1 Developing Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Blended Learning Environment By: Dr. Ayda Bakir and Dana Adas ﺗﻄﻮﯾﺮ ﺗﻌﻠﻢ اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻻﻧﺠﻠﯿﺰﯾﺔ ﻛﻠﻐﺔ أﺟﻨﺒﯿﺔ ﺿﻤﻦ اطﺎر اﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﻤﺪﻣﺞ ﻣﻠﺨﺺ: ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮاﺿﺢ أن ﻛﻞ ﻣﺪرس ﻣﺜﺎﻟﻲ ﯾﺴﻌﻰ إ ﻟ ﻰ ﻋﻤﻞ ﻛﻞ ﻣﺎ ھﻮ ﺟﯿﺪ و ﻣﻔﯿﺪ ﻟﻄﻼﺑﮫ ﺑﮭﺪف ﺗﻄ ﻮ ﯾﺮ أداﺋﮭﻢ اﻷ ﻛﺎدﯾﻤﻲ. وﻣﻤﺎ ﺟﻌﻞ ذﻟﻚ ﻣﻤﻜﻨﺎ, ﻣﺎ ﯾﺸﮭﺪه اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ ﻣﻦ ﺗﻄﻮر ﺗﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮﺟﻲ واﻧﺘﺸﺎر ﺳﮭﻮﻟﺔ اﻟﺤﺼﻮل ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎت وﺗﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺎ اﻻﺗﺼﺎﻻت اﻟﺘﻲ ﺳﮭﻠﺖ و ﺳﺎﻋﺪ ت ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻨﻤﻮ اﻟﺴﺮﯾﻊ ﻷ ﺳﻠﻮب اﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﻤﺪﻣﺞ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻮى اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﻲ وﺑﯿﺌﺔ اﻟﺘﺪرﯾﺐ اﻟﻤﺸﺘﺮك. وﻗﺪ ﺗﻢ ﺗﺼﻨﯿﻒ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﺒﻢ اﻟﻤﺪﻣﺞ ﻣﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ اﻟﺠ ﻤ ﻌﯿﺔ ا ﻷ ﻣﺮﯾﻜﯿﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﺪرﯾﺐ و اﻟﺘﻄﻮﯾﺮ ﻋﻠﻰ أﻧﮫ واﺣﺪ ﻣﻦ10 ﻣﻦ ﺣﯿﺚ ﻣﺠﺎﻻت ﺣﺪﯾﺜﺔ ﺻﻨﺎﻋﺔ إ ﯾﺼﺎل اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ(Finn, 2002) . وﻣﻨﺬ ذﻟﻚ اﻟﺤﯿﻦ ازدادت ﺑﯿﺌﺔ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ ﺑﺸﻜﻞ واﺳﻊ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎﻟﻲ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﺮﺳﻤﻲ وﺑﯿﺌﺔ اﻟﺘ ﺪرﯾﺐ اﻟﻤﺸﺘ ﺮك. وھﻨﺎﻟﻚ اھﺘﻤﺎم ﻣﺘﺰاﯾﺪ ﺑﻤﻔﮭﻮم اﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﻤﺪﻣﺞ وﻣﺎ دل ﻋﻠﻰ ذﻟﻚ زﯾﺎدة ﻋﺪد اﻟﻜﺘﺐ و اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت و اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺘﻄﺮق ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻣﺒﺎﺷﺮ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﯿﺔ و اﻟﺘﺠﺎرﯾﺔ إ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﻤﺪﻣﺞ و اﻟﻘﻀﺎﯾﺎ اﻟﻤﺘﻌﻠﻘﺔ ﻟﻰ ﺑﮫ. وﻣﻦ ھﺬا اﻟﻤﻨﻄﻠﻖ ﻓﺈن اﻟﺪراﺳﺔ اﻟﺤﺎﻟﯿﺔ ﺗﺒﺤﺚ أﺛﺮ ﺗﻄﺒ ﯿﻖ ﻣﻨﮭﺞ اﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﻤﺪ ﻣﺞ و ﻣﺪى ﻣ ﻼﺋﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﻨﮭﺞ ﻓﻲ ﺗ ﻄﻮﯾﺮ ﻣﮭﺎرات اﻟﻄﻼب اﻟﻠﻐﻮﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻟﻨﺠﺎح اﻟﻮطﻨﯿﺔ. Abstract: Obviously, every caring teacher wants to do a good job for his or her students by looking for new methods to improve his/ her students performance. Technological advances and widespread access to information and communication technologies have facilitated the rapid growth of blended learning approaches in both higher education and corporate training contexts. The American Society for Training and Development also identified blended learning as one of the top 10 emergent trends in the knowledge delivery industry (Finn, 2002). Since then, the visibility of blended learning environments has increased dramatically in both formal education and corporate training settings. There is increasing interest in the concept of blended learning as evidenced by greater numbers of books, journal articles, and
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Developing Teaching English as a Foreign Language
in Blended Learning Environment
By: Dr. Ayda Bakir and Dana Adas
ضمن اطار التعلیم المدمجاللغة االنجلیزیة كلغة أجنبیةتطویر تعلم
:ملخص
ومما جعل . كادیميیر أدائھم األوكل ما ھو جید و مفید لطالبھ بھدف تطعملىلإأن كل مدرس مثالي یسعى من الواضح
التي وتكنولوجیا االتصاالتوانتشار سھولة الحصول على المعلومات ما یشھده العالم من تطور تكنولوجي, ذلك ممكنا
وقد تم . الجامعي وبیئة التدریب المشتركالتعلیم المدمج على المستوىسلوب النمو السریع ألعلى تساعدسھلت و
مجاالت حدیثة من حیث 10مریكیة للتدریب و التطویر على أنھ واحد من ألعیة امتصنیف التعلبم المدمج من قبل الج
بیئة التعلیم بشكل واسع في مجالي التعلیم الرسمي ازدادتومنذ ذلك الحین. (Finn, 2002)المعرفةیصالإصناعة
وھنالك اھتمام متزاید بمفھوم التعلیم المدمج وما دل على ذلك زیادة عدد الكتب و المقاالت . ركالمشتدریب وبیئة الت
ومن ھذا المنطلق فإن . بھ لى التعلیم المدمج و القضایا المتعلقة إالعلمیة و التجاریة و التي تتطرق بشكل مباشر
مھارات الطالب اللغویة في طویرتفيالئمة المنھجمج و مدى میق منھج التعلیم المدالدراسة الحالیة تبحث أثر تطب
.جامعة النجاح الوطنیة
Abstract:
Obviously, every caring teacher wants to do a good job for his or her students by
looking for new methods to improve his/ her students performance. Technological advances
and widespread access to information and communication technologies have facilitated the
rapid growth of blended learning approaches in both higher education and corporate training
contexts. The American Society for Training and Development also identified blended
learning as one of the top 10 emergent trends in the knowledge delivery industry (Finn,
2002). Since then, the visibility of blended learning environments has increased dramatically
in both formal education and corporate training settings. There is increasing interest in the
concept of blended learning as evidenced by greater numbers of books, journal articles, and
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trade magazine articles that directly address issues related to blended learning. This research
will investigate the effect of implementing blended learning and its appropriateness in
developing students' language skills at An-Najah National University.
Introduction:
Arab learners of English encounter problems in both speaking and writing. This fact
has been clearly stated by many researchers ( Bakir 2010, Rabab’ah 2003, Al-kuwelleh
&Shoumali 2000, Abbad 1988 ). The students in Palestine, for example, learn English in their
native country, where the native language is Arabic. The only way to learn English in
Palestine is through formal instruction, i.e. inside the classroom where the language teachers
in schools and universities are native speakers of Arabic, and there are usually large classes
with more than 45 students.
Therefore, there is little opportunity for students to use English outside classrooms or
through natural interaction in the target language. This is only possible when students
encounter native speakers of English who come to the country as tourists, and this rarely
happens.
Mostly, English language teachers ask themselves, “What are the best methods and
procedures I can use to make a productive and exciting lesson for my students? What new
tools of technology can improve learning to give performance and ideal better results? How
can we encourage our students to learn outside the classroom?
Blended learning is a popular topic in English Language Teaching as it has been
increasingly opted for by many people in the United States ( Allen et.al, 2007) .It is a flexible
approach that combines face-to-face teaching/learning with remote (usually internet-based)
learning and this research is about investigating its usefulness to overcome difficulties as
studies have shown that most language learning happens outside the classroom, in a blend of
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various learning environments. How can we integrate traditional classroom teaching with hi-
tech alternatives?
Literature Review:
It is has been a common belief that technology is a good tool to improve teaching
and learning ( Cuban, Kirkpatrick, & Craig, 2001). It has been found that even if teachers use
technology in the classroom, the efforts made don't change the existing teaching practice
(Cuban, et al., 2001). The fact whether technology did really make a difference in improving
students' achievement is still questionable. There is very scientific research addressing
whether technology is a burden or an effective tool in increasing the academic achievement in
the history of teaching (Murray, 2002). Therefore, this study will decide whether technology,
specifically blended learning, has an effect on improving students' achievement in English
language.
Researchers have conducted a few research papers affirming that technology can play
a positive role in improving academic achievement. Wenglinsky ( 1998) has done research
into the effect of using technology on the students performance and found that it depends on
the method the teachers adopt. To put it right, he has come up with the conclusion that
teachers who have used the computer technology to develop their students problem solving
skills really had training and skill in using technology. Therefore using technology for the
sake of practice is more beneficial and rewarding than just merely theoretically based
employment.
Akkoyunlu and Soylu conducted a study (2006) to investigate the view of students
regarding the blended learning environment. The results of the study revealed that the more
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the students participate in the online discussion forums, the more they achieve and the more
positive views they develop towards blended learning. Moreover, the study revealed that
both the face-to-face lectures and the online tasks contributed to the learning process.
Research into whether blended learning is effective is reflected qualitatively instead
of quantitatively. (Arbaugh, 2008) stated that this is due to the fact that there is no difference
in terms of the summative assessment between blended and face-to-face courses. However,
when performance (Simonson, Schlosser, & Hanson, 1999) is a factor, students in the online
course performed better than the students taking the same activities in the traditional
classroom environment mainly because the students could repeat the task and listen to the
videos more than once.
Many research papers affirm the importance of blended learning in the sense that it
reports higher levels of learning if compared to traditional modes of in-class lecturing
(Clouse and Evans, 2003). In their study on the effect of applying blended learning to the
teaching of specialized courses in business, they found that when face-to-face and online
teaching environments are combined, the performance of students on exam questions
improved. But, when the asynchronous and synchronous approaches to blended learning are
introduced, the level of achievement on exams was poor. Yet, the students indicated that the
traditional lectures revealed more clarity. Sauers and Walker (2004) found that students in a
blended course indicated that their course system is more beneficial than the traditional
face-to-face lectures.
It is also evident that when blended learning activities are given to the students of the
blended and the traditional courses, those enrolling in the blended performed better ( Simon,
etl.al., 1999) . This is due to the accessibility of the tasks, the possibility of making the
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suitable changes, and the availability of peer reviews. Other researcher affirmed the fact that
blended learning improves students' performance ( Sankaran and Bui ,2001).
Recently, Blended learning combines online and face-to-face instruction (Reay, 2001;