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The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 21, No. 0, pp.171-188
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2021
Received 19 Feb 2021 Revised 11 Mar 2021 Accepted 16 Mar 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.21..202103.171

A Comparative Study on Blended Learning and Flipped Learning: EFL Students’ Learner Autonomy, Independence, and Attitudes

Na-Young Kim ; Seo Young Yoon
(1st author) Professor, Sehan Univ. nykim@sehan.ac.kr
(corresponding author) Professor, Baekseok Univ. syyoon@bu.ac.kr


© 2021 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate EFL students’ learner perspectives on blended learning and flipped learning concerning their autonomy, independence, and attitudes. The participants for the study were 114 first-year students taking an English course at a university in Korea. They met once a week for 2 hours for 15 weeks but engaged in different instructional designs of conventional (C), blended learning (BL), and flipped learning (FL). For the C group, in-class instructions and activities were given based on the textbook. The BL group joined online activities following the face-to-face instruction. In contrast, the FL group received the online instruction preceding the face-to-face class. For the quantitative data, the questionnaire was designed based on previous research on learner autonomy, independence, and attitudes. The qualitative data included interviews and classroom observation. The main findings are as follows: the FL group showed the need for teacher presence to improve learner autonomy while the BL group recognized the importance of learner autonomy for their successful learning with fewer learning choices. All groups showed a positive attitude toward learning but felt the need for autonomy training. No group differences were found. Based on the results, suggestions for further study are provided.

Keywords:

EFL, flipped learning, blended learning, learner autonomy, learner independence, learner attitude

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Sehan University Research Fund in 2021.

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