Effects of Blended Learning Approach on Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills and Motivation to Read: First Year Students at Hawassa University in Focus

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of blended learning on university students’ reading comprehension skills and motivation to read. To prove the research hypotheses, the researchers used a quasi-experimental research design. Quantitative data were collected through tests and questionnaires. Reading comprehension questions were adapted from TOEFL iBT test and the motivation questionnaire was modified from the ARCS model. To identify the participants of the study, the researchers used a purposive sampling technique. The sample consisted of 76 university students: the Experimental Group (n=38) and the Comparison Group (n=38). Combining the online computer-assisted and conventional face-to-face instruction (blended learning approach) was used as an intervention. Both groups had equal class times; three contact hours in a week for a semester lasted for sixteen weeks. Data were tabulated and analyzed using t-test statistics for SPSS version 26. The result indicated that statistically significant differences were measured between the treatment and the comparison groups in their reading comprehension skills and motivation to read after the sixteen-week interval of blended learning. Finally, it was recommended that higher institution instructors should evaluate their instructional approaches and that blended learning should be given emphasis with no restrictions of class levels. The authors of this study also recommended that rigorous research should be carried on in the areas of blended learning with regard to English language teaching and learning in general, and reading comprehension skills and students' motivation to read in particular.