Postgraduate engineering students’ reflections on blended learning in academic English course

Abstract

Within the COVID-19 pandemic period teachers at higher educational institutions have been forced to shift their traditional classroom strategies to blended learning which involves a combination of online instructional format with traditional face-to-face one. This approach to education has also been adopted by foreign language teachers of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies and integrated into the Academic English course for postgraduate engineering students. The present research highlights the importance of reflection in the educational process and is aimed to investigate students’ perceptions of their blended learning experience. In the course of the study, a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire were administred involving postgraduate engineering students. The analysis of the results obtained in student reflection provided empirical evidence to the claim that the students were advantageously influenced as a result of the blended learning environment in the Academic English course. Most of the students confirmed that all necessary Academic English skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking can be developed in a hybrid format, that blended learning environment promotes self-directed learning skills and enhances motivation to study the foreign language. The majority of the respondents reported value of virtual reality that increased meaningful interaction and built a sense of community and spoke in favor of continuing education in blended learning context. The final part of the article presents conclusions of the research findings and recommendations for the EAP practitioners which could also be used in an ordinary post pandemic study process.