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Abstract The purpose of the current study was to investigate theeffectiveness of utilizing the blended learning to improve vocabularyacquisition and reading comprehension skills in EFL among preparatory school students whose inadequate reading comprehension skills and vocabulary abilities constituted the rationale for this investigation. A vocabulary and reading comprehension achievement test was used as a pre and posttest. The SPSS statistics program was used for analyzing data obtained from these tests. The t- test for independent matched samples was used to investigate the differences between the experimental and control groups posttest results. Then the effect size was obtained by using Blake’s modified gain ratio for the control group is lower than one while Blake’s modified gain ratio for the experimental group is more than one , so we can say that the suggested program is effective to develop the vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. This proved through (Black’s constant) which is more than (1.2). At last, the following results were reached: 1. There were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the post administration of the vocabulary acquisition test. 2. There were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the post administration of the students’overall reading comprehension skills in English Out of the main question, the following sub-questions are posed: 1- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing preparatory school students’ vocabulary acquisition? 2- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing preparatory school students’ overall reading comprehension skills? 3- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing preparatory school students’ literal comprehension skills? 4- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing preparatory school students’ inferential skills? Hypotheses of the study The following hypotheses were formulated to be tested: 1. There would be statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the post administration of the vocabulary acquisition test. 2. There would be statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the post administration of the students’overall reading comprehension skills in English. 3. There would be statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the post administration of the students’ literal comprehension skills in English. 4. There would be statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the post administration of the students’ inferential skills in English. 5. There would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group pre- post vocabulary acquisition test in favor of the post testing. 6. There would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group pre- post reading comprehension test in favor of the post testing. 7. There would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group pre- post literal comprehension skill component in favor of the post testing. 8. There would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group pre- post inferential skill component in favor of the post testing. The Study Sample The sample of the current study consisted of two groups; one group was the control group (N=23) and the other was the experimental group (N=23) at preparatory school in Gharbiea Governorate, Egypt. The sample’s ages ranged between twelve and fourteen years old. The experiment under investigation was conducted during the first semester of the academic year 2013/2014. The Experiment The experimental group and the control group were pre-tested using the vocabulary and reading comprehension achievement test. Then, the experimental group was taught using the blended learning approachbeside the traditional method that were included in the program prepared by the researcher whereas the control group was taught using the traditional method only. After that, both groups were post-tested using the same instruments. The Findings The findings of the current study revealed that: 1. The blended learning approach beside the traditional method is more effective than the traditional method only in developing students’ vocabulary acquisition. 2. The blended learning approach beside the traditional method is more effective than the traditional method only in developing students’ reading comprehension skills. 5.7 Conclusions The current study tried to find out the effectiveness of utilizing the blended learning approach to improve vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension skills in EFL among preparatory school students. To achieve this purpose, an English instructional program based on the blended learning approach was redesigned and implemented during the academic year 2013/2014. It was found that the blended learning approach had significantly developed the learner’s abilities in reading comprehension skills and vocabulary acquisition. The current study also revealed that the blended learning had significantly affected students’ engagement positively. Quoting a number of related studies that supported the findings of this study could encourage scholars to adopt this approach in developing learners’ comprehension skills and vocabulary acquisition and enhancing their engagement with the text. It was found that the type of instruction that a student received affected reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. More recent research highlights the importance of engagement processes in facilitating reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. Therefore, this approach needed to be taught directly as students learn to read; and this direct instruction needs to continue in different forms. There were many ways to think about reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition and many factors that affected them. The importance of the learning approach on improving students’ reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition abilities and engagement in reading was the main force behind carrying out this study. Recommendations In the light of the findings of the current study, it is recommended that: 1. Electronic curricula should be developed in the various stages of education. 2. Encouraging the use of electronic learning programs by providing an electronic educational environment in each school. 3. Providing teachers of English as a second language with the key research suggesting that acquiring a native – like receptive vocabulary size in a second language learner is an ambitious but achievable goal to justify why direct vocabulary teaching is a feasible proposition. 4. Investigating both teachers and students’ perceptions of teaching the selected skills through blended learning approach. 5. Preparing special rooms to teach languages especially English. 6. Designing training courses for the teachers and informing them with the scientific development in teaching languages and especially English. 7. Establishing training programs for students, teachers and administrators to make the most of technology that are suitable for students’ level. |