EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A BLENDED FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH COURSE AT UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL: A CASE STUDY OF THE WOMEN UNIVERSITY MULTAN

Abstract

Blended learning is the thoughtful combination of online and face-to-face components with the aim of maximizing students’ performance. This paper attempts to investigate the effectiveness of a blended course based on basic reading and writing skills. The course was implemented at undergraduate level after needs analysis in the context of The Women University Multan. The research design for the study was quasi-experimental as the participants were randomly added in control and experimental groups. the scores of pre and posttests were the main data collection tools and these tests were conducted before and after the course for each group. ANCOVA was used to analyzed the data. The statistical analysis showed that there is a significant difference among the marks of pre and post-test between control and experimental groups. The students of experimental group outperformed the students of control group. Hence, the blended course proved quite effective in improving the reading and writing skills of the targeted learners. Other courses can also be designed and implemented in a blended format for advanced level reading and writing skills along with listening and speaking skills.