Abstract
Although blended learning has long been recognized in the field of English language teaching, it is often claimed that it has not reached its optimal level of effectiveness in this area. This study aims to examine teachers' and students' perceptions of the design of blended learning in English language courses. The study participants consisted of five English teachers, each of whom had over a year of experience in teaching blended learning courses, and thirty-six students majoring in English. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with teacher participants and focus group interviews with student participants. The interviews were conducted using both face-to-face and phone conversations; each interview lasted about one hour. The focus group interviews were conducted with four to five student participants at a time, and each interview lasted about one hour. Conversations with both the teacher and student participants were conducted in their first language to allow for greater insight. The data from the interviews were transcribed and coded using Atlast.ti, and they were then analyzed using content analysis. To validate the results, the emergent themes were reviewed by the participants. The results revealed that both teachers and students were ready for this new form of language teaching. What is needed is teachers' professional training on how to design blended learning courses beyond the course management system level and how to raise and maintain students' motivation for online learning. Unsurprisingly, teachers are viewed as the main agents in enabling successful English language learning.
Highlights
Due to technological disruptions, higher education professionals have been required and encouraged to provide a learning environment that better meets the new way students are learning and to demonstrate the effectiveness of such a program
Blended learning is a form of personalized learning, which involves the integration of online learning and faceto-face instruction [10] with “reduced in-class seat time for students” [11, p.1]
How do you provide input/ opportunity for language production/ feedback to students in online learning? What challenges did you face when integrating technology/ online learning into your courses?
Summary
Higher education professionals have been required and encouraged to provide a learning environment that better meets the new way students are learning and to demonstrate the effectiveness of such a program. Previous studies [8,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21] have examined the role of blended learning in a wide range of contexts, from K-12 to tertiary-level education. They have reported that blended learning was effective in enhancing students’ access to successful learning and that students had positive perceptions of learning through blended learning. Blended learning provides constructive learning experiences and contains elements that may not be found in traditional, or face-to-face, instruction, and that can foster higher levels of learning [22]
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