Students Perceptions of Interactions in a Blended Synchronous Learning Environment: A Case Study

Attitudes and Perceptions of English as a Foreign Language Students on Blended Learning and Learner Autonomy in a Private University of China

“…Additionally, BL in language teaching can effectively enhance the learning motivation of EFL learners (Chen, 2020;Kim, 2017) and contribute to their academic achievement (Rankin, 2022). Specifically, BL was reported to lead to significant improvements in certain language skills, including reading (Ghazizadeh & Fatemipour, 2017;Shang, 2021) , writing (Lam et al, 2018), as well as speaking and listening (Lu, 2022).Furthermore, the integration of technology in language teaching and learning was reported to enhance EFL learners' courserelated activities (Wang et al, 2021).…”

Engaging learners in synchronous online learning

“…To engage learners, instructors must firstly be engaged (Deschaine & Whale, 2017 ; Hew, 2018 ; Pittaway, 2012 ). In online learning, due to the limited window size of streaming videos on the computer screen, instructors often rely heavily on using verbal language as a strategy to engage learners, like greeting learners warmly (Lakhal et al, 2020 ), using open and inclusive language (Romero-Hall & Vicentimi, 2017 ), joining the meeting room earlier to welcome learners and address their technical problems in advance (Bower et al, 2015 ); raising voice (Conklin et al, 2019 ), and creating a sense of humour (Hew, 2018 ; Pentaraki & Burkholder, 2017 ). In addition, instructors can make learners feel cared by providing emotional support (e.g., encouraging learners) (Kurt et al, 2022 ), incorporating non-verbal behaviours like using smiles or onscreen emoticons to establish immediacy with learners (McArthur, 2021 ), or even pausing frequently during a lecture to invite questions (Lakhal et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Besides the above strategies, instructors often need professional development to hone their remote lecturing skills. For example, they must learn how to talk in front of a camera (Divanoglou et al, 2018 ; Lakhal et al, 2020 ), and how to establish personal contact (Bolliger & Martin, 2018 ) or address questions from learners (Conklin et al, 2019 ). In addition, instructors must be proficient with technological tools so that any technical problem can be promptly resolved (Saad & Sankaran, 2020 ).…”

“…These tools contain features to connect the instructor with learners, and learners to learners. For communicational interactions, research has emphasised that audio must be clear because any unwanted noise would affect a learner’s concentration to learn (Cloonan & Hayden, 2018 ; Conklin et al, 2019 ; Cunningham, 2014 ; Li et al, 2020 ). Text chat, another useful feature, allows learners to interact with their instructor and peers without interrupting the progress of a lesson (Raes et al, 2020 ; Ranga, 2020 ; Vale et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Breakout rooms are virtual rooms where members would not feel much different from their familiar traditional group discussions in classrooms. Other functions in a video conferencing tool such as locking the meeting to prevent non-invitees from joining the meeting, holding attendees in the waiting room to check for identity, and allowing only permitted users to share screens are useful for safeguarding the security and privacy of participants (Conklin et al, 2019 ; Conklina et al, 2017 ; Warren, 2020 ).…”