The effect of blended learning on the development of clause combining as an aspect of the acquisition of written discourse by Jordanian learners of English as a foreign language

• Published in: Journal of computer assisted learning 2019-04, Vol.35 (2), p.256-267
• Main Authors: Zibin, Aseel, Altakhaineh, Abdel Rahman Mitib
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Active Learning; Arabic language; Blended Learning; CAI; Classrooms; clause combining; Clauses; Coherence; College Students; Colleges & universities; Computer assisted instruction; computer‐assisted learning; Control Groups; Design of experiments; Digital data; Distance learning; Educational activities; English (Second Language); English as a second language; English as a second language instruction; English language; English teachers; Flipped classroom; Foreign Countries; Foreign languages; Grammar; Grammar translation method of language teaching; information packaging; Information processing; Language; Learning outcomes; Learning Processes; Majors (Students); Morphology; Morphology (Languages); Packaging; Parataxis; Punctuation; Research design; Second Language Learning; Second language teachers; Second language writing; Second Languages; second‐language acquisition; Spelling; Student Attitudes; Students; Subordination (Grammatical); Syntax; Teachers; Teaching methods; Technology Uses in Education; Time; Verbs; written discourse; Written Language
• ISSN: 0266-4909; 1365-2729
• DOI: 10.1111/jcal.12327

This study investigates the effect of blended learning on the development of clause combining as an aspect of the acquisition of written discourse by Jordanians who are learning English as a foreign language. Sixty participants majoring in English language at the University of Jordan took part in this study. The participants were divided into treatment and control groups, and the experimental design of a pretest and posttest was employed to test the effectiveness of blended learning on the ability of these participants to combine clauses in English using parataxis or subordination through a writing task. The results reveal that the treatment group outperformed their control group counterpart on the posttest in terms of verb morphology, distinguishing between nucleus and subordinate clauses, use of parataxis, use of subordinate clauses for temporal reference and to structure information, among others. The results also show that the use of technological devices improved students' attitudes to learning clause combining and made the learning process easier and more enjoyable. We suggest that blended learning develops the techniques of clause combining by learners of English as a foreign language, which in turn enhances their discourse knowledge in the target language and positively affects their ability to package information. Lay Description What is currently known about the subject matter Blended learning combines traditional teaching methods with online digital data. This gives students the chance to engage in online discussions or even to conduct research at home, introducing them to new concepts they can later discuss with their teacher inside the classroom. The flipped classroom technique frees up class time for activities, allowing a deeper exploration of content. The essential aim of this technique is to engage students in active learning in which there is more focus on students' applying and practicing conceptual knowledge instead of factual recall. The popularity of this technique has substantially grown as a potential method to improve students' engagement in class, to leverage technology, and to allow for active online learning (e.g., O'Toole & Absalom, 2003; Reasons et al., 2005; Graham, 2006; Adas & Bakir 2013; Al‐Qahtani & Higgins, 2013, among others). What our paper adds to this Although several studies examined the effect of blended learning as a teaching method on the various aspects of second language (L2), few studies examined the effect of