The Effect of Blended Learning vs. Classroom Learning Techniques on Iranian EFL Learners’ Writing

Subject Areas :

Shirin Ghahari ¹ (Department of English, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran)
Ahmad Ameri-Golestan ² (Department of English, Isfahan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran)

Received: 2014-06-07 Accepted : 2014-06-07 Published : 2013-09-01

Keywords: blended learning, CALL, classroom learning, EFL writing, feedback,

Abstract :

The present study was intended to investigate the impact of blended and classroom teaching methods on Iranian EFL learners’ writing. To this end, a group of 29 upper intermediate and advanced EFL learners were randomly placed in two groups: an experimental group, namely Blended Learning and a control group, namely Classroom Learning after taking part in a placement test. Participants of the Blended Learning group received traditional teaching methods of writing plus learning through the web. Participants of the Classroom Learning group, however, were taught based on the traditional teaching methods of writing and received the materials, instructions, and feedback merely through traditional methods. In order to collect the data, participants’ first piece of writing was regarded as the pretest and their last one was the posttest. The results of the independent-samples t-tests showed that participants of the Blended Learning group significantly outperformed the ones in the Classroom Learning group in their writing performances. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that employing a blended teaching method can create a more desirable condition to enhance the EFL learners’ writing performance and that doing research in this field can be a promising area for those interested.