Exploring the Effectiveness of Blended Learning in Improving Reading Comprehension among Iranian EFL Students

Abstract

Using blended learning, a combination of online digital media and traditional face to face methods, as an educational program has increased widely in educational settings over the past decade. The present study attempted to reveal the effectiveness of blended learning platform in improving reading comprehension performance of Iranian EFL students. The participants of this study were 60 EFL students at Islamic Azad University, Masjed Soleiman Branch. They were selected based on convenience sampling and their age ranged between 19 and 25. They were from both genders. These participants were divided into an experimental and a control group. Each group consisted of 30 EFL students. The first step in the current study was to administrate pretests of reading and the second step was to administrate the treatments. During the 10 ninety minute sessions of the study, the experimental group received reading passages of the Select Readings book. They were also required to use the website nicenet.com at home. For the control group, the passages were taught based on traditional classroom teaching methods, and materials, instructions, and feedback were presented in classroom according to the Select Readings book. The third step in this research was the administration of the post-test. In order to test the hypotheses of this study, independent samples t-tests was used to find the statistically significant difference, if any, in the study. The findings showed that blended learning had a positive effect on reading comprehension ability which is the main finding of the resent research.