The effect of blended learning on EFL learners' motivation and academic writing abilities

Abstract

The present research investigates the effects of the blended learning method on EFL learners’ motivation and academic writing proficiency through conducting a case study on students at the English Department at Larbi Ben Mhidi University. The study hypothesizes that when blended learning is used in teaching academic writing, learners would be more motivated, and that blended learning increases their proficiency in academic writing. To test these research hypotheses, both exploratory and experimental methods of investigation are conducted. The study uses the social networking site ‘Facebook’ and integrates it within the blended learning framework. For that purpose, a checklist of academic writing is designed and compared with the programs of academic writing that are used along the three years of undergraduate study. In addition, questionnaires are addressed to a sample of learners and teachers at the English Department, and a quasi-experimental implementation is carried out with a control group and an experimental group of second year students. The control group is taught in a fully physical setting whereas the experimental group is taught using a blended learning methodology. The study results indicate that the programs are not comprehensive in teaching the ‘academic’ writing genre. The research findings show that learners’ motivation increased considerably after the experiment of blended learning, and that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in their academic writing proficiency. Hence, it is recommended that both teachers and learners take advantage of modern technology to enhance motivation, keep up with developments in modern teaching methods using Information and Communication Technology, and consequently improve learners’ proficiency development in academic fields and foreign language learning.