The Effects of Blended Learning on Foreign Language Learners’ Oral English Competence

Abstract

Attainment of oral competence is an important goal for English teaching and learning in middle schools in China. However, the level of Chinese middle school students’ oral proficiency is in general less than satisfactory. To find a possible solution to this issue, this study empirically investigated the effect of blended learning on the development of foreign language learners’ oral English competence. Following the blended model and the four-step pedagogical method for teaching speaking (Wang, 2014), the experimental class, consisting of 46 junior middle school students, participated in this study and took a pretest, an immediate post-test, a delayed post-test, and an interview. Their test scores were compared with the control class which involved 45 junior middle school students receiving the traditional teaching method and following the same procedure. The results showed that the blended learning method had remarkable effect on the improvement of oral accuracy and fluency, but not complexity. In addition, the blended environment facilitates the encoding process of the input and the actualization of the transition from object- and other-regulation to self-regulation.