Blended learning in teaching English to Vietnamese university students from EFL lecturers’ perspectives This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Thi Nguyet Le
Trang 1Blended learning in teaching English to Vietnamese university
students from EFL lecturers’ perspectives
This thesis is presented for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Thi Nguyet Le
Edith Cowan University School of Education
2022
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Abstract
With the rapid growth of Web 2.0 and information technology, blended learning - a combination
of face-to-face and online learning - enables university lecturers to extend teaching and learning beyond the confines of their classrooms The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam recognised the importance of these innovations and mandated the use of information and
communication technologies in higher education institutions This directive overlapped with the Government’s policy to make English the major foreign language in the country in a response to globalisation given the springboard into the global economy English provides As a result, two simultaneous, parallel movements are occurring in Vietnamese universities: (i) an upsurge in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL); and (ii) a focus on using blended learning (BL) for teaching and learning
This study investigated Vietnamese EFL lecturers’ perspectives of how well they were managing their implementation of BL in teaching English to non-English major students in Vietnamese universities The principal aim of this research was to investigate how these lecturers were
dealing with, coping with, or managing the mandated implementation of BL in their teaching Semi-structured interviews occurred with twenty EFL lecturers from ten different universities in Vietnam
The findings revealed most of the EFL lecturers were not managing their implementation of BL
in English teaching effectively while a very small number admitted their effective use of BL Contributing to the lecturers’ implementation of BL were personal, institutional, and socio-cultural and economic factors When the two major factors - personal and institutional - were positive, the lecturers could manage their implementation of BL effectively The contributory socio-cultural and economic factors - especially the Confucian teaching tradition - hindered the quality of the lecturers’ implementation of BL The study provides a framework for managing the implementation of BL effectively in English language education in Vietnamese universities
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Contents
Abstract i
Contents ii
List of Figures vii
List of Tables viii
Abbreviations xi
Originality Statement xii
Acknowledgements xiii
Conference Presentations and Publications Emerging from this Thesis xv
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background 2
1.1.1 EFL and Blended Learning in Vietnamese Universities 2
1.1.2 English as Foreign Language in Vietnamese Universities 5
1.1.3 Motives for EFL Education Reforms in Vietnam 6
1.2 The Research Problems 8
1.3 Aims of the Study and Research Questions 11
1.4 Significance of the Overall Study 13
1.5 Positionality Statement 14
1.6 Organisation of the Study 17
Chapter 2 Literature Review 20
2.1 Summary of Definitions and Fundamental Features of BL 20
2.1.1 Definitions of Blended Learning in EFL Higher Education 20
2.1.2 Fundamentals of Blended Learning in Higher Education 22
2.2 Blended Learning in EFL Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 31
2.2.1 Pedagogical Principles for an Effective Use of Blended Learning in EFL Contexts 31
2.2.2 Benefits of Using Blended Learning in EFL Higher Education 35
2.2.3 Difficulties of Using Blended Learning in EFL Higher Education 38
2.3 Previous Studies on the Implementation of Blended Learning in EFL Education in Vietnamese Universities 40
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2.4 Factors Affecting Teachers’ Implementation of Blended Learning in EFL Higher
Education 44
2.4.1 Individual Factors 44
2.4.2 Institutional Factors 49
2.4.3 Socio-Cultural Factors 52
2.5 Hybrid Conceptual Framework Guiding this Research 53
2.6 Chapter Summary 56
Chapter 3 Research Design and Methodology 57
3.1 Epistemology and Theoretical Perspective 57
3.1.1 Constructionism 57
3.1.2 Interpretivism and Symbolic Interactionism 59
3.2 Developing the Research Questions 60
3.3 Research Design and Data Collection Method 62
3.3.1 Research Design 62
3.3.2 Data Collection Method 64
3.4 Conducting the Interviews 65
3.4.1 Interview Questions 65
3.4.2 Piloting the Interviews 67
3.4.3 Conducting the Interviews 68
3.5 Recruiting Participants 69
3.5.1 Research Scope 69
3.5.2 Participants 70
3.6 Data Analysis Procedures 72
3.6.1 Data Condensation 73
3.6.2 Developing Higher Level Codes 75
3.6.3 Data Display and Drawing Conclusions 77
3.6.4 Drawing and Verifying Conclusions 85
3.7 Ethical Considerations 85
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3.8 Ensuring the Research Trustworthiness 87
3.9 Chapter Summary 89
Chapter 4 Lecturers’ Perspectives of Blended Learning 90
4.1 Definitions of Blended Learning 90
4.1.1 Defining BL in relation to both English teaching and learning 91
4.1.2 Defining BL in relation to English Learning 92
4.1.3 Defining BL in relation to English Teaching 93
4.1.4 Defining Blended Learning as Flipped Classrooms 94
4.1.5 No Clear Understandings of BL 94
4.2 Stated Principles of an Effective Use of Blended Learning 95
4.2.1 Applying Appropriate Teaching Strategies 96
4.2.2 Having Good Knowledge and Skills of Using BL 99
4.2.3 Having Positive Attitudes and Passion Toward the Use of BL 99
4.3 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning 99
4.3.1 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning for EFL Lecturers 100
4.3.2 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning for EFL Students 110
4.3.3 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning for Universities and Faculties/Departments 120
4.4 Chapter Summary 121
Chapter 5 Difficulties: Barriers and Drawbacks 123
5.1 Stated Difficulties Faced by EFL Lecturers Using Blended Learning in EFL Education 123 5.1.1 Stated Barriers that EFL Lecturers Encountered during the Implementation of BL 124
5.1.2 Stated Drawbacks Emerging during EFL Lecturers’ Implementation of BL 128
5.2 Stated Difficulties that EFL Students Encountered in Blended Learning Environments 131 5.2.1 Stated Barriers hindering EFL students’ use of BL 132
5.2.2 Stated Drawbacks Emerging During EFL Students’ Use of BL 138
5.3 Stated Difficulties related to Vietnamese Educational Institutions 138
5.4 Stated Difficulties related to Faculties/Departments of English Language 144
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5.5 Chapter Summary 148
Chapter 6 Lecturers’ Practices of Blended Learning 149
6.1 Stated Categories of Blended Learning 149
6.2 Stated Emphasis Given to Blended Learning Components 152
6.2.1 Emphasis Given to the Face-to-Face Learning Components 152
6.2.2 Emphasis Given to Blended Learning Components 154
6.3 Stated Use of Infrastructure, Technologies and Resources 156
6.3.1 The Use of Classrooms and Computer Laboratories 156
6.3.2 The Use of Learning Platforms 157
6.3.3 How EFL Lecturers Took Advantage of the Analytics of Learning Platforms 158
6.3.4 The use of Online Resources in English Language Education 160
6.3.5 The Use of Modes of Social Communication in English Language Education 162
6.4 Stated Content Knowledge Practices 163
6.5 Stated Pedagogical Practices 166
6.5.1 Stated teaching methods used by EFL lecturers 166
6.5.2 Stated learning activities in BL environments 173
6.5.3 Strategies for checking, monitoring and motivating students’ online learning 186
6.6 Stated Activities of Assessments and Evaluation in Blended Learning Environments 195
6.6.1 Stated Summative Assessment Activities 195
6.6.2 Course Evaluation Activities in BL Environments 197
6.7 Chapter Summary 199
Chapter 7 Discussion 201
7.1 How the Vietnamese EFL Lecturers Were Managing their Implementation of Blended Learning in English Language Education at their Universities 202
7.2 Underlying Factors Contributing to the Levels of Effectiveness in the Lecturers’ Implementing Blended Learning 226
7.3 Building a Conceptual Framework for EFL Lecturers Managing their Implementation of Blended Learning in English Language Education in Vietnamese Universities 230
7.4 Overall Conceptual Framework 238
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7.5 Chapter Summary 240
Chapter 8 Conclusion 242
8.1 Critical Overview of the Study 242
8.2 Significance of the Research Findings and Contributions of the Study to Further Knowledge 245
8.3 Implications 247
8.3.1 EFL Lecturers 248
8.3.2 For Vietnamese Universities and Faculties/Departments of English Language 249
8.3.3 For Technology Providers 252
8.3.4 For Government Policy Makers 252
8.4 Limitations of the Study 253
8.5 Further Research 254
8.6 Concluding Remarks 255
References 257
Appendix A Ethics Approval Letter from ECU HREC 277
Appendix B Letter to the Deans Requesting Access to English language lecturers 278
Appendix C Information Letter to EFL Lecturers 280
Appendix D Consent Form 283
Appendix E Interview Schedule 284
Appendix F Comparisons between the findings in the current study and those in previous studies 287