Luận văn evaluating an esp blended learning program for second year students majoring in chemistry in a university in hanoi

BAO THI HOA EVALUATING AN ESP BLENDED LEARNING PROGRAM FOR SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS MAJORING LN CHEMISTRY IN A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI pANH GIA CHUONG TRINH HOC TIENG ANH CHUYEN NGANH THEO M6

BAO THI HOA

EVALUATING AN ESP BLENDED LEARNING PROGRAM FOR

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS MAJORING LN CHEMISTRY

IN A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI

pANH GIA CHUONG TRINH HOC TIENG ANH CHUYEN NGANH THEO M6 HINE KET HOP TRUC TIEP- TRUC TUYEN DANH CHO SINH VIÊN

NAM THỨ HAI CITUYEN NGANILTIOA HỌC:

TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC Ở HÀ NỘI

M.A MINOR PROGRAM THESIS

Field: ELT Methodology

Code: $140231.01

HANOI — 2019

BAO THI HOA

EVALUATING AN ESP BLENDED LEARNING PROGRAM FOR,

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS MAJORING LN CHEMISTRY

IN A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI

pANH GIA CHUONG TRINH HOC TIENG ANH CHUYEN NGANH THEO M6 HINE KET HOP TRUC TIEP- TRUC TUYEN DANH CHO SINH VIÊN

NAM THỨ HAI CITUYEN NGANILTIOA HỌC:

TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC Ở HÀ NỘI

M.A MINOR PROGRAM THESIS,

Field: ELT Methodology

Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Tran Thi Thu [lién, Ph.D

HANOI — 2019

DECLARATION

1 hereby declare that the minor thesis submitted today entitled:

“Evaluating an ESP blended learning program for second-ycar students majoring in Chemistry in a university in Hanai” is the result of my own work, excopt where reference is made in the text of the thesis The work contained m this thesis has not been previously submitted for a higher degree in any other education

institution

Dao Thi Hoa

September, 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the period of completing the Master thesis, | have received the support of a great mumber of people

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratinide to my supervisor,

Ms Tran Thi Thu Hien, Ph.D for her patient guidance, detailed suggestions, excellent support, great encouragement and constructive supervision during the

research project

I also wish to express my great thanks to all the professors and lecturers at the University of Languages and International Studies, Viemam National University, for their insighiful lectures, their invaluable assislance, and guidance during leaming the Master program

1 am indebted to the university where I work, my colleagues, and my students who parlicipated in this study, For ethical reasons, I carmol mention their names here, yet

I wish to wannly thank them for their interest and support for my study Without their participation, this study would not have come into being,

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my family and my friends for their long-term support and encouragement from the beginning to the end of the research process My parents, my husband, and my daughter have happily shared all the ups and downs of my rescarch journey T could not have sustained and

completed this difficult joumey without their support and unconditional love

Dao Thi Hoa

ABSTRACT

‘The continual growth of technology enhances the development of Hnelish teaching and leaming, especially BSP blended learning programs in higher education, which

can improve the communicative environments for Vietnamese students However,

the offectivencss of this program is not clearly recognized This paper ams at evaluating the effectiveness of an ESP blended learning program fer second-year

sludenls majoring in Chen

sity in a universily in Hanoi, finding the difficulties which teachers and students have to encounter during teaching and leaming this program Based on which some recommendations were suggested to design a better learning and teaching program

‘This paper is a survey research project identifying leamer evaluation towards the effectiveness of an ESP blended learning program as well as teacher evaluation of the program through their learning and teaching experience The author conducted a

survey questionnaire at Chemistry department of a university in Hanoi with 55

student respondents Also, the researcher interviewed 5 English teachers who are in charge of teaching English for these students The results revealed that the students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the effectiveness of blended learning program were positive in terms of the four domains in the questionnaire: (i) online learning

pars, Gi) face-to-face lessons, (iii) online and face-to-face integration, and (iv)

learners’ outcomes Ilowever, regarding implementing LSP blended learning for the

second-year students in the Chemistry department, some negations are openly

acknowledged Tn addilion, possible suggestions are proposed for enhancing the

effectiveness of such program

1.4 Scope of the StUdY .scccccsssssesssssnssseeessunsssteeessesssieetessssssesssanesavuassenvieed

Chapter 2- LITERATURE REVIEW od

2.3 Pragram evaluation

2.3.2 Blended leatning eVaÏHafHOf cceceeeeenirrsriseooieoeo.13 2.3.8 ˆUr-pOS65 Qƒ pTOBTdiM GVRÌHGÏN .coăeirnsrrseooseoeu T8 2.3.4, Program evaluetors.cscsecsiseuvuseineunsimoneesiieivtuveineninnesnneansend 6

2.4 Previous studies related to the thesis

2.8 Chapter summary

CHAPTER 3- METIODOLOGY

3.7 Tata analvsis procedur:

Analysis of the survey questionnaire

2 Analysis gƒ the lnlerview

41.1 Online learning parts

4.1.11 Students’ evaluation on online learning paris 31

4.1.1.3 Teachers’ evaluation on online learning parts - - 32

41.2, Face-to-face lessons

4.1.2.1, Students’ evaluation on face-to-face lessons seo

41.2.2, Teachers’ evaluation on face-to-face leasOng sreerseeeou.ÖÖ

4.1.3 The integration between online learning and face-to-face lessons

4.1.3.1 Students’ evaluation on the integration between online learning and face-

FOFACE AOSSONS oo eceee cee ieee ee cesses eee cceesineesnesensseeseeanessenea iene sentenced?

4.1.3.2 Teachers’ evaluation on the integration between online learning and

4.1.4, Students’ outcomes

4.1.4.1 Students? evaluation on their outcomes voces ¬

414.2, Teachers’ evaluation on students’ outcomes ecco —

4.3 Sugpestions and implications

43.1 The teachers and students’ suggestions to improve the ESP blended

43.2, Implications for a better ESP blended learning program

4.3.2.2, Implications for teachers

Appendix A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS

Appendix B: TEACHERS’ INTERVLEW QUESTIONS

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1; Four puzzle pieces of evaluation (Pombo and Moreira, 2011) 14

Figure 4.2: Students’ evaluation on face-to-face lessons - 34

Figure 4.3: Studenis’ evaluation on the mlegration between online and face-to-[ace

Figure 4.5: Learners’ expeolation of the ESP blended learning course 4

vũ

TAST OF TABLES

‘Table 2.1: ESP characteristics Dudley-Evans and St, John (1998)

Table 2.2: Types of ESP, Dudley-Lvans, T & John, MJ (1998 pp.34-73)

viii

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION:

1.1 Ralionale for the study

It is undeniable that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) nowadays plays a crucial role in human being’s life in general and education in particular I'he increased integration of IC's in teaching and leaming has become more familiar with higher education in Vietnam and led to a deeper interest in

euhanced interactions belwsen sludents and their teachers, peers and learning

materials As a result, blended leaming, defined as “the organic integration of thoughtfully selected and complementary face-to-face and online approaches and technologies.” (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008), has been becoring a popular method

in higher education because it not only helps improve teaching methodologies but

also changes students’ ways of learning However, the main issues here are to what

extent blended leaning is effective

“Blended leaming is typically more complicated and multifaceted than either fully online or face-lo-[ace learning ” (Bonk, Kim, and Zheng, 2004) The application

of the blended leaming program enables students to leam a wide varicty of imowledge and then apply them into inside Linglish class activities In particular, the

combination of online learning and face-to-face class environment gives chances for

teachers to provide students with rich language input and opportunities for students

to learn online and focus on facilitating students’ interactive and collaborative

learning in face-to-face classes For example, students learning online at home will have material for their face-to-face classes and then have more time te apply these materials into improving speaking Therefore, the combination of online and face-

to-face learming creates opportunities for students to develop their Fnglisl

knowledge and skills as well

Blended learning program provides an ideal environment for language education, so

it becomes more lamar with higher education m Vietnam The university where

the study is conducted is one of the first universities applying blended leaming in

teaching English The implementation of blended learning is expected to cnable teachers to improve their teaching methodology to facilitate students’ development

of Bnglish ability for social and professional communication, as well as their lifelong leaming skills To achieve these purposes, teachers teaching in blended leaming courses are required to understand blended learning, take part in designing aurriculums and material processes Although the urnversily has applicd blended learning in teaching English there since 2015, there has not been any research into evaluate the effectiveness of this teaching program It is necessary to discover the answer Lo this matler Basing on the results, recommendalions can be proposed Lo improve the quality of this program at the university A deep understanding of the effectiveness of blended learning environment will provide the opportunity to improve students’ Fnglish as well as teachers’ teaching methods in implementabon

of blended learning in Bnglish language teaching at the university

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

The study aims al evalualing the cffectiveness of an ESP blended Iearring program for second-year students majoring in Chemistry in a University in Hanoi Its inlerrelaled objectives are:

- To investigate the effectiveness of the ESP blended learning program for second year students majoring in Chemistry in a university in Lanoi from the students

and teachers’ perspectives;

- Yo find out difficulties encountered by teachers and students during their teacinng and learning time m this ESP blended learning program

1.3 Research questions

‘The study was carried out to obtain information for answering the following research questions

1 How effective is the FSP blended learning program for second-year sindenis

in Chemistry Department from the teachers and students” perspectives?

2 What are difficulties encountered hy teachers and students during their ieaching and learning time in this FSP blended learning program?

wy

13 Methods of the study

To serve ils purpose, this study has been conducted as survey research using questionnaires and interviews to collect data Fifty-five second-vear students, who are either taking or have just completed the ISP blended learning course have parlicipated in filling the questionnaire Five teachers teavhing the ESP blended leaming program have been interviewed

The data obtained from the questionnaire was analyzed quantitatively and

qualilatively to identify the common pattems of responses regarding the

effectiveness of such program ‘The answers from the interviews were analyzed to identify the teachers’ evaluation of the program and their suggestions for improving this program

1.4 Scope of the study

The study is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of ESP blended learning for

second-year sturlents majoring m Chemisiry in a university in Hanoi from the perspectives of teachers and students experiencing this program All other studies

ann al evalualing other programs for other types of students are oul of the scope of the study,

1.5 Significance of the study

Tn theory, this study will contribute to blended learning program lo some extent

‘The evaluation of the program will show its effectiveness and propose some possible suggestions to improve such program Therefore, the result of the study is the material for teachers teaching ESP blended leaming at this university in particular and for teachers and students attending HSP blended learning in general

to implement a successful BSP blended leaming program in the future

1.6 Structure of the thesis

Chapter 1: Introduction presents the rationale, objectives, research questions, methodology scope, significance, and structure of the thesis

Chapter 2: Literature review has three main parts The first part provides some theoretical background about the definition of LSP, types and characteristics of

ESP, the differences belween RGP and FSP The second parl is about the definition,

characteristics of blended leaning and requirements in implementing blended learning program The last part focuses on program evaluation including definition

of program evaluation, the purposes of program evaluation, and program evaluators,

the evaluation of blended learning, and the evaluation of an HSP course Last but

not least, a brief summary of some existing relevant studies is also presented in this

chapter

Chapter 3: Methodology works with the introduction of research methods including research questions, data collection instruments, data collection procedure Chapter 4: Findings and discussion chapler shows the procedure of carrying oul the research and presents the data analysis, which results from analyzing

questionnaire and interview

Chapter 5: Conclusion followed by references is the last chapter which is the

summary of the whole study ‘he limitations of the study and suggestions for

further study are also mentioned on the last pages of the paper

Chapter 2- LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter offers a review FSP and blended learning program and the literature related to program evaluation In each section, the definition, is presented together

wilh, some relaled features of each term Besides, the previous sludies are also

mentioned in the last part of this chapter

2.1 English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

24.1 Definition of ESP

The tenn ESP has quite a lot of definitions trom various authors

FSP focuses on the specific needs of the learners and includes the skills and

competencies of language usage in different contexts

A\ccording to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), it is “not the existence of a need, but rather an awareness of the need” thal sets ESP apart from General English

The other approach of ESP is Lo focus on restricted language reperLoire, Leaching

terms, and specific discourse (Huckin, 2003: Hyland, 2003)

LSP is also defined as “the role of Inglish in a language course or programme of instruction in which the content and aims of the course are fixed by the specific

needs of a particular group of learners” (Richards and Schmidt, 2010, p 198)

According to Brown (3016, p.5), ESP is fundamentally linked to “the specific needs

of a particular group of leamers,” or “put another way, if there is no needs analysis,

there is no HSP."”

Widdowson (1983, p.5) defined “ESP is essentially a training operation which secks

lo provide learners wilh a restricted competence to erable them (o vope with certain clearly defined tasks These tasks constitute the specific purposes which the ISP course is designed to meet.”

As definitions are mentioned above, ESP courses should have the distinctive

features [rom General English course of skills, themes, siluations, fimetiors

language and methodology

The use of authentic content materials, modified or unmodified in form, are indeod

a feature of ESP, particularly in self-directed study and research tasks Purpose-

related orientation refers to the simulation of communicative tasks required of the

targot sctting Finally, sclf-direction is characteristic of ESP courses in that the " point of including self-direction is thal ESP is concerned with Luming learners into users" (Carter, 1983, p 134) In order for self-direction to occur, the learners

must have a certain degree of freedom to decide when, what, and how they will

study Carter (1983) also adds that there must be a systematic attempt by teachers to teach the leamers how Lo learn by teaching them about learning slralegies

Also, Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) listed out absolute and variable characteristics that reflect specific characteristics of ESP courses

Table 2.1: ESP characteristics (Dudley-Evans and St John 1998)

Absolute characteristics Variable characteristics

7 ESP is defined to meet

specific needs of the learner:

2 ESP makes use of the

underlying methodology and

activities af the disciplines it

serves;

a ESP is centered on the

language (grammar, lexis), skills,

2 _ ESP may use, in specific teaching situations,

English,

3 ESP is likely to be designed for adult

learners, either at tertiary level institution or in a

professional work situation,

4 ESP is generally designed for intermediate

Additionally, Dudley-Evans' (1997) claimed that ESP should be offered at an

intermediate or advanced level, use of authentic learning materials is entirely

feasible

21.3 Types of ESP

Based on specifying language input according to the learners’ target language use, ESP is commonly divided into English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) While the former focuses on the use of the

language in (future) work conditions, the latter deals with teaching and learning

English for study purposes (Dudley-Evans & John, 1998, p.34)

Table 2.2: Types of ESP (Dudley-Evans, T & John, M.J 1998, p.34-73)

English for specific purposes

English for Academic Purposes English for Occupational Purposes

English for | English | English | English [English for | English for

management | for legal | for for vocational purposes _| professional

«finance and | purpose | medical | science —

economics | s purpose | & Pre- Vocationa | English for | English

s technolo | vocational | 1English | business | for

ay English purposes | medical

EAP means English for Academic Purposes EAP can also be divided into

subcategories of linglish for science and technology, Lnglish for social science purposes and English for humanity purposes

EOP means English for Occupational Purposes HOP also includes some categories

like Frghsh for medical purposes (these purposes may subdivide into smaller categories such as English for doctors, nurses, emergency medical technician ), hotel purposes (these purposes may subdivide into smaller categories such as

receptionist, concierge, maids ), construction purposes and se forth

Tn conclusion, though the classificalions of ESP are expressed differently and cach

researcher las their own pois, the most common view is that, ESP can be divided

into EAP and EOP The English program for second-year students majoring in Chemistry at the University where the research was conducted can be considered as

a branch of HOP

2.4.4 English for General Purposes (EGP) versus English for Specific Purposes

(ESP)

‘The learners and their purposes for leaming Unglish constitute the major difference

between HSP and EGP On the one hand, ESP learners are usually adults, who are

familiar with the English language

learners’ real needs and wishes in a parlicular field of human activity and usable

immediately in the employment context The leamers are highly motiyaled when they are fully aware of their specific purposes for learning English

On the other hand, the ages of English for General Purposes (EGP) learners vary from children to adulls and learning the English language is the subject of the

courses EGP courses mosily focus on grammar, language struclure and general

vooabulary and are responsible to the general language acquisition For the vast majority of leamers, they are extremely useful EGP helps students to cope with any

subject-matter courses It gives them the ability to generate more language If WGP

lcamors are taught well, they can use English to cope with the language in any

undefined tasks EGP courses deal wilh many different lopies and four skills are

equally treated

2.2 Blended learning

22.1 Definition of blended learning

Recently, the advantages of using Internet and information technologies have increased significantly and it is available for using in language teaching and leaming Therefore, online learning activities are being expanded and becoming alternative choice for traditional face to face teaching and learning

Additionally, a large amount of online leaming research has been devoted to

producing content, constructing online learning systems, and integrating technology

to improve the learning process The term blended leaming is widely used in

education settings in which refers to a teaching and learning program that combines

online leaming and offline lessons or il is called a mixture of online and Lace-to-

face learning Graham (2006) defines “blended learning systems’ as leaming

syslems thal “combine face-to-face instruction wilh computer mediated instruction.”

Poon (2013: p.1) adds that the aum of the two delivery methods is to complement each other Online leaming integrates with traditional face-to-face instruction to

So and Brush (2008) claimed that blended learning is effective in facilitating online collaborative learning,

In addition, vooperative learning involves carefully structured activities for group members that allow students to reflect on and evaluate their work in the group, while providing suggestions for improvement (Liao, 2006) For example, if a leacher placing some selected course matenals, such as a cowse handbook, on a

virtual leaming environment would not constitute a sufficient ‘blend’.

Singh (2003) desoribcs blended learnig as a combination of delivcry methods, which complement each other and work to support student learning, while Driscoll

(2002) slates four dillerenl ways in which blended learmng can be defined She

describes blended leaming as:

© amuxing of various web-based technologies;

© amixing of pedagogical approaches (e.g constructivion, behaviorism);

© acombining of instructional technology with face-to-face teaching; and

© ~—_ acombining of instructional technology with an-thejob tasks

Sloman (2007) also argues thal blended learniryg shonld not simply be considered in

terms of delivery and technology lle comments that:

“If the term blended learning is to have longevity in our trainer vocabulary we must extend iis use beyond technology TL must be as much aboul varying learning methodology as it is about training delivery We must understand more about what motivates leamers, what support they need and how these supportive interventions

gan lake plave in practice Only with this understanding can we gel the “blend”

right’ (Sloman, 2007, p 315)

222 Benefits af blended learning

There are scveral advantages of using blended leaming Some evidence umproves blended leaming can lead to improved course outcomes Stockwell, Cennamo, and

Thang (2015) found that blended learmng courses improved allendance al lace-to-

face classes, in self-report measures of student satisfaction, and in examination

performance The improvement in course outcomes due to blended leaming has been partially attributed to a more strategic use of classroom time Garrison and Kanuka (2004) argue that blended learning is effective because it questions the

traditional lecture-based teaching, model, allowing classroom time to focus on more

Online achyi cart be used Lo either remforce

achive and meaningful activ

learning undertaken in the classroom or they can serve as a basic introduction to topics before they are covered in more depth in class Another advantage of blended learning is the increased Mexibility of access to learning, which can be allribuled Lo

the inclusion of online components Aspden and Helm (2004) found that blended

leaming especially helped students who lived far away from campus use their time

al universily more effectively as they were able lo engage will materials al home prior to attending class Additionally, they found that students who were struggling with particular topics in class were able to participate and engage with online

materials and thus grow in confidence In Wivell and Day’s (2015) study, students

reported that self-motivation, self-reliance and the ability to work independently

were essential to their success on the blended learning course Ilowever, students

who already struggled in the face-lo-face delivery struggled Lo adapt 10 the demands

of the blended program A further potential benefit of blended learning is the additional opportunity for peer and tutor interaction through online discussion

223 Requirements of implementing blended learning

There is a range of issues that arise with the implementation of blended leaming

that influenced the quality of instruction and leaming and has limited applying it in

a wide range These Tequirements relate Lo technical, organivalioual, buman,

financial and administrative ones ‘Ihe first is that of skills waming Learners must

be trained or equipped to uavigate the information tectmology used in blended

Icamung and facilitators must be taught te use the technology trom the user-end, in

order to facilitate delivery (Beadle and Scanty, 2008; Ilarris et al., 2009) Some instructors and studemis have compuler-relaled phobia: “frustration, confusion,

anger, anxiety and similar emotional states which may be associated with the interaction can adversely affect productivity, learning, social relationships and overall well-being” (Saade and Kira, 2009, p.180)

‘There is a lack in the professional technical experts who are able to design blended leaming programs Additionally, blended leaming application requires training

students on how to use technology online and offline suce

hand, there are difficulties related to the lack in number of needed equipment,

fully On the other

especially computers Instructors should utilize the technology that helps in

fulfilling the educational objectives and nol making use of technology simply

because it is available (Hofmann, 2011) Technology is an important part of the teaching and leaming process and it should not be a discrete activity to be undertaken separately in the rest of the learning

Besides, many teachers and learners find it difficult to accept a new method in either instruction or learning Overcoming the opinion that blended learning is not

as olfective as the traditional learning method is very essorilial Instructors have to accept the role of the guide and facilitator of the teaching-and-leamning process

They should do their best to make online offerings interactive and not to waste time

talking and explaining They should comprehend the idea of how lo inslruct, not just

what to instruct as well

The most important requirement that must be discussed relates to human factors

Consideration of the learners! needs and tanagement of thew expectations and level

of understanding are crucial for the development and implementation of successful

blended learning modules It is important to take account of leamers’ motivation (Stewart, 2002) and ensure leamer readiness (Baldwin-Evans, 2008)

‘The last requirement is instructors should be supplied with extra financial resources

lo develop programs lo associate with blended learning strategy

2.3 Program evaluation

23.1, Definition of program evaluation

Program evaluation is crucial in English learning and leaching because it monsures whether the goals of a teaching program have been met and ensures the program’s continuous improvement Traditionally, evaluation within the education system is

hierarchical- the “expert” superior evaluates his/her subordinate Evaluation will not

only provide feedback on the effectiveness of a program but will also help to determine whether the program is appropriate for the target population, whether

there are any problems with ils implersentalion and support, and whether there are

any ongoing concerns that need to be resolved as the program is implemented A

number of writers have attempted a definition of program evaluation

Depending on the scope of their coverage, definitions vary from very broad

perspectives Richards et al (1985) views it is as the systematic which gathers of

information to make decisions

"Systematic educational evaluation consists of a formal assessment of the worth of

educational phenomena" (Popham, 1975, p.8)

Worthen and Sanders (1987, p.19) define that “Evaluation is the determination of

the worth of a thing, It includes obtaining information for use in judging the worth

of a program, product, procedure, or object, or the potential utility of alternative

approaches designed to attain specified objectives.”

Stake and Sullivan (as cited in Shawer and Alkahtani, 2012) assert program

evaluation is undertaken to find out the benefits and drawbacks of the program so

that they can improve performance, reveal they deliver what they promise and defend why they should keep going this program (p 1336)

2.3.2 Blended learning evaluation

The issue of quality in teaching and learning environments is a subjective and

multifarious concept, dependent on a range of factors relating to students, the

curriculum, faculty, technology and learning design (Meyer, 2002)

Pombo and Moreira (2011) indicate four elements that need to be taken into

consideration when evaluating blended learning programs:

Figure 2.1: Four puzzle pieces of evaluation (Pombo and Moreira, 2011)

1 What is the purpose of evaluation? Y'o miprove student engagement, resources, or overall course quality?

2 Who should be involved? Lecturers, students, course leaders?

3 [low and when should evaluation take place? Methods of data collection; during

the cenurse ar at the end?

4 What should be evaluated? Yeaching, learning, course outcomes, resources,

quahiy of assessment?

Fach puzzle piece includes manerous factors thal are fully explained in this model

proposed by Pombo and Moreira (2011 a)

This study focuses especially on the piece “What should be evaluated?” in order to assure and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the ISP blended learning program Ln this piece, the model includes three main categories:

(Teaching (which includes aching but also the lecturers),

(ij Learning, and

(iti) Resources

‘These categories are assessed with the following criteria:

‘Teaching’: (i) the relevance of the proposed activities/tasks; ii) the quality of the

teaching materials provided; (iti) the communication tools used; (iv) the

organization of the curricular units (e.g if the actwities meet the objectives, etc.)

*Lecturers’: (i) scientific or pedagogical competence, (ii) dynamism and monitoring

in conducting face-to-face and online activities; (iii) skills at motivating students;

fiv) quality of feedback given to students, etc

“Learning”: (i) the interactions (communication between students) within groups; (ii)

the interactions (communication between students) among groups; fiii) the

assessment strategies adopted; (iv) the development of specific competences defined

for the curricular unit; (v) the development of transversal competences defined for

the curricular umt (e.g development of values and attitudes, autonomy, capacity for research and group work, etc); (vi) type and adequacy of assessment

tovis/tasks/products (if the literature tools are appropriate to the proposed tasks), etc

14

‘Resources’: (i) support provided by nonteaching staff: (ii) the support structure

(LMS, network, bandwidth, help desk); (iii) logistics (availability of computers,

wireless access, adequate rooms ), etc

These four categories should be connected together, if one category is not working

well, it will affect the functioning of the whole process In the present study, the

23.3, Purposes of program evaluation

There is a range of motivation or purposes for evaluating a program, especially educational program Course evaluation aims al providing a general picture of the course, reveals the course strengths to prove its success in meeting its goals and weaknesses for improving in the future Ihe evaluation would be valuable to suggest ftther recommendations to expand the goals and content of the course, and

lo provide foodback to instructors (or improving leaching methodology

Scriven (1967) distinguishes two main types of evaluating: formative and summative evaluation (as cited in Lynch, 2003) The former occurs while the program is being implemented and developed The goal of formative cvaluation is

lo recommend changes for proving it, and towards this end, il focuses on program processes Typically, the outcome of this type is numerous small-scale recommendations for change The later takes place at the end of a program’s natural term or cyele with a view to make a judgment about the program worth, whether it has succeeded in reaching its aims or not Accordingly, the outcome of the summative evaluation is a formal report to be used in large-scale decisions such as whether to continue funding the program or not

In fact, most evaluations represent a combination of formative and summative If evaluators are fascinated in judging the ultimate worth of a program, they must explain why il is or is nol working and then recommend (or haprovemenL Discussing the dissimilarity between formative and summative evaluation, Rea-

Dickins and Germain (1992) illustrate this distinction as confirming versus

innovating That is sometimes motrvation for cvaluation is to decide whether the

current practice (program) is doing whal it should, al other times, molivalion ia to

bring about innovation or change in those practices

234 Program evaluators

Program evaluators who evaluate the program is also an unportant pot need

considering in any studies

As Brown (2007) points out, the teacher, the students, and the program are the

major factors affecting course evaluation (p 159) During the learning process, all participants can leam from each other and contribute to the others’ improvement

‘Teachers are insiders who undertake the program and want to improve the quality of leaching and learning in their own classrooms Students are the revipionls of Ihe teaching process, hence students’ perception and observation can work in practice and become part of exploratory studies (liken, 1999; Sidhu, 2003 as cited by

Ahmad, F & Aziz, J, 2009)

One of the most popular methods to invesligale whal is going ov during Leaching is

the use of teachers’ and students’ perception

According, to Fraiser (1991) students have a good vantage to make judgments about

their classrooms because they have cneountered many different learning

enviroments and have spon time in classroom to form aceurale impressions

Therefore, students should at least be able to say what they like and do not like

(Draiser, 1994 as cited in Alausa, Y.A, 2000)

Brown (2007) stated that “Self-assessment allows students to develop intrinsic

motivation as their desire to excel increases” ‘his means that, by asking students to

assess themselves during the course, they would feel their own opinions of their

learning are important Additionally, they can reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, look for new strategies to improve, and set new goals in terms of their

learming However, Brown (2007) and Chavez (2000) agree that students are

subjective thal might affect the validity of evaluation resulis Students are

influenced by their own attitude about the teacher and the materials or their

classmate’s opinion Moore (2005) also establishes that students” assessment might

be inaccurate as students’ self-reports are sometimes biased He claims that teachers

“should supploment the s students’ self-reports of class-related behaviors with objective data that are obtained independently” (p 55)

Christie (2012) suppose that a successful course evaluator should identify advantages and disadvantages of the teaching-loarning process and his/her own performance, assess the participants’ viewpoinis ef course accomplishments and effectiveness, and receive and incorporate recommendations with a professional attitude In addition, there will always exist something to improve so evaluator should consider issues objectively

Dillion and Peterson (1986) state that although evaluation administrators have

considerable responsibilily for evaluation Effective administrators mvyolve teachers:

and students in the process and use their views to good vantage (Dillion & Peterson,

1986 cited by Alausa, Y.A, 2000)

In general, students’ perceptions contribute as much to the teaching- learning process by providing suggestions and dircetions fer Leachers’ fulure improvenrent

Teachers can use the information or comments gathered from the students to polish

their methodology and style of teaching and look for ways to improve

This study presents the evaluation from the teachers and students perspectives allecied by the ESP blended learning program Rescarch on students’ perceptions

functions as a mirror to reflect upon the teaching and leaming, hence enhance the

teachers and leamers understanding of teaching and increase its outcome Teachers are those implementing the program, so their views of the teaching and learning

process can help make improvements to the quality of the program

2.4 Previous studies related to the thesis

There have been several studies concerning the [SF blended learning program for

higher education, l‘irstly, the definition of blended learning and LISP should be clear

for the deep comprehension about the research topic Tn this study, ihe researcher supports the definition of Graham (2006) that “blended learning systems’ is learning systems that “combine face-to-face instruction with computer mediated instruction” Hutchison and Waters (1988, p.I9) defines ESP is an approach to language teaching

in which all decisions as to content and methods are based on the learners’ reasons for learning

After understanding the key terms of blended leaming and ESP as mentioned above, the researcher would write a brief summary of relevant studies

Kinta Zhu and Kagambe (2017) investigated the cffctivencss of a blended learning environment through analyzing the relationship between student characteristics/background, design features, and learning outcomes in the Ugandan university context The authors administered to 238 respondents to gather data on student characteristics/background, design features, and leaming outcomes ‘The analysis results showed that the learner characteristics, design features investigated are polenlially important for an effective blended learning environment The resulls also indicate that some of the student characteristics/backgrounds and design features are significant predictors for student learning outcomes in blended leaming Huang, Q (2016) conducted a research about leamer’s perceptions of blended learning in relation to the respective roles of [aceto-lace learning and online learning, as well as their interaction in the blended FFT contexts The study used questionnaires to examine the attitudes of 296 university students towards a blended English couse leaned at the university The results showed that students were generally positive about blended learning and they also acknowledged the interdependencies between face-to-face learning and online learning in the blended Tinglish course The findings of the research shed light on how face-to-face and online learning interplay with each other in the blended leaming context so that the leaming environment can be better integrated for English learning

Liu, M (2013) describes and evaluates blended leaming in an Academic English Writing course in terms of course design, material development and presentation, assignment submission and grading, student involvement, teacher reflection, and student evaluation ‘The research showed that the students highly appreciated and benefited from the blended Iearmng employed in the course in varying ways: il helped increase student-student and student-teacher interactions, reduce or even

eliminate communication anxiety, motivate them to become (more) independent

and autonomous learners, and enhance their academic English writing ability, and soon

Al-Zumor, Al-Refaai, Bader Eddin & Al-Rahman (2013) investigated King Khalid University English (EFL) students’ views regarding the advantages and limitations

of the blended Icaming The study also examined students’ suggestions for improving the quality of blended loamng courses The findings reveal that students appreciated leaming management system in enhancing their confidence, providing opportunities for useful feedback from both their instructors and their peers and improving communication among students and their instructors Additionally, students found thet blended learning was more effective than the traditional face-to- face mode of instruction Students suggested solving technical problems, providing proper training and increasing the number of e-learning labs

‘Tue N (2015) conducted a study to investigate Linglish as Voreign Language (LI'L) teachers’ perceptions and practices of blended learning in a Vietnamese university and influencing factors The study collected dala from interviews with 15 Leachers, three institutional executives, and one executive of online service provider, observations of the teachers’ practice in face-to-face classes The findings revealed that teachers have limited understandings and use of blonded learning duc to three primary influential factors: (i) the traditional teachor-centered pedagogy (in) institutional management and leadership styles, and (iii) fragmented knowledge of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge for blended leaming The researcher also proposed a systematic understanding of blended learning concepts, a localized IPACK framework, and a model of teacher professional development program

The previous studies differ in some ways concerning methodology and tools, but they generally investigated students’ evaluation and teachers’ evaluations of the blended leaming ‘This indicates the significance of implementing the blended learning approach im instructing English ‘The researcher benefited a lot from the above-mentioned studies in developing the research instruments and enriching the theoretical knowledge Llowever, the present research goes in line with the above

montioned studies in some aspects like the design and the used tools, but it deals with a different sample and uses dilYeronl materials and strategy

This study is related to previous ones that examined the practices of teaching and

learning in blended leaming program, concerning the perceptions of Pombo &

Moreira (20103 To extend prior research and test the application of the blended

learning stratugy, this research allompls to assess the clfectiveness of RSP blended

learning for the second-year students in the Chemistry Department at a university in

Tanoi

2.5 Chapter summary

‘This chapter has provided a brief critical review of the literature on program evaluation and ESP blended leaming program ‘he first section indicated major

issues of ESP including the definition and its characteristics, types of ESP, EGP

and ESP comparison The second section addressed blended learning: its

definitions, requirements, and benefits ‘he third part focused on program evaluation, its definitions, purposes and program evaluators, and then presented about FSP program evaluation and blended learning cvalualion thoory The last part

of this chapter presented some previous sludies related Lo the topic of the present

research ‘herefore, this chapter can be seen as the theoretical foundation for the

applications for the study in chapter three

20

CHAPTER 3- METHODOLOGY

This chapler is devoted lo presenting lhe research methodology invluding research questions, research method, participants, data collection instruments and procedures

possible,

342 Teachers

The sludy was conducted wilh the parlicipation of five Frglish teachers who taught English for these students All of them have obtained BA or MA degrees in English teaching methodology They have al leasL one year of experience m Leaching English for ESP blended learning program All of them are enthusiastic and willing

to help studemts I'herefore, they can provide their own view of the program

3.2 Research setting

‘The researcher has worked as an Hnglish lecturer for four years at the university where this study is conducted This university has many departments and all the students have to learn English for six semesters Since it was set up, there have heen

several English programs, and recently the school has implemented blended

21

leaming program for the students of all departments including students in Chemistry

Department

The blended learning program applied here is the tix of onling course and face-lo- face lessons Students are given an account to access the online website (eop.edu.yn) and these accounts are activated on the first day of the semester to

study online and closed when the term finishes For the first year (wo terms), the

students learn English for General Purposes (EGP) and for the second and the third

‘year, they learn inglish for Occupational Purposes (EOP) — a part of ESP

The participants of this study are fifly-five studetits of Chemistry Departinent, who are all in the olass Chemistry 1 All of them are learning Linglish in the LSP blended learning program for three semesters They leam online at home on the online

platform created by TT stall, and then learn two face-to-face lessons a week in class

Tiach semester lasts for ten weeks, which includes four online tests, two progress tests and a midterm test in class The results of these tests allow them to take the

final test if their average score is cqual or more than mark S Tl not, they lake the course again without joining the final exam ‘he final exam takes place in the 11th week and sludents must gel al least 5 points Lo pass the exam

There arc two books used to teach m the programs The textbook “English for Chemical and Uinvironmental Lingineering” is used in class ‘Lhe book contains eight

unilg and each url covers one theme The books aimed to develop sludents’

speaking skills The textbook “Teacher's and Tutor’s handouts” covers all the

exercises related to the topics There are six kinds of exercises: vocabulary, grammar, reading, listening, writing and speaking for students to review the

knowledge in online lessons and face-to-face lessons This SP blended learning

requires students to study online before every single face-to-face lesson After each

lesson, teachers sel a deadline for onkne work and al that time, the teacher wilt

export a report for the students’ online result If the students do not finish the online exercises before the deadline, they will be charged two absent lessons After

learning in class, students also required (o review the topic al home, do a small

online test and create a short paragraph about the topic of the unit The average score of these online tests are more than or equal to 5 is a condition for students to

lake part in the final exam, The proportion of onlime leaming and fase-te-li c

lessons are equal in this course

3.3 Research questions

Tn tailoring the methodology (or the resvarch, 1 is bancficial to refer back (o the research questions posed in the first chapter, which are:

J How effective is the ESP blended learning program for second-year students

in Chemistry Depariment from the teachers and students’ perspectives?

2 What are difficulties encountered by teachers and students during their teaching and learning time in this ESP blended learning program?

3.4 Research methods

Survey research is employed in this study, Survey research is defined as "the

collection of information from a sample of individuals through their responses to

questions" (Check and Schult, 2012, p 160) This type of research allows for a variety of methods to recruit participants, collect data, and utilize various methods

of instrumentation Mackey and Gass (2005) suggest thal a survey, as a form of quantitative rescarch method, mostly in the form of questionnaires, is one of the most common methods when focusing on investigating the opinions or attitudes of large groups of participants Similarly, Démyei (2007) argues thal using quantitative methods removes the stress of unique human variability and personal bias and then brings objectivity to the study Consequently, a questionnaire was developed and used to gather information about participants’ evaluation However, quantitative instruments are not always enough because they are limited in temns of judging the subjective variety of individual life Therefore, Darnyei (2007) suggests the combination of quantilalive and qualitative methods for survey research

‘The aim of this study is to measure the effectiveness of LISP blended learning

applying for second-year students majoring in Chemistry at a university in Hanoi, in order to find out the terils and demerits for the purpose of improvement, There are

two main reasons for choosing survey research for this study Furst, the goal of survey research, which is to obtain information by gathering data from a particular

sample of a given population to study ita characteristics, lita well with the objectives

according to Pombo and Moreira’s evaluation model (2011)

Based on the criteria in the evaluation framework, the researcher arranged these

categories in four major domains of the evaluation:

(i) online learning parts,

(i) face-to-face lessons,

(iii) the integration between online and face-to-face, and

(iv) the learners’ outcomes

The researcher chiefly uscs qualitative and qualilalive methods to collect data

‘The use of quantitative data (questionnaires for students) and qualitative data

(leachers’ interviews) helped to make the findings credible The surveys are used

for gathering students’ cvaluaHen on the ESP blended lcammg that they experienced in three semesters In-depth interviews of teachers’ evaluation towards ESP blended learning: were oblained aller (he survey questionnaire to have a deeper analysis and interpretation of the results

The steps of constructing the questionnaires were performed as follows:

(1) Constructing and piloting the questionnaires;

(2) Revising the questionnaires;

(3) Delivering the questionnaires:

(4) Collecting questionnaires back:

(5) Making an analysis from questionnaires;

(6) Giving meaningful interpretation

24

4.5 Tala collection instruments

In research, there are various ways to collect data such as interviews,

questionnaires, observations, document analysis, ele In this study, ihe researcher

used questionnaires and in-depth interviews as the main instruments of collecting data Questionnaires and interviews are two types of instrument used in survey- based restarch or rescarch that aims al studying “the characteristics of a population

by examining a sample of that group” (Démyei, 2007, p 101); they are also some

of the most efficient methods of understanding and improving foreign language programs (Davis, 2011)

3.5.1 Questionnaire

It is obvious that questionnaires can be the most common tool to collect data

because of corlain advantages As Seilinger and Shohany (1989) pointed out, questionnaires do not take much time to administer as other procedures Also, since the same questionnaire is given to all the subjects at the same time, the data are

more uniform, standard and accurate Hones, survey questionnaire is very usefut when the researcher need to quickly and easily get a lot of information from people

or phenomena that carmot be observed and the researcher can get a large amount of data in a short time The paitivipants can complete anonymously which make them

more comfortable to do the survey and make the result more reliable Lastly,

questionnaires can be easily quantified because multiple-choice questions or items form of Likert- scale are used Moreover, the population of the study is 55 students, which are quite big in quantity to apply interview The students also have their

learning schedule which are different from each other because they have right to

choose their timetable from the beginning of each semester, therefore, it is

impossible for the researcher to observe their Inglish classes Due to these

advantages and analysis mentioned above, survey is used as a-main dala collection

instrument in this study

In this study, questionnaire items were used to get information about the students” opinion about the FSP blended learning program that they learned in the third

semester at the university There were 2 types ‘elose-ended” and ‘open-ended’ items

in the survey questionnaires

The first part of the questionaire is ‘elo:

ended’ question winch the author

attached in appendix A This is a set of questions mainly about the students’ evaluation on the online leaming parts, face-to-face lessons, the integration between

online and face to face and the learners’ outcome The evaluator offered and asked

respondents to number their level of agree according to five- point Likert-Svale from 1 to § (Strongly agree (1)- agree (2)- neutral (3)- disagree(4)- Strongly

disagree(5)) These questionnaires, adapted from Akkoyumlu & Soyln (2008), were

originally designed to understand the perceptions of students and instructors regarding blended learning The questionnaires developed for the present study

were mexhfied to fil the blended learning format of the mstitution and for the

purpose of the study The questionnaire was developed to identify students”

evaluation of the ESP blended learning program Statements in the questionnaire

were calegorived into four mam following domams

* Closed- ended questions:

- Hems (1-8) identify the students’ evaluations on online learning parts;

- Items (9-19) address the ideas about face-to-face lessons from the students’

perception;

- Hems (20-26) are related to the iniegration hetween online and face-to-face

lessons;

- tems (27-32) ave students’ self-evaluation of their learning outcome

The data collected from the survey is used to measure the students’ opinion about

the ESP blended learning program after learning three HSP blended learning

semesters

The second part of the questionnaire is ‘seni-open’ questions which asked the

students to choose some of their difficulties and also give their own answers about

the difficulties having in learning process

* Somi- open questions

26

- Item 34 asks for their difficulties during learning

‘The third part of questionnaire is ‘open-ended’ which required students to write their own suggestions for the program From this rosull, the author van partly answer the second research question

* Open-ended questions

- Item 33 asks for students’ expectation

- Item 35 focuses on students’ suggestions for improving the course based on their

experience

3.5.2 Interview

‘The second way of gathering data in this study is by conducting in-depth interviews Janesick (2000) defines interviews as a ‘meeting of two persons to exchange information and ideas through questions and responses, resulting in1 communication and joint construction of meaning about a particular topic’ (p 30) Compared to

questionnaires, interviews provide evaluators with in-depth information that can be

later interpreted im a comlext that explains the inquiry saboul pheriomena When

using, questions that encourage reflection, interviews may create ideas and elicit

insights nol readily captured through questiontiaires,

Five teachers teaching English for Chemistry Department students in ESP blended leaming course in the third semester were interviewed to get more detailed information and understand the issues explicitly The itterviowa produce the responses that were wopredictable, hence the data is more reliable and validity

In this study, the author uses the same questions for beth students” survey and teachers’ interviews to gather data

3.6 Duala collection procedure

361 Questionnaire

The procedure of collecting data is described as follow

Step 1: Preparation

The questionnaire is designed for students based on the content outlined and then

the participanis arc selected randomly The author visiled the class to mect the

students, explained the purposes of the survey and asked for their agreement to cooperate

The researcher used the same questions of the survey for interviews; and then the researcher got in contact with the teachers in person to ask for their consent in helping with the interview The recording device was set up to ensure that nothing

said by the resporidents would be massed

Step 2: Administering the questionnaire and conducting the interview

First, 59 students were chosen randomly to do a survey ta find out their evaluation

of learning Fnglish in ESP blended learning program The students’ opinions about the online leaming resources, face - to-face lessons, the integration between online leaming and face-to-face and leaming outcomes were revealed through the

questionnaires, Morcover, the questions are m English so the researcher translated it

into Vietnamese for easier understanding, Afterward, the Inglish- Vietnamese questionnaires were delivered to the 5S students

The roscarcher visited lhe participams and admimstored the questionnaire directly

‘To begin with, the researcher explained that the questionnaire is not a test so the students answered more freely and comfortably The researcher gave studerts three days to complete the questionnaires because these questionnaires need reading and

answered carefully for reliable results It would not have a reliable data if the

parlicipanls complete 35 questions in five or ten minutes in class Aller collecting

55 questionnaires back, the writer sorted it and analyzed the data

362, Interview

Second, in-depth interview was carried out with five teachers teaching in this ESP

blended learning program for those students All the interviews were conducted through face-to-face discussion in Lnglish with teachers The purpose is to invesligale the teacher’s assessment about the effectiveness of applying blended

learning for second-year students as well as to find out thew difficulties and

suggestions to improve this program The researcher and the interviewees had a good rapport for a long time as the researcher had been working as a teacher since

the program started for Chemistry students Therefore, the rescarcher and the interviewees were now fairly acquainted ‘he researcher began each interview by ensuring the respondents of their anonymous in the current sludy The questions

were asked and answered in the order that specified in the interview schedule ‘The researcher tried to take note all details during each interview and the whole

conversations were recorded by a device placed close lo Ihe respondents After that, the data was sorted, and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to obtain realistic

results

3.7 Data analysis procedure

Data analysis comprises of two main parts:

3.71 Analysis of the survey questionnaire

Tn order lo analyze the resuls [rom the survey of 53 sindents, the dala collected

from questionnaire was entered into the excel platform, and then calculated the frequency for items addressing the same target

3.72 Analysis of the interview

‘The analysis of the interviews was broken into smaller steps:

Step 1: Transcribing the interviews

All the interviews were tianseribed to cnable closer, full investigation of the information provided by the respondents With the transcription, the examination of

the dala is more convernert and makes 1L easier for the researcher to find oul, the

theory generated from the data

Step 2: Classifying the data

The data were classified according to research questions that the study seeks to answer ‘There are two major groups of answers coresponding to the research

questions including the evaluation of teachers of the course and their difficulties

dunng teaching time

Step 3: Interpreting the data

In this step, within each group of the answers, comparison and contrast are made for greater understanding lo find the answer for the rescarch questions,