The Outcomes of Blended Learning in Pronunciation Course in EFL Context

Abstract

English pronunciation, as the core to develop oral English, is an important element in developing intercultural communication competency in international trades. However, freshmen in Chinese universities mostly exhibit a deficiency in fundamental phonetic knowledge. To address the problem, various teaching methods were utilized in the English pronunciation courses to improve the pronunciation skills in EFL context. However, these methods such as traditional teaching methods, online learning are discovered to have their own limitations in improving the students’ pronunciation skills. Nowadays, blended learning is extensively used in China in the pronunciation courses to improve teaching quality. Nonetheless, the outcomes of blended learning in pronunciation course in EFL context remained under explored. To fill the gap, the study investigated the outcomes of blended learning in pronunciation course in China through three dimensions: student satisfaction, student engagement and course outcomes. The results demonstrated that the students had a high-level of satisfaction and engagement and improved course outcomes in the blended learning pronunciation course in EFL context. Despite the student satisfaction was generally high, the individuals’ satisfaction showed substantial fluctuation. Moreover, the student engagement was overall high while the cognitive engagement was relatively low. The findings provide empirical evidences to further improvement of blended learning in pronunciation course in EFL context.