BLENDED LEARNING: BRIDGING THE MOTIVATIONAL GAP IN ESP COURSES

Abstract

There are numerous and obvious reasons why reformed curricula tend to use alternative assessment methods on an ever wider scale in the teaching of foreign languages. First of all, they offer a comprehensive image of the student's overall competence in a foreign language. Secondly - but equally important - they test much more than the students' ability to sit an examination. Also, they change and enrich the student's attitude towards learning and communication patterns and they increase the students' linguistic self-confidence. (Nunan, 1989). Alternative assessment methods have the great advantage of being context-specific, as they use and adapt those assessment tools that should best reflect the purposes of learning (Taylor, 2003). Other two characteristics that make alternative assessment superior to the traditional one are the facts that it is process-oriented and authentic, based on real life activities (Willis, 1996). Alternative evaluation is very much related to the content of teaching-learning process. Researchers have also noticed further advantages of alternative assessment: it is systematic, dynamic and flexible, managing to build up competences that last in time, as it does not concentrate only on grading and ranking immediate and punctual performance. In these days, many teachers have the tendency to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a teaching,evaluation (assessment) and learning device. The application of ICT in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) became one of the popular research trends in realm of English teaching field of studies. There are so many definitions for Blended Learning (BL) in literature, but the most commonly definitions are: 1. combining instructional modalities, 2. combining instructional methods, and 3. combining online and face-to-face instruction. One of the most dominant problems in ESP courses is dealing with motivation of learners. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between blended learning and attitudes of ESP students. To meet the end, this study was conducted with the undergraduate ESP students at the University of Applied Science & Technology, Mashhad, Iran. The participants of this study were 109 female and male students, ranging from 18-43, majoring in Tourism and Hotel Management. In order to find the ESP students' attitudes towards using blended learning, an attitude questionnaire developed by researchers was distributed among participants. Data analysis revealed that Iranian ESP students have positive attitudes towards blended learning. This study recommended that ESP teachers should integrate technology in their courses (teaching and assessment process) to motivate more students.