School of Languages at XJTLU Conference 2024

Hybrid teaching and learning, also known as blended education, refers to an educational approach that combines both online and offline methods in instruction delivery (Sun, 2020). The hybrid educational mode, an essential approach during COVID-19, has become a valuable teaching pedagogy that is sustainable even in the post-pandemic era (Darmenia-Jochimsen et al., 2023). In the subject of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), such a teaching mode poses both opportunities and challenges for language learners. In a hybrid language learning environment, students engage in a combination of in-person classroom activities and online activities, allowing for a more flexible and personalised learning experience. Meanwhile, factors such as technical issues and lack of self-discipline can hinder the progress and achievement that students make from the online component. Although recent studies have examined English language learners' perceptions or satisfaction with online language courses (e.g. Alkhannani, 2021; Amoush & Mizher, 2023; Okyar, 2023), the effectiveness of the online component on learners' language performance remains under-researched.

This study aims to fill in this research gap by employing a mixed-methods research design to investigate the interactions between the pre-seminar online course engagement and EAP learners' language performance in a well-established EAP module adopting the blended teaching mode. The quantitative findings (n = 190) showed that students' online lesson completion rate and quiz results were both statistically significant predictors of their EAP language performance, indicating the effectiveness of the online curriculum. The EAP placement test results did not predict the students’ online lesson completion rate, signalling the applicability of the online curriculum to students at different language proficiency levels. The qualitative interview findings (n = 18) provided valuable pedagogical implications for the development of the blended language teaching mode, including the course design and online technical settings, at institutions implementing EAP courses.