language Tree - integrating online tools into our teaching

What a year it has been! 

​It really shows, you just never know what is around the corner. It's crazy to think just how different everyone's outlook was this time last year.
 
While this year has been a massive challenge to our school, we feel really proud to still be here and we believe we have actually learned some new, invaluable skills we never even knew we needed.
 
In February 2020, we were a Zoom Zero school; we barely knew it existed. Our complete focus was on offering face to face courses and welcoming students to Cornwall.
 
While of course we still love doing that, it has been essential to find new ways to keep things going this year. In fact, since March 2020, we have been fully immersed in discovering the delights of Zoom (while also joyfully avoiding all the perils of Teams!!). 
 
And now, as we approach the end of this rollercoaster year, we have an amazing teaching team of Zoom Heroes!

As the year has progressed, Zoom has begun to form a really integral part of our teaching. Beyond teaching, it has also provided a brilliant way to meet new prospective students from around the world. 
 
So now as we begin to look back on the year, I cannot believe that introducing online learning as part of our provision at Language Tree would have been such a positive experience. Nevertheless, it undoubtedly has been and it is definitely something we will continue to build on as part of our new normal!

One particularly unexpected benefit has been how we can communicate with student enquiries from around the world. Zoom has provided a brilliant, easy way to meet them and also easily show them documents and pictures related to the school.
 
Not only that, it has also acted as a virtual stepping stone for students thinking about joining one of our courses in Cornwall.
 
In fact, in the new year, we are planning to receive our first students who have found us online during lockdown and are now planning to join us for a face to face course in January 2021.  
 
One of the wonderful things about the online course they have been doing with us is that amazingly, when they arrive, they will have already met some of the other students in their class through our online classes.

It is going to be interesting to see, but we feel sure this is going to provide a really reassuring way for students to feel more at ease travelling and will also help them to feel immediately integrated in their class groups when they are here. 
 
We’ll be back to let you know how it goes…