Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 353

Third International Conference on Sustainable Innovation 2019 – Humanity, Education and Social Sciences (IcoSIHESS 2019)

Blended Learning in an English Listening and

Speaking Course: Freshmen’s Voice and Choice
Fitria Rahmawati
English Language Education Department
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
[email protected]

Abstract—Listening and speaking skills clearly turn into a Though speaking skill plays an important role in students’
critical ability for language students as those skills facilitate the language acquisition, this skill is often considered as the most
fruitful adaptation, particularly on the advancement of challenging language skill, as students need to go through a
education and technology. There have been numerous studies complicated process in order to speak correctly and
investigating that blended learning supports the enhancement of understandably. In order to achieve successful speaking,
students’ language skills, especially reading and writing skills. students need to have sufficient language knowledge and
However, few discuss how listening and speaking skills are good psychological state. Speaking includes a combination of
productively conducted in a blended learning mode. This study both cognitive aspects [2] and psychological aspects or
aimed to explore the students’ voice on blended learning
mental state [4]. In addition, B. M. Shabani [5] agreed that
implementation in the Listening and Speaking for Formal
Setting course at one Islamic Private University in Yogyakarta.
speaking has dependably been a challenging skill compared
It also investigated the students’ choice on their class mode to the other language skills. Further, he contended that the
preference for other future courses: full face-to-face or the reason why speaking is more difficult than other skills is as in
combination of both face-to-face and online modes. Six English speaking, a person is required to directly recall all the related
Language Education Department (ELED) freshmen who information to be able to utter suitable responses within a very
enrolled the course was selectively chosen using snowball limited time. Differ from speaking, in other skills, the person
sampling technique to participate in this study. Using an in- may have enough time to respond using the target language.
depth interview and observation of the online learning course
website, this study indicated that the blended learning model
In addition to speaking skills, the ability to listen is crucial
being designed was suitable for the students’ learning needs.
in communication. Communication involves an interaction
Furthermore, the students perceived that blending the face-to- with one or more students and a decent skill of listening and
face with the online meetings for the listening and speaking recognizing how other people feel and think [6]. Thus,
course was an effective delivery mode for the following reasons: listening is worth to master too. Along with the speaking
various learning materials, interactive yet challenging activities, skill. These two integrated skills become a perfect
appropriate to the students’ proficiency level, relevant to the combination of a successful communication. Thus, students
course syllabus, flexible, and improved language skills. are expected to become competence in speaking and listening
Regarding which delivery mode the participants prefer, the skills to successfully communicate with the target language.
majority indicated to have a blended learning mode for their
other future courses. The 4.0 industrial revolution has come into existence
causing massive changes and differences in any aspects of
Keywords—blended learning approach, learning management life, including education. Education 4.0 requires teachers to
system, language learning, listening and speaking course improve the capacity of their students to implement current
technology which could assist them grow with the new
I. INTRODUCTION knowledge and skills. Regarding the pedagogical field,
Speaking is considered as one of the core competencies in innovations including mobile computing, social network, and
language learning to master. It has important roles in open source applications have led to an opportunity to build a
communication. Students need to master speaking skill as itis learning ecosystem where personalized learning is
an important skill required for daily interaction with other characterized by independent learning and time can be built.
people both for academic and interpersonal context [1]. S. M. As a result, students can become more autonomous, and have
F. El-Sakka [1]; M. Bashir, M. Azeem, Ashiq, and H. Dogar an ability to design their own educational trajectories based
[2] indicated that an effective oral interaction in using the on their personal goals. With an increasing degree of
target language with different utterers presents the fruitful of complexity, it is highly vital to promote deep learning. This
language learning. It infers that the success of speaking skill can be attained with the increased application of Information
becomes an essential part of language learning in order to Communication and Technology (ICT). This is with the
reason why ICT, as asserted by T. Suwannasom, and E. C.
communicate with others. Consequently, increasing speaking
ability is considered as an important effort to be taken. In Novio [7], is strongly recommended to be implemented in
addition, M. Bahadofar [3] asserted that speaking is such a way where it could enrich the classroom interaction
considered to be an essential element in learning a language. and essentially presents an innovation into language
Within this context, speaking is a key to communication with instruction in various modes of learning setting and
the purpose to express ideas orally, coherently, fluently and atmosphere.
appropriately.

Copyright © 2019, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 56
 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 353

The era has also undeniably given a new impetus to the 1. To explore the students’ voice on blended learning
changes in the area of English language instructions. In implementation in an English listening and speaking
addition to this, the availability of ICT and digital devices has course at a University level. This purpose is to figure
transformed the foreign-language instruction, changed the out the appropriateness of the course design, content,
nature of information dissemination, and expanded the and activities both in the offline and the online modes.
learning experiences. One of which is online course. In view
of this, the online course is noteworthy to enhance the 2. To investigate the students’ choice on which delivery
mode they prefer for other listening and speaking
students’ language acquisition. Though so, using only online
mode in language instruction is not sufficient. There are some courses, and other courses in general. This refers to
the use of either full face-to-face or blended learning
problems that might occur, for instance, the absence of verbal
and facial prompts, non-verbal communication, technological modes.
literacy, and the lack of students’ commitment. Consequently, II. LITERATURE REVIEW
to minimize those shortcomings, one of the solutions is by
implementing blended learning, which is the combination of A. A Blended Learning Design for Foreign-Language
conventional instruction technique and web-based-learning. Instruction
Blended learning is therefore an effective solution for a Some scholars have proposed different definitions of
foreign-language instruction. The underlying reasons are as it blended learning instruction. P. Sharma, and B. Barrett [13]
can enhance the lesson delivery, vary the teaching techniques, identified blended learning as a combination of traditional in-
advantage students’ learning capacity, and promote students’ classroom meeting and a proper implementation of innovation
achievement of the learning goals. Face-to-face instruction technology to facilitate language learning. In addition, Clark
mode increases learning motivation, interest, enhances [14] considered blended learning as an approach to education
communication, and develops a feeling of network in the which merges the face-to-face and online instruction modes
classroom, while web-based learning, as claimed by R. D. by involving students in both offline and online interactions
Garrison, and N. D. Vaughan [8], provides planning [15]. This language learning mode has been prevalently
adaptability, advances intuitiveness, encourages network implemented in the educational setting during the past few
building, and gives a changeless record and flexible time. years.
They further asserted that blended learning can enhance Some previous studies have uncovered the significance of
teacher-student interaction, encourage students’ commitment blended learning implementation into language learning.
in learning, intensify adaptability in the learning process, and Aycock, Garnham, and Kaleta [16] asserted that the power of
chance for constant enhancement. blended learning approach lies on its flexibility and
Despite an increasing awareness of blended learning pedagogical effectiveness. It infers that its implementation
approach, it is surprising that limited numbers of empirical provides dynamic learning procedures and is efficient for
researches have addressed the issue regarding the enhancing students’ academic achievement. In addition,
instructional design of blended learning and the evaluation of incorporating blended learning approach in classrooms
its implementation, especially for teaching certain language enhances the students’ learning results and cultivates a
skills. Previous works have been limited to and mostly constant learning process as learning is not ‘a one-time
discussed the blended learning implementation to portray occasion’ [15, 17]. That notion illustrates the learning process
both the students’ and the teachers’ experience, satisfaction, in which students are facilitated to learn both inside and
and belief towards the blended learning implementation in outside the classroom. Thus, they could continue learning and
general; also, to compare the students’ achievement with and explore the materials online after having the offline session.
without the blended learning approach. Consequently, blended learning approach that integrates
Studies on students’ satisfaction with blended learning face-to-face meeting and proper utilization of innovation is
approach indicated some benefits, especially in comparison to advantageous for teachers to conduct their foreign-language
the online format alone. Some of the findings indicated that instruction and improve students’ achievement. It also offers
students enjoyed flexible scheduling, self-paced materials language teachers and students with a lot more chances to
online, and direct contact with teacher and other students in investigate the utmost reasonable blend of instruction and
blended learning courses [9, 10]. In addition, students also styles of learning in a particular situation [13]. D. Marsh [18]
acknowledged that such approach assisted them to be more also emphasized that its implementation provides directions
responsible for their own learning [11]. Nevertheless, some which can attract students’ attention and are currently viewed
concerns were voiced by students in blended learning classes. as an essential part in any language learning educational
Some learners became increasingly worried about their own programs.
time management and organizational abilities throughout the Those evidences clarify how blended learning
semester [12]. significantly affects language instruction from the secondary
The current study explored the students’ voice on blended to tertiary educational levels. The use of online instruction as
learning implementation of a listening and speaking course in a supplement to face-to-face instruction improves the chance
an EFL classroom setting. In addition, it investigated the for better learning results. Blended learning instruction
students’ choice on their class mode preference for other facilitates different collaboration modes for students and their
future courses either full face-to-face or blended learning teacher to be both together and separated. Besides, students
modes. have a flexible time and place to accomplish the learning
objectives at their own pace as blended learning integrates the
Inferred from the research background above, this study adoption of educational technology.
was conducted with the following purposes:

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B. The Framework of Blended Learning Instruction Model FIGURE 1: ONLINE AND FACE-TO-FACE MODES OF THE LSFS
COURSE
Within the context of this study, the university offers some
courses which could enhance its students’ language skills.
Regarding the listening and speaking skills, the courses
offered are Listening and Speaking for Formal Setting and
Listening and Speaking for Formal Setting (for the first
Online meeting
semester), also Listening and Speaking for Academic Online meeting Face-to-face meeting
(Assessment; recorded
Purposes and Listening and Speaking for Career (brainstorm and (review, discussion
performance and
input session) and practice) reflecion)
Development (for the second semester). Those courses differ
in the learning objectives, topics, learning materials, tasks,
and assessments. Each of the course facilitates an extensive
opportunity to develop the students’ English language and
communication abilities particular to their field and
profession. Since 2017, the university has required its faculty The online meetings were conducted through Moodle
members to conduct a blended learning approach into their which is the university-based Learning Management System
classroom instruction. Responding the request, one of those (LMS). This LMS is set up and organized by the university
courses was designed and conducted as a blended learning administrators. The Moodle provides an incredible collection
mode, which is Listening and Speaking for Formal Setting of features essentials for online learning. During the
course. implementation, the teacher incorporating both synchronous
and asynchronous widgets which were embedded in the LMS.
After its implementation, a concern regarding how the Some of the learning activities were live chat, online
students respond to the blended learning implementation was discussion or forum, quizzes, tests, and assignments, which
raised. That intention came as blended learning requires its require the students to perform active listening and speaking
respondents to be autonomous and self-regulated. In addition, skills to accomplish each of the activity. Those features were
being able to manage time well and having sufficient ability frequently used during the course to promote the students’
to operate the technology are other things needed [19, 20]. active participation on the collaborative learning process [21].
Thus, examining the students’ voices more closely regarding In addition, the activities were conducted in order to enable
the blended learning implementation is undeniably meaningful online learning experience which incorporates the
significant. following fundamental components, including: “discourse,
C. The Course Design reflection, and writing” [22].
The blended learning model of the Listening and Speaking Additionally, online lecture videos were also provided as
for Formal Setting (LSFS) course was designed by taking the input sessions either prior or after the learning activities.
these elements into account, including: the learning They were used as the media to provide contents of the new
objectives, materials, activities, educational technology tools, lesson topics, language features, and language usage
teacher’s roles, students’ roles, and assessment techniques. examples to the students. Those input sessions, however, were
Those components construct an efficient and successful always followed by other learning media and learning
blended learning implementation. The components also materials to facilitate different learning styles and to promote
became the foundation for planning and designing the online the students’ understanding towards the lesson. The videos
learning contents. The course designs were as follows: were also created and provided in a relatively short duration
to maintain students’ retention. The input sessions were rather
1. Comprehend listening to English conversation or given prior to the weekly activities and tasks through the
dialogue from audio recordings online lecture videos in the LMS than being delivered by the
2. Perform making and responding to formal invitation teacher in the classroom by what is so-called as the traditional
using correct and appropriate English expressions in role play classroom lectures. The face-to-face meetings were then used
as a follow-up activity towards the lessons which were
3. Use appropriate language for making and answering provided in the online meeting for concept clarification, group
phone call in a formal setting or class discussion, and practice.
4. Demonstrate the ability to lead and participate in a With those features offered by Moodle in the online
meeting using proper language expressions for giving learning mode and combined with the follow-up activities in
opinion, interrupting, agreeing and disagreeing the offline learning mode, the instruction has been changing
5. Demonstrate the ability to become an effective Master into a more students-centered manner as the teachers act as a
of Ceremony (MC) in a formal event. facilitator, and the students have more responsibility to
manage their own learning process. The provided activities
D. The Course Content have also facilitated the development of behavioral,
The course was designed as a 16-week course, combining emotional, and cognitive competencies [23]. According to A.
the face-to-face meetings as the main component and the G. Picciano [24], blending the classroom instruction not only
online meetings as supplementary which are provided and enables providing various learning contents but also
conducted prior to and after the face-to-face meeting. facilitating students with social and emotional engagement.
Students should be involved in both the offline and the online
interaction sessions with different varieties of methods for the
input session, practice, evaluation, and assessment of
students’ progress. The LSFS blended learning course was
thus designed by adopting those principles.

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III. METHODOLOGY whether they like other teachers/courses to implement the

same instructional design.
A. Research Setting
This research was conducted at one private university in D. Trustworthiness and Data Analysis
Yogyakarta. This university has been long known for its In order to ensure the data trustworthiness, member
breakthrough innovation on its education system. One of them checking was conducted by asking the participants to review
could be represented through its online learning the transcripts of dialogues that they have participated during
implementation, especially through the blended learning the interview [26]. The purpose of selecting member checking
instruction. The university has strongly promoted and in this study was to make sure that their answers are suitable
supported its faculty members to conduct blended learning with the transcripts. After transcribing the interview, the
into their classroom instruction. Some grants have also been researcher contacted the participants back to confirm and
offered since 2017 for their teachers who implement it. clarify the data. From doing the member checking, the six
freshmen participants confirmed that the written transcripts
B. Participants were clear and in-line with what they provided.
The subjects of this study were the first-year students
majoring in the English Language Education Department In order to draw conclusion of the participants voice and
(ELED) who enrolled the Listening and Speaking for Formal choice regarding the LSFS blended learning course
Setting course during the odd semester of academic year implementation, the data were coded. Strauss and Corbin as
2018. Six freshmen were selected based on some criteria, cited in L. Cohen, L. Manion, and K. Morrison [25] described
including: their active participation both in the face-to-face coding as a process of breaking down segments of text data
and the online learning environments, their on-time task into smaller unit based on the relevant criteria, and then
completions, and their cooperativeness during the course. examining, comparing, conceptualizing, and categorizing the
Those six freshmen were taken from three different classes. data. The researcher followed several procedures in coding
In order to maintain the participants’ confidentiality, the data, namely: open, analytical, axial, and selective coding.
pseudonym was used. In addition, prior to the data gathering IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
process, the participants were informed that any information
or data they provide will be used for the research purpose As an effort to provide better blended learning
only. The participants of this study were five females and one experiences, investigating the users’ voices and choices
male, and they were identified as Dyane, Ferro, Hilda, Arleta, towards its implementation is worth conducted. The
Shanti, and Antoni. objectives of this study were articulated as the followings: 1)
exploring the students’ voice on the blended learning
C. Data Collection and Analysis implementation in an English listening and speaking course at
The blended learning instruction of the LSFS course was a University level. 2) investigating the students’ choice on
designed for the in-side classroom and online modes. The which delivery mode they prefer for other courses. Thus, both
online mode was conducted through Moodle web-based of the research questions were answered by conducting
application at http://www.learning.lang.umy.ac.id. The observation of the online learning webpage and interview
webpage was observed to investigate its appropriateness of its with the six freshmen participants.
course design, content, and activities to the course objectives.
A. Students’ Voices towards the LSFS Blended Learning
The course lesson plan and materials being hosted in the
learning management system (LMS) were also observed to Course Implementation
picture the blended learning implementation. Those resources This section presents some points related to how the six
serve as a guideline to conduct an interview with the freshmen participants value their learning experiences in
participants in terms of those three components. joining the LSFS course which combines both the in-class and
the online learning sessions. The study reported that in
In addition, the researcher conducted interviews with the general the participants perceived the combination of the
participants in order to get in-depth information from the offline and the online meetings as a valuable learning
participants regarding their views towards the LSFS blended experience and was appropriate to be conducted in a language
learning course implementation and their preference on the learning context. They shared their perspective and
course mode. Besides, interview enabled the researcher to experience regarding the variety of the course learning
identify and understand the body language and facial materials, and learning activities, level of difficulty, relevance
expressions better. As pointed out by L. Cohen, L. Manion, of the activity and materials to the course syllabus, clear
and K. Morrison [25], interview is a flexible tool for data directions of the activities, flexibility of time and place during
collection which involves multi-sensory channels to be used: the online learning sessions, enhancement of their language
verbal, non-verbal, spoken and heard, and allows the skills, support to different learning styles, practice of time
interviewer to clarify and gain complex and deep issues. The management, and limitation for direct response. Further
interview was conducted in Bahasa Indonesia to avoid discussion about the finding is presented as follows.
misunderstanding between both parties. It is also the language
spoken by the participants; thus, it is expected that the 1) The Learning Materials were Comprehensive and
participants would speak freely without limitation and Varied. The blended learning approach provides wide-
hesitation. During the interview, the participants were asked ranging varieties of learning materials the students could
which part of this course they enjoyed and/or challenged them possibly have. The students could access different types and
the most, what they think of the course design (the blended forms of learning materials suitable for their individual
learning model) of this course in general, whether the course learning styles. As observed from the online learning
design has enhanced their English language skills, and webpage, the students were provided by texts such as
document or pdf, slides, audio or online podcast, video, and

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other embedded links for the further readings throughout the online video lessons. If I could not catch the online
course. All the six freshmen participants noticed that blended materials, I could clarify and ask my teacher when I met
learning was resourceful. her in the classroom’, Antoni.
“It [the course] has all the materials I need to learn about Hilda, Ferro, and Antony explicitly stated that the
the lesson!”, Ferro. activities were somehow challenging, especially the online
quizzes and the video recording assignments. “I found out
“The thing I like the most from the course was that it that the quizzes were challenging. We have to learn the
provided different forms of materials I could access and
materials first before taking the quiz, otherwise, you’ll
learn before the class”, Hilda. definitely get low score”, Hilda. A similar comment was made
In addition, Antoni admitted, “To me, the materials were by Ferro and Antony who stated that the video recording
comprehensive for completing the task that the lecturer assessments were the most demanding task for the course.
gave us.” The participants’ experiences indicated that they found
Their responses indicated that the materials were blended learning course to be interactive and engaging. This
comprehensive as the materials cover the information needed is supported by A. G. Picciano [24] who asserted that
to study the lesson and to complete the tasks given by the blending the classroom instruction not only enables providing
teacher. Especially in the online learning context, the students various learning contents but also facilitating students with
need more information or knowledge as it is not conducted social and emotional engagement. In addition, this finding
under the direct supervision of the teacher. This finding suggests that the activities in a blended learning course should
inferred that blended learning provides various instructional be mindfully chosen and designed in order to prompt
materials they can access both inside and off-classroom, thus, students’ engagement which later stimulates meaningful
they can control their learning pace to understand the lesson learning experiences.
better. This finding is in support with W. W. Porter, C. R. 3) The Course Fit the Students’ Language Proficiency
Graham, R. G. Bodily, D. S. Sandberg’s [27] study which Level. The participants indicated that the materials and the
revealed that blended learning enabled the students to control activities provided in the LSFS Blended Learning course was
their learning pace, either to learn the lessons prior to the appropriate to their language proficiency level as the first
offline meeting or to enrich their understanding towards the semester students-freshmen. The finding is manifested in the
topic after the face-to-face meeting. following excerpts:
2) The Activities were Interactive, yet, Challenging. “The difficulty level of the activities and the learning
During the interviews, the participants shared their stories materials was appropriate to the students’ language
with regard to the activities they experienced in joining the level”, Ferro.
LSFS blended learning course throughout the semester. The
six participants expressed that discussion forums, quizzes, Other participant, Hilda, believed that as long as the
assignments were the activities they had especially in the students learnt the provided materials prior to doing the
online learning sessions. Dyane mentioned that the activity activity or joining the class, they can follow the discussion
she engaged the most was the listening comprehension fruitfully. Those responses confirmed that the level of
practices. While for Hilda, she admitted that she enjoyed difficulty of both the learning materials and activities of the
doing the quizzes, posting replies, and giving feedback to the LSFS course had been adjusted to the freshmen’s proficiency
forum discussion. Differ from Dyane and Hilda, Arleta level. In addition, in order to be successful in joining the
preferred to watch online video tutorials about the lessons and course, each student is strongly recommended to study the
did the follow-up comprehension activities. lessons through the online learning webpage prior to having
the face-to-face meeting.
For the in-class delivery, the freshmen experienced
follow-up activities on the topic and its language expressions This study suggested that in designing a blended learning
they learnt prior to the meeting through the online learning course, both in the offline and the online delivery, teachers
platform. Ferro, Shanti, and Antoni pointed out the offline should consider their students’ level off competence.
activities include review on the language expressions, group Especially freshmen, the possibility of the background
and/or class discussion, and speaking skill practice. knowledge and competence is high. The main objective to
The participants said that combining both online and consider the students’ proficiency level is according to QN
classroom learning provides varied activities compared to Naveed, A Muhammad, S Sanober, MRN Qureshi, A Shah
having only a full face-to-face delivery mode. In addition, the [28], that user friendly interface and clear contents adjusted to
findings revealed that the activities in the LSFS Blended students’ knowledge of a blended learning course will affect
Learning course were engaging. In the interview, the their pleasure and satisfaction.
participant stated that: 4) The Course was Flexible. The participants pointed out
“I am easily distracted in learning. By integrating an that they were given an opportunity to learn and understand
access to technology and internet access into the learning the materials at any times and in any places. “We could do the
process both inside and off-classroom, l am more activities anytime and anywhere. The teacher gave duration
engaged, and my retention was prolonged”, Shanti. for doing the task” (Arletta). Thus, the students had a flexible
time and place to learn the topic. With this opportunity, the
In align, another pointed out: students got experiences in two different ways, both inside
“It was interesting to have blended learning course. If I and outside the classroom. “I can learn and do the online
don’t understand something in the class, I can watch my materials in my own boarding house” (Antoni). By providing
blended learning, the students can study the material either

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through face-to-face learning in the classroom or online in classroom, I can double-check and review it from the online
their respected home. learning”. Differ from Shanti and other four participants,
Ferro chose the face-to-face meeting as if she is confused or
Eventually, blended learning facilitates the students to has question, she can directly ask the teacher. She added that
understand the lessons in a more flexible and efficient way.
she could also have a direct contact with their classmates.
This finding is supported by N. P. Napier, S. Dekhane, and S.
Smith [20] who stated that in blended learning courses, V. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION
students appreciated flexible scheduling, self-paced online
materials, and face-to-face interaction with the teacher and This study aimed at exploring the freshmen’s voice
other students. By having the learning materials from the towards blended learning implementation of the LSFS course
online learning as an addition to the classroom meeting, the and finding out their learning mode preference for the future
students can further study the lessons and enhance their courses they will take. The study determined how the
understanding. Therefore, by having both the online and participants viewed the learning materials, the learning
offline delivery at once, the students are able to understand activities, the course difficulty level, the course flexibility,
the lessons better. and the course significance to the students’ language skills
organized as a blended learning instruction. Regarding the
5) The Course Improved the Students’ Language Skills. students’ voices towards the LSFS blended learning course,
The participants admitted that the combination of both online the freshmen participants reported that the blended learning
and face-to-face interactions in the LSFS course enhanced approach, both the online and offline modes, was suitable for
their English proficiency. This approach provided some the teaching of English listening and speaking skills focusing
activities and practices which exposed the students with the on the formal context. The designed materials were
language. By having a continuous practice and exposure, as appropriate and acceptable for the freshmen of English
the result, their English skills were improved. The participants language education department. The findings had implied that
declared that their English skills enhanced, including: the blended learning model for the Listening and speaking for
listening, speaking, and spelling skills. Formal Setting course had been satisfactorily designed and
developed. Regarding the online learning instruction, even
a) Listening skill. The participant admitted that, “I felt my
English listening skills increased after joining the LSFS though it is considered relevant to the course design, some
points need to address. In addition, from the interview, the
Blended Learning course,” (Dyane). The same point was
expressed by Shanti, she said, “the activities in the LSFS participants showed an excitement for the adaptation of
course trained my listening skills, especially the listening blended learning approach, especially for its flexibility,
adaptability, significance towards their language skills, and
comprehension practice/test both in the classroom activity
and in the online meeting”. Another confession was delivered more noteworthy allowances for being autonomous and self-
by Antoni. To him, his listening skill was trained because of regulated.
the teacher’s language instruction. The teacher’s use of These findings reflect comparable outcomes from the
English in the face-to-face meetings facilitated his listening former studies on blended learning implementation in the
skills. He explained, “The explanation from the teacher in university level. A vast majority of the participants on the
English improved my listening skills as I have to understand course favored the blended learning instruction they had
the teacher’s instruction in English” (P1.30). enrolled, with just a few showing a requirement for having
b) Speaking skill. The participants asserted that blended more face-to-face mode of instruction. While a few students
learning facilitated them to practice their speaking skills. As showed a tendency for more in-classroom contact, in general,
stated by Ferro, “the emceeing assessment enhanced the these outcomes seem to support the adaptation of the blended
students’ speaking skills and self-confidence”. Other learning instruction for the LSFS course. The students were
participants also stated that in general, the video recording committed to the blended learning instruction through the
assessments of telephoning and emceeing topics in LSFS materials, activities, tasks, forum, face-to-face class sessions,
course trained and improved their speaking skill. and offline assessments. Eventually, the combination of both
c) Spelling. Other language proficiency being improved modes provided flexibility and facilitated a meaningful
as perceived by the freshmen participants was spelling. One learning experience on the course.
of the activities in the online course provided by the teacher
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