Students' perceptions and attitudes towards asynchronous technological tools in blended-learning training to improve grammatical competence in English as a second language

摘要

The aim of our quantitative study is to explore students' perceptions towards some asynchronous tools to acquire the objectives of the subject of English Morphosyntax. The research was based on a sample of 358 students who were recruited from a population of 451. Participants ranged in age from 20 to 58 with an average age of 29.49 and were divided into four age groups. The results showed the students' perceptions about the efficacy of the technological tools in Blended-learning training to improve their grammatical competence in English as a second language (L2). The students highlighted the opportunity provided to have a greater autonomy to be able to set and organize their own pace of study and individual learning. They pointed out the potentiality of the VLE implemented to supply a natural environment to learn and practice English grammar in real experiences and situations, and emphasized the benefits of the e-activities to carry out a continuous assessment and the students' self-assessment. The present study brings some light on the students' perceptions towards the effectiveness of asynchronous tools (podcast, videocast, online tests, online glossary and forums) in teaching English grammar to foreign language learners. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.