An Excellence Gateway Case Study

An Excellence Gateway case study

This case study was produced by JISC RSC (Regional Support Centres) Northern on behalf of the Excellence Gateway


Sector relevance: Further Education, Sixth Form College

Keywords: ESOL, ICT Skills, e-learning techniques, motivating learners, WebQuest, wiki, blogging, MP3 recording, RSS

Middlesborough CollegeSummary

Middlesbrough College offers its ESOL learners an opportunity to enhance their English as well as a chance to use and develop their ICT skills which are increasingly essential in the workplace and in education. Technologies such as wikis, blogs and online recordings have been successfully introduced in the ESOL classes. The use of e-learning has improved the quality of learning experience as well as retention rates.



About Middlesborough College

Middlesbrough College is currently the largest college in Tees Valley and has just moved to a new site; Middlehaven. The new college has more than 70 classrooms, two lecture theatres, science laboratories, a theatre, a sports hall, hair and beauty salons, training kitchens, recording studios, construction workshops and a travel shop. Currently Middlesbrough College has over 150 students enrolled on ESOL courses.

The challenge

Middlesbrough College has been keen to introduce ICT skills to ESOL learners because these skills are increasingly important in the workplace as well as in education. Using technology to enhance ESOL teaching can also help to engage, encourage and motivate learners to achieve success.

The activity

The following e-learning techniques were introduced at the ESOL Level 3 course at Middlesbrough College:

  • WebQuests: At the start of the course, learners were encouraged to experiment with computers and the internet by a learning activity, called a WebQuest.  A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The WebQuest was created by the ESOL tutor at Middlesbrough College and learners were asked to find out facts about the United Kingdom. A website which provided that information was included.

  • Wikis: Next, learners were introduced to wikis and how to create them. They created a wiki about their own country and a ‘Capital City Wiki’; a wiki about the capital of a country other than their own. They were asked to write an introduction, give information about accommodation, tourist attractions, food and drink, entertainment and transport. Images, links to websites and other files which students had investigated had to be entered to complete the task. They also had to make sure that the grammar, spelling and punctuation were correct.

  • Blogging: Learners moved on to produce a blog as a journal for each other to read and comment on. Learners told each other about their country, city, town or village.  They described the people of their countries and their culture. The learners were asked to think and write about the typical food and festivals. What people do in their countries, where they work and what they do in their spare time. The blogs were illustrated with digital pictures taken by the learners themselves.  These pictures illustrate the learners’ lives outside the classroom, and from their country of origin. This exercise not only motivates but also promotes social interaction and intercultural understanding.

  • Digital sound recordings: Learners also produced a MP3 recording using Audacity. It accompanied a PowerPoint presentation and was used for pronunciation and intonation practice. They can also be used so learners can listen and write sentences.

  • RSS news feeds: RSS news updates are fed into the blackboard which empowers learners to study in their own time and improves their English.

The outcomes

The ESOL learners at Middlesbrough College are very enthusiastic about learning English as well as gaining ICT skills. Especially working with Audacity has been very popular. The ESOL learners put in more hours than required, to work on their assignments. The retention rates are also very good.

The impact

e-Learning in ESOL offers a range of benefits which may attract new learners, sustain motivation and improve achievement. Information technologies can also help tutors cater for diversity.

The ICT skills of both learners and tutors are factors that need to be carefully considered. Each tutor needs to be aware of their learners’ ICT strengths and weaknesses in order to integrate technology effectively and has to be adequately trained themselves.

Fiona Jennings, e-Learning Manager, at Middlesbrough College says: ‘I advise tutors to give learners clear instructions at the start of the course and prepare them for what they can expect. Although students were very happy learning how to use Audacity, they were not confident enough to actually publicise their recordings on the college’s blackboard as planned’.

When using digital photographs, keep in mind that photographs of people can only be reproduced with the consent of the subject and permission must be sought and recorded if copyright images are to be reproduced.

Supporting files


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Disclaimer: The Regional Support Centres (RSC) and the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) support the development of educational e-learning. We may refer to specific products, processes or services. Such references are examples and are not endorsements or recommendations and should not be used for product endorsement purposes.

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