Going 100% On-line with Language Courses: Possible?

The word around us is changing constantly and it has an enormous impact on the learning environment and students´ learning styles. Sometimes, technological change is said to be the only constant in our life. Thus, applying modern IT solutions in teaching and learning has become a part and parcel of an increasing number of learning programmes. In language teaching, however, resorting to ICT solutions is sometimes considered to be controversial. This article explores some positive aspects of using ICT that have been acknowledged and stimulating both for students and the teacher. We share our experience in using the Blackboard e-learning environment for teaching genese language courses at different levels and different languages (English and Swedish), and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). We have experienced that the web-based environment can be successfully used for supporting student-centred learning and increasing student motivation. It is also a flexible environment for developing individualisation and enabling cooperation with the students. These topic areas will be the main focus of our paper. By way of introduction we shall analyse different past and current courses where the web-based environment has been used as a support for in-class teaching. We will view different ways of motivating students and engaging them in the learning process. We will then move on to discuss the experience of going 100% on-line with the language courses and analyse the feedback from students questionnaires and self-analysis reports, as well as the results of our participant observation of the process, with a special focus on examining the possibilities for supporting and encouraging student-centred learning and increasing student responsibility in their learning process.