Blended learning in teaching English to Vietnamese university students from EFL lecturers’ perspectives This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Thi Nguyet Le Edith Cowan University School of Education 2022 Abstract With the rapid growth of Web 2.0 and information technology, blended learning - a combination of face-to-face and online learning - enables university lecturers to extend teaching and learning beyond the confines of their classrooms The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam recognised the importance of these innovations and mandated the use of information and communication technologies in higher education institutions This directive overlapped with the Government’s policy to make English the major foreign language in the country in a response to globalisation given the springboard into the global economy English provides As a result, two simultaneous, parallel movements are occurring in Vietnamese universities: (i) an upsurge in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL); and (ii) a focus on using blended learning (BL) for teaching and learning This study investigated Vietnamese EFL lecturers’ perspectives of how well they were managing their implementation of BL in teaching English to non-English major students in Vietnamese universities The principal aim of this research was to investigate how these lecturers were dealing with, coping with, or managing the mandated implementation of BL in their teaching Semi-structured interviews occurred with twenty EFL lecturers from ten different universities in Vietnam The findings revealed most of the EFL lecturers were not managing their implementation of BL in English teaching effectively while a very small number admitted their effective use of BL Contributing to the lecturers’ implementation of BL were personal, institutional, and sociocultural and economic factors When the two major factors - personal and institutional - were positive, the lecturers could manage their implementation of BL effectively The contributory socio-cultural and economic factors - especially the Confucian teaching tradition - hindered the quality of the lecturers’ implementation of BL The study provides a framework for managing the implementation of BL effectively in English language education in Vietnamese universities i Contents Abstract .i Contents ii List of Figures vii List of Tables viii Abbreviations xi Originality Statement xii Acknowledgements xiii Conference Presentations and Publications Emerging from this Thesis .xv Chapter Introduction .1 1.1 Background 1.1.1 EFL and Blended Learning in Vietnamese Universities 1.1.2 English as Foreign Language in Vietnamese Universities 1.1.3 Motives for EFL Education Reforms in Vietnam 1.2 The Research Problems 1.3 Aims of the Study and Research Questions 11 1.4 Significance of the Overall Study 13 1.5 Positionality Statement 14 1.6 Organisation of the Study 17 Chapter Literature Review 20 2.1 Summary of Definitions and Fundamental Features of BL 20 2.1.1 Definitions of Blended Learning in EFL Higher Education 20 2.1.2 Fundamentals of Blended Learning in Higher Education 22 2.2 Blended Learning in EFL Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 31 2.2.1 Pedagogical Principles for an Effective Use of Blended Learning in EFL Contexts 31 2.2.2 Benefits of Using Blended Learning in EFL Higher Education 35 2.2.3 Difficulties of Using Blended Learning in EFL Higher Education 38 2.3 Previous Studies on the Implementation of Blended Learning in EFL Education in Vietnamese Universities 40 ii 2.4 Factors Affecting Teachers’ Implementation of Blended Learning in EFL Higher Education 44 2.4.1 Individual Factors 44 2.4.2 Institutional Factors 49 2.4.3 Socio-Cultural Factors 52 2.5 Hybrid Conceptual Framework Guiding this Research 53 2.6 Chapter Summary 56 Chapter Research Design and Methodology 57 3.1 Epistemology and Theoretical Perspective 57 3.1.1 Constructionism 57 3.1.2 Interpretivism and Symbolic Interactionism 59 3.2 Developing the Research Questions 60 3.3 Research Design and Data Collection Method 62 3.3.1 Research Design 62 3.3.2 Data Collection Method 64 3.4 Conducting the Interviews 65 3.4.1 Interview Questions 65 3.4.2 Piloting the Interviews 67 3.4.3 Conducting the Interviews 68 3.5 Recruiting Participants 69 3.5.1 Research Scope 69 3.5.2 Participants 70 3.6 Data Analysis Procedures 72 3.6.1 Data Condensation 73 3.6.2 Developing Higher Level Codes 75 3.6.3 Data Display and Drawing Conclusions 77 3.6.4 Drawing and Verifying Conclusions 85 3.7 Ethical Considerations 85 iii 3.8 Ensuring the Research Trustworthiness 87 3.9 Chapter Summary 89 Chapter Lecturers’ Perspectives of Blended Learning 90 4.1 Definitions of Blended Learning 90 4.1.1 Defining BL in relation to both English teaching and learning 91 4.1.2 Defining BL in relation to English Learning 92 4.1.3 Defining BL in relation to English Teaching 93 4.1.4 Defining Blended Learning as Flipped Classrooms 94 4.1.5 No Clear Understandings of BL 94 4.2 Stated Principles of an Effective Use of Blended Learning 95 4.2.1 Applying Appropriate Teaching Strategies 96 4.2.2 Having Good Knowledge and Skills of Using BL 99 4.2.3 Having Positive Attitudes and Passion Toward the Use of BL 99 4.3 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning 99 4.3.1 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning for EFL Lecturers 100 4.3.2 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning for EFL Students 110 4.3.3 Stated Benefits of Using Blended Learning for Universities and Faculties/Departments 120 4.4 Chapter Summary 121 Chapter Difficulties: Barriers and Drawbacks 123 5.1 Stated Difficulties Faced by EFL Lecturers Using Blended Learning in EFL Education 123 5.1.1 Stated Barriers that EFL Lecturers Encountered during the Implementation of BL 124 5.1.2 Stated Drawbacks Emerging during EFL Lecturers’ Implementation of BL 128 5.2 Stated Difficulties that EFL Students Encountered in Blended Learning Environments 131 5.2.1 Stated Barriers hindering EFL students’ use of BL 132 5.2.2 Stated Drawbacks Emerging During EFL Students’ Use of BL 138 5.3 Stated Difficulties related to Vietnamese Educational Institutions 138 5.4 Stated Difficulties related to Faculties/Departments of English Language 144 iv 5.5 Chapter Summary 148 Chapter Lecturers’ Practices of Blended Learning 149 6.1 Stated Categories of Blended Learning 149 6.2 Stated Emphasis Given to Blended Learning Components 152 6.2.1 Emphasis Given to the Face-to-Face Learning Components 152 6.2.2 Emphasis Given to Blended Learning Components 154 6.3 Stated Use of Infrastructure, Technologies and Resources 156 6.3.1 The Use of Classrooms and Computer Laboratories 156 6.3.2 The Use of Learning Platforms 157 6.3.3 How EFL Lecturers Took Advantage of the Analytics of Learning Platforms 158 6.3.4 The use of Online Resources in English Language Education 160 6.3.5 The Use of Modes of Social Communication in English Language Education 162 6.4 Stated Content Knowledge Practices 163 6.5 Stated Pedagogical Practices 166 6.5.1 Stated teaching methods used by EFL lecturers 166 6.5.2 Stated learning activities in BL environments 173 6.5.3 Strategies for checking, monitoring and motivating students’ online learning 186 6.6 Stated Activities of Assessments and Evaluation in Blended Learning Environments 195 6.6.1 Stated Summative Assessment Activities 195 6.6.2 Course Evaluation Activities in BL Environments 197 6.7 Chapter Summary 199 Chapter Discussion 201 7.1 How the Vietnamese EFL Lecturers Were Managing their Implementation of Blended Learning in English Language Education at their Universities 202 7.2 Underlying Factors Contributing to the Levels of Effectiveness in the Lecturers’ Implementing Blended Learning 226 7.3 Building a Conceptual Framework for EFL Lecturers Managing their Implementation of Blended Learning in English Language Education in Vietnamese Universities 230 7.4 Overall Conceptual Framework 238 v 7.5 Chapter Summary 240 Chapter Conclusion 242 8.1 Critical Overview of the Study 242 8.2 Significance of the Research Findings and Contributions of the Study to Further Knowledge 245 8.3 Implications 247 8.3.1 EFL Lecturers 248 8.3.2 For Vietnamese Universities and Faculties/Departments of English Language 249 8.3.3 For Technology Providers 252 8.3.4 For Government Policy Makers 252 8.4 Limitations of the Study 253 8.5 Further Research 254 8.6 Concluding Remarks 255 References 257 Appendix A Ethics Approval Letter from ECU HREC 277 Appendix B Letter to the Deans Requesting Access to English language lecturers 278 Appendix C Information Letter to EFL Lecturers 280 Appendix D Consent Form 283 Appendix E Interview Schedule 284 Appendix F Comparisons between the findings in the current study and those in previous studies .287 vi ... 4.1.1 Defining BL in relation to both English teaching and learning 91 4.1.2 Defining BL in relation to English Learning 92 4.1.3 Defining BL in relation to English Teaching ... Blended Learning in EFL Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 31 2.2.1 Pedagogical Principles for an Effective Use of Blended Learning in EFL Contexts 31 2.2.2 Benefits of Using Blended Learning. .. an upsurge in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) ; and (ii) a focus on using blended learning (BL) for teaching and learning This study investigated Vietnamese EFL lecturers’ perspectives