Evaluation of the effectiveness of Online Learning Program as part of the English course to second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Indust

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES



BÙI THỊ THU GIANG

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAM AS
PART OF THE ENGLISH COURSE TO SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR
STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY
(Đánh giá hiệu quả của chương trình tiếng Anh trực tuyến như một phần
của chương trình tiếng Anh đối với sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ hai
trường Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội)

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis

THESIS SUMMARY

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Khoa Anh Việt, M.A.





HA NOI – 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
List of abbreviations vi
List of figures, tables and charts vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims and objectives of the study 2
3. Scope of the study 3
4. Methods of the study 3
5. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5
1.1. Online learning 5
1.1.1. Definitions of online learning 5
1.1.2. Reasons for online learning 6
1.2.3. Challenges in online learning 7
1.2. Evaluation of online learning program 8
1.2.1. The importance of evaluation 8
1.2.2. Types of evaluation 10
1.2.3. Evaluation of online learning program and the conceptual framework
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1.3. Online learning at Hanoi University of Industry 14
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 15
2.1. The setting of the research 15
2.2. Overview of the syllabus with the adoption of Online Learning Program 15

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2.3. Subjects 17
2.3.1. Questionnaire respondents 17
2.3.2. Interview informants 17
2.4. Data collection instruments 18
2.4.1. Questionnaire 18
2.4.2. Interview 18
2.4.3. Pre-test, post-test and students‟ online learning reports 18
2.5. Data analysis procedures 19
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 20
3.1. Data analysis 20
3.1.1. Questionnaire 20
3.1.2. Interview 29
3.1.3. Pre-test, post-test and online learning reports 31
3.2. Major findings 36
3.2.1. Students‟ and teachers‟ opinions and attitudes toward the OLP 36
3.2.2. The effectiveness of the OLP on students‟ English learning 37
3.2.3. Some suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of the OLP 37
PART C: CONCLUSION 39
1. Summary of the study 39
2. Limitations and suggestions for further study 40
REFERENCES 41
APPENDIX 1 (Student questionnaire – English version) I
APPENDIX 2 (Student questionnaire – Vietnamese version) IV
APPENDIX 3 (Teacher interview) VII
APPENDIX 4 (Pre-test) VIII
APPENDIX 5 (Post-test) XIII

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry
FTTT: Faculty of Teacher Training and Tourism
FME: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
OLP: Online Learning Program
ID: Instructional Development
WBT: Web Based Training
ICT: Information Communication Technology
QTDLKS1: Vietnamese abbreviation for Hotel and Tourism Administration Class 1
CĐT2: Vietnamese abbreviation for Electromechanical Engineering Class 2
CK1: Vietnamese abbreviation for Mechanical Engineering Class 1

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LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS

Figure 1: Evaluation as central to practice, from Gustafson & Branch (2002)
Figure 2: Conceptual framework applied to the analysis of PBJ tutorial evaluation
Table 1: Students‟ opinions on the three aspects of the OLP
Chart 1: The importance of learning English
Chart 2: The importance of Online Learning Program
Chart 3: The benefits of the OLP to students
Chart 4: The results of pre-test of CĐT2
Chart 5: The results of pre-test of CK1
Chart 6: The results of pre-test of QTDLKS1
Chart 7: The results of post-test of CĐT2
Chart 8: The results of post-test of CK1
Chart 9: The results of post-test of QTDLKS1
Chart 10: The results of pre-test and post-test of CĐT2
Chart 11: The results of pre-test and post-test of CK1
Chart 12: The results of pre-test and post-test of QTDLKS1
Chart 13: The results of pre-test and post-test

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
As the era of information technology has come with significant contribution
to education, especially to teaching and learning foreign languages, computers have
become one of the most dominant devices in the development and delivery of
audio-visual products, multimedia presentations, visual materials and end-user
software. Opportunities such as Internet access, distance learning capabilities, and
applications software are tools of the new millennium and they are often used to
make the educational environment more relevant, rich and rewarding (Ennis-Cole &
Lawhon, 2004). Belz (2003) also affirms that Internet communication tools are used
to promote the development of not only foreign language linguistic competence but
also intercultural competence. Riley (2000, as cited in Yilmaz & Orhan, 2010)
emphasizes that teaching and learning that use technology effectively can lead to a
greater academic achievement and make a real difference in the lives of students.
Richards (2006) stresses on the increasing support for learning in the future with the
use of information and communication technologies – especially the online
educational possibilities of the Internet resources and communications. Online
learning, as an incredible application of information technology, has therefore
received rave reviews from a large number of educators all over the world. As the
result, the number of online educators with many online learning websites is
increasing day by day and online learning plays an increasingly important role in
teaching and learning the most popular language in the world – English. At Hanoi
University of Industry (HaUI), English is taught for a wide range of students of

more than 10 faculties and departments. This fact results in the demand of
innovation in teaching and learning style of which online learning is a choice.
However, because this is a very new way to be applied, the challenges as well as
shortcomings are unavoidable. On carrying out the study, the researcher hopes that
it can be a big help in deciding whether or not or in what way to teach and learn
English more effectively with the adaptation of online learning.

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Another important reason for the study is the decreasing excitement in
students‟ learning. When online learning program was introduced into the course,
most students seemed interested and hard working with the subject. They generally
finished the lessons assigned on time in the very first weeks. However, about some
weeks later, they seemed to neglect their study both online and in class. Many of
students submitted the lessons late and blamed mainly for the technical mistakes.
Their study in class became a bit less exciting than that of the first weeks. Each time
students were asked about online lessons, many of them did not remember anything
about the content and how they finished the lessons. Basing on these problems, the
researcher decided to carry out a study on the effectiveness of Online Learning
Program (OLP) to students who took part in it.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The study is designed to bring a new look to the OLP as integrated to the
main English courses at Hanoi University of Industry. In other words, this program
is part of the blended learning course in training English for non-major students.
The study, therefore, aims at evaluating the effectiveness of the OLP to second-year
non-major students. In particular, it firstly aims at investigating students‟ and
teachers‟ attitudes towards the OLP. Secondly, it is intended to explore how
effective the OLP as part of the course is on students‟ learning through figuring out
the benefits and the learning results they had during and after its implementation.
Providing some suggestions by students and teachers to maximize the educational
outcomes of this program is the final purpose of this study.

In order to achieve these aims, the study seeks to answer the following
research questions:
(1) What are students and teachers’ opinions and attitudes towards Online
Learning Program?
(2) How effective is Online Learning Program to students’ English learning?
(3) What are students’ and teachers’ suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of
Online Learning Program?

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3. Scope of the study
The study is about the evaluation of the effectiveness of the OLP as part of
the English course to second-year non-English major students. In other words, this
program is part of the blended learning English course for students of Intake 5 at
HaUI, except for students of Faculty of Foreign Languages. The evaluation of the
effectiveness of this program focuses on evaluation of the users‟ reaction and
learning as the result of the program. This concerns the suitability of the
instructional design, the friendliness to the users (students) and how supportive
administrators and the teachers are to students‟ learning, basing on students and
teachers‟ evaluation in survey questionnaires and structured interviews. In order to
decide the effects of the program on students‟ learning achievement, data from their
online learning reports, pre-test and post-test are collected for analysis. The
suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the program by the teachers and
students are also addressed in the study.
4. Methods of the study
The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research method. The
data were collected using survey questionnaires for students, structured interviews
for teachers, students‟ online learning reports accompanied with pre-test and post-
test. In this study, survey questionnaires were used to collect the data that show the
students' opinions and attitudes towards the OLP they have just finished. Structured
interviews were employed to teachers to get information on their opinions and

attitudes to the OLP in general as well as its effectiveness to their students. Lastly,
students‟ online learning reports and results from pre-test and post-test were
collected to evaluate their learning progress after the introduction of the OLP.
5. Design of the study
The study consists of 3 parts:
- Part A: Introduction:
This part consists of rationale, aims, scope, method, and design of the study.
- Part B: Development:

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This part is the main content including 3 chapters:
+ Chapter 1: is the literature review which deals with the concepts of online
learning, evaluation of online learning program, and online learning at Hanoi
University of Industry
+ Chapter 2: is about the methodology of the study
+ Chapter 3: is about the data analysis, discussion and major findings
Part C: Conclusion:
This part presents the summary of the study, limitations and the suggestions for
further study

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Online learning
1.1.1. Definitions of online learning
Online learning, also known as e-learning, is a learning experience delivered
via a computer and the Internet. Course work is conducted through electronic
forums, discussion groups, external resources, quizzes, social rooms, and online
submitted assignments. Learning activities also include pair work, small group work
and project work and throughout the course learners have the guidance of online
tutors. According to Shank and Sitze (2004) online learning involves the use of
network technologies (such as the Internet and business networks) for delivering,
supporting, and assessing formal and informal instruction. The Internet and other
new media technologies such as MP3s, PDAs and iPods are common tools to
deliver the learning content. Putzhuber (2003) mentions the terms „online learning‟
which is closely connected to e-learning. He defines it as “the delivery of learning
and training using electronic media, computers, internet and intranet.” Another term
which also shares the identical meaning with online learning is WBT (Web Based
Training). As to him, e-learning can be used as the main method of delivery of
training or as a combined approach with classroom-based training.
This facility has been profoundly important and therefore used by a large

number of institutions and organizations all over the world in a wide range of fields.
According to Wang and Ip (2010), recent pervasive social, technological and
economic changes have significantly influenced educational contexts, and thus
require radical rethinking the delivery of higher education (Rigmor, et al. 2000), and
e-learning has currently been particularly attractive for educational purposes in
recent years because of its worldwide accessibility, capabilities, and interactive
function (Li & Hart, 1996; Lin, 2006). The Sloan Consortium is a leading
researcher of online learning. In a survey of more than 2,500 US universities and
colleges (2007), they find that over 3.9 million students were taking at least one

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online course during the fall 2007 term - a 12 percent increase over the number
reported the previous year. They concluded: “online enrollments have continued to
grow at rates far in excess of the total higher education student population, with the
most recent data demonstrating no signs of slowing.” There has been a significant
rise in the number of universities and colleges making online courses available in
the last few years. 96 percent of the very largest institutions (more than 15,000 total
enrollments) have some online offerings, as outlined in the report „Making the
Grade: Online Education in the United States‟ by the Sloan Consortium in 2006.
1.1.2. Reasons for online learning
Because of the increasing popularity over the world, online learning proves
many undeniable benefits. These are the main reasons to use online learning
provided by Shank and Sitze (2004):
First of all, it can improve access and flexibility. People can log in
everywhere, every time to complete a lesson or refer to learning materials.
Secondly, the delivery speed is faster and it is cost-saving. For organizations
that need to convey targeted information that quickly becomes outdated, online
modules are almost always faster and cheaper than flying trainers across the country
and requiring learners to sit in a classroom for a set number of hours.
Thirdly, control is improved and standardized. Online learning presents a

common, consistent message to large groups of learners regardless of location.
Last but not least, communication and collaboration can be enhanced though
online learning. Certain software tools allow learners to communicate with each
other, collaborate on projects, and share documents without the need for travel.
Educationally, online learning can make class discussion richer with more
ideas from those who are not really confident in class. The interaction with learning
content, therefore, will be deeper. Students can rewind over lectures, or research
points that the lecturer has made before moving on to their next point. Different
learning styles, visually and auditorily, can also be accommodated to satisfy
learners‟ needs. Because of more interaction among individuals, more friendships

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can be built and the diversity of views can be boosted from them. Other advantages
include reinforced learning, privacy and wealth of information (Kung, 2005).
Paudyal (2006) affirms the strength of e-learning: “the physical presence is
becoming less significant and the earth is becoming a global village due to web
technology and development in ICT (information communication technology).”
About the application of online learning, Moloudi (2011), in his report on
Online and Face-to-face Peer Review: Measures of Implementation in ESL Writing
Classes, finds that both online and face-to-face peer reviews have positive effects on
students‟ writing progress; however, when transferred to a computer lab,
participating students turn to be more motivated and productive in online peer
review. Trần Thanh Điện and Esichaikul‟s study (2007) aims at comparing
students‟ learning achievements between traditional and online learning
environment with the sample of thirty undergraduate students at Can Tho University
of Vietnam. The results show a significant difference in learning outcomes between
two learning environments, preferable to online learning. Kung (2005) in his study
also figures out that students found the assignments they did on the website
worthwhile, interesting and beneficial for learning English.
1.2.3. Challenges in online learning

It is clearly seen that online learning plays a crucial part in education; it is,
however, not to say that there are no challenges faced by teachers and students who
engaged in the course. Current research has turned the attention from focusing on
the linguistic and affective characteristics of computer-assisted discussion in single
classrooms to long-distance collaboration which is challenging to arrange, because
it involves diverse learners with different cultural backgrounds, communicative
expectations, and rhetorical frameworks (Kern, Ware, & Warschauer, 2004). As for
Belz (2002), institutional differences in computer access, academic calendars and
accreditation systems are also important factors for learners‟ participation levels and
interaction. O‟Down and Eberbach (2004) point out that the roles teachers play in
organizing telecollaboration to promote greater learner autonomy or intercultural

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competence has been generally neglected (as cited in Wang & Ip, 2010). Actually,
the learning process of teachers, according to Richards (2005), to integrate ICT
tools and programs effectively and confidently can be frustrating and often is not
achieved without adequate support. Wang and Ip (2010) also mentioned factors
affecting online learning, i.e., regarding computer literacy, successful skills and
strategies for face-to-face learning will not be suffice for online learning because
learners need a basic-medium level of ICT competence (Hara & Kling, 1999).
What‟s more, in order to have good outcomes, students should have social
interaction, computer literacy, computer self-efficacy, and positive online learner
qualities. Otherwise, their learning will be poor with predetermined pace of
learning, poorly functioning learner experiences, dissatisfaction, and negative online
learner qualities. They also emphasized that some of the aforementioned factors are
related to student skills and attitudes while others are related to educational design
which teachers should take good care of (Pillay, Irving & Tones, 2007). Faculty
Focus (2009) stressed two of the most common frustrations of online learning
which should be minimized, i.e., confusing course organization (how course
elements are structured within the course) and unclear navigation (what links or

buttons are used to access these elements). Wang and Ip (2010) in their study about
tasks and challenges faced by teachers in handling on online project in which the
participants are freshmen students from Macau and Taiwan (15 each) also find
some challenges such as the different academic calendars of the two colleges,
technical difficulties, motivating students, and the most outstanding is the
constraints on the misalignment of academic calendars and the differences in
student contact hours.
1.2. Evaluation of online learning program
1.2.1. The importance of evaluation
According to Brill and Park (2011), evaluation “plays an essential role in
almost all instructional development (ID) models and training cycles.” In the
following figure (Gustafson & Branch, 2002), „evaluate‟ is positioned at the core of

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the model, emphasizing its centrality to the ID process. Evaluation must therefore
be embedded as a fundamental component serving all other components and
approach it as an interactive part for any ID practice that is engaged in continuous
improvement.

Figure 1: Evaluation as central to practice, from Gustafson & Branch (2002)
As an interactive process, evaluation helps educators conceive of instruction
not as an end point to ID but as part of a circle for ongoing improvement. It thus can
be said that evaluation plays “the key role of quality control over the cycle.”
(Bramley, 1996, as cited in Brill & Park, 2011)
Kirkpatrick (1998) identifies the reasons for evaluation:
 To justify the existence of the training department by showing how it
contributes to the organizations objectives and goals.
 To decide whether to continue or discontinue training programs.
 To gain information on how to improve future training programs.
Fisher and Ruffino (1996) mention some consequences in case the evaluation is

not carried out:
 A participant may continue to take courses in which they fail to learn.

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 Course modifications may not be based on participant outcome data and
changes may cause effective training activities to be replaced by ineffective
activities.
 Training may be viewed as a wasteful use of resources.
To sum up, evaluation is a necessary process and an important feedback tool to
ensure the development and improvement of a program.
1.2.2. Types of evaluation
There are two types of evaluation: summative and formative. According to
Russ-Eft and Preskill (2001, as cited in Brill & Park, 2011), “summative evaluation
is implemented for the purpose of determining the merit, worth or value of the
evaluand in a way that leads to a final evaluative judgement, usually regarding
ongoing use, while formative evaluation is for the purpose of developing or
improving the evaluand”. The evaluation of the OLP at HaUI applied both types.
The evaluation results are hoped to enable the Faculty of Foreign Languages and the
provider to make summative judgments regarding the effectiveness of the OLP, and
therefore make improvements and ongoing investment in it.
1.2.3. Evaluation of online learning program and the conceptual framework
Although the benefits as well as challenges in online learning are obvious, it
is not easy to evaluate an online course. According to Son (2005) the online course
which is carried out on a website is evaluated in terms of its purpose, accuracy,
currency, authority, loading speed, usefulness, organization, navigation, reliability,
authenticity, interactivity, feedback, multimedia, communication and integration.
Trần Thanh Điện and Esichaikul (2007) in their case study about evaluating online
learning environment provide three models of evaluation: objectives-oriented
evaluation, CIPP model, and Kirkpatrick‟s evaluation model. Objectives-oriented
evaluation is to compare learning results to online learning objectives. From this

approach, the objectives can be determined whether they are met and appropriate or
not. CIPP model stands for evaluations of context, inputs, processes, and products.
It is considered a comprehensive framework using both formative and summative

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evaluations. Kirkpatrick‟s evaluation model was chosen for their study. This is a
four-level model developed by Kirkpatrick (1998) which is the most well-known
and widely used for classifying areas of evaluation. These four levels are the
measurement to assess reaction, learning, behavior, and results. In his study, Thair
(2008) also mentions Kirkpatrick‟s model as the basis for his adaptive evaluation
model. On the reaction level, it is essential to find out whether the participants were
pleased with the program and to assess the correlates of this pleasure. In other
words, it is to investigate what the participants thought about the program, including
materials, instructors, facilities, methodology and content. This can be done through
reaction questionnaire. The purpose of learning level is to examine the content of
the material learned. It is concerned with measuring the knowledge principles, facts,
techniques and skills presented in a program, i.e., to see how they understood and
absorbed the material. On behavior level, it is the job performance that is to be
measured to examine how affective the program is on participants‟ performance in
their jobs. The evaluation at result level, lastly, aims at organizational improvement.
At this level, some of the results can be examined are cost savings, work output,
improvement and quality changes.
Although the Kirkpatrick‟s framework provides a useful basis for evaluation
plan design, Aldito et al. (2006) state that an evaluation methodology specifically
for e-learning applications is necessary but not available. They emphasize usability,
accessibility and didactic effectiveness as important components of e-learning
evaluation. Horton (2001) recommends that the criteria for evaluating e-learning
include: business issues, technical issues, content, instructional design, practice and
feedback, usability, media, navigation and control, and motivation. Lam and
McNaught (2007) suggest that both technical and pedagogical elements be

considered in evaluation. Other scholars also suggest their own evaluation model
sharing similar characteristics with Kirkpatrick‟s to some extent. Thair (2008)
mentions Treadway Parker‟s model with four types of evaluation: job performance,
group performance, participant satisfaction and participant knowledge gained.

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According to Parker, most evaluation studies focus on the last two categories.
Jackson and Kulp (1979, as cited in Thair, 2008) develop a slightly different model
with four levels of program results: reaction outcomes, capability outcomes,
application outcomes and worth outcomes among which „reaction outcomes‟
presents the participants‟ opinions of the program as a whole or as specific
components such as program content, materials, methods or activities, „capability
outcomes‟ covers what participants are expected to know, think, do or produce by
the end of the program, „application outcomes‟ refers to what the participants know,
think, do or produce in the real-world settings, and „worth outcomes‟ represents the
extent to which an organization benefits from training in terms of money, time,
effort, or resources invested.
In his study, Thair (2008) proposes an adaptation of Kirkpatrick‟s model
which can be applied to e-learning environments. The proposed model contains
three areas:
+ Interaction
+ Learning
+ Results
The interaction phase investigates the utility of the e-learning interface, its
aesthetic qualities, user satisfaction and interaction as well as the ease at which the
interface facilitated learning.
The learning phase measures the actual learning as the direct result of the e-
course. It is to assess whether the learner has learned the information or acquired the
skills necessary to apply to the pertinent area.
The results phase examines the benefit of the knowledge acquired, the ability

for an employee to function effectively and efficiently after the training as well as
the overall intrinsic and extrinsic benefits for both the employee and employer.
In the study on evaluating online tutorials for university faculty, staff, and
students, Brill and Park (2011) propose a conceptual framework applied to the
evaluation of those online tutorials as follows:

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Figure 2: Conceptual framework applied to the analysis of PBJ tutorial evaluation
This conceptual framework shares the same categories as those proposed by
Thair (2008) including three levels of reaction (interaction), learning and transfer
(results). Learning conditions, learning and learning application are the three
dimensions of the evaluation. In order to evaluate the evaluand‟s reaction, two
components of learning conditions are examined including instructional design and
user friendliness. Seven categories in learning conditions play an essential role in
determining the extent the users are satisfied with the tutorials, how these affect
their learning and to what extent they can apply what they learned to their work.
For online-learning program in blended learning course at HaUI, Thair‟s
adaptation of Kirkpatrick‟s model and the above conceptual framework applied by
Brill and Park provide a strong basis for the evaluation of its effectiveness. Because
of the nature and the scope of the study, only two levels of reaction (interaction) and
learning are chosen to evaluate.



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1.3. Online learning at Hanoi University of Industry
Faculty of Foreign Languages is a new faculty at Hanoi University of
Industry. Seeing the fact that the growth of English is accelerating at very high rate
and becoming more and more important to students‟ future careers, the University

has paid great attention to teaching and learning English. New technological and
educational achievements are always priorities to be applied to have better teaching
and learning outcomes. Therefore, online learning received considerate
consideration from leaders of the Faculty to be adopted as part of two English
courses for non-English major students with the hope that their English knowledge
as well as skills will be highly improved. This is the first time online learning has
been applied into teaching and learning English at Hanoi University of Industry in
cooperation with GK Group-an online learning provider.


















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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
2.1. The setting of the research
The research is conducted at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Tourism

(FTTT) and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME) at HaUI. Students in the
FTTT are said to be generally better at English in comparison with those from other
departments in the university. Many of them have a wider range of vocabulary and
acquire better knowledge of grammar while most students in the FME are of lower
levels. Before they take online learning as part of their English course, they are
assumed to be at elementary level as they have finished the two first terms learning
English with the course book New Headway Elementary- third edition. In the third
term, they once again work with New Headway – third edition but at pre-
intermediate level. This is an integrated course book; therefore, the purposes of this
course are enhancing students‟ knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation
and improving four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
2.2. Overview of the syllabus with the adoption of Online Learning Program
After students finished their first English course in the first term, two next
courses were chosen to be learned in accordance with online program: they were
General English 2 and General English 3 of which New Headway pre-intermediate
was the course book. The book was divided into two parts. The first part consisted
of 7 first units and the second included 7 last units. Each part of the book was learnt
during one term. This means that the content of the book was learnt during two
terms when students finished their first year (General English 2) and began their
second year (General English 3). There were, therefore, two parts of online learning
program integrated to two courses. For the General English 2, the online program
had 7 units in consistence with 7 first units to be learnt during the term. 7 last units
for General English 3 were learnt in accordance with 7 units of online program
which is under investigation. The names of units in the course book and those in
online program are exactly the same and the content of each unit in the program is
related to the names of units. Each online unit has three to five lessons of which two

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are compulsory and the others are optional. Each lesson is designed with activities
of different types (multiple choices, True/False, error correction…) to improve

students‟ grammar, vocabulary and three skills: reading, listening and writing. The
program does not support speaking skill in forms of direct conversations or
discussions. Some activities of indirect forms and pronunciation activities are
replaced instead.
Each teacher in charge of teaching these courses and each student were given
accounts to get access to the website: . When
entering the website, after confirming registration information and some
installations, students could start learning each unit. Each time students learned on
this website was recorded on another website to be only used by the teachers who
taught them. Because this program focused on individual‟s learning achievements,
there was little interaction among learners. Students finished the activities in each
lesson and their answers were recorded to be automatically marked by the program.
Students then could know whether they had right or wrong answers and correct
them until they are right. Each time students finished the activities, they knew the
results.
Each teacher participated in these courses had 5 periods (equivalent to 225
minutes) to help students in their learning. They could answer questions related to
the lessons or knowledge related to the course. Teachers and students could arrange
time themselves provided that it is at their convenience. Other technical troubles
would be solved by GK Group via emails or on telephone. Besides having an online
account, teachers also had a common account to another website:
to check their students‟ learning progress. Every
week, students were assigned a lesson of each unit which was parallel with the unit
learned in class. One week later, teacher exported the report telling their students‟
learning process. From this report, teacher could know which students had not
finished their lessons. Because this is an integrated part to the main course, the mark

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students got from it was just one of two progress marks among four marks needed
for the course.

As for the syllabus, the blended learning course was carried out in 90 periods
(65 of which were carried out face-to-face in class and 25 others were done online
by students) within 15 weeks of the term. Every week, there was one face-to-face
meeting of four periods (each one lasted for 45 minutes) in class which involved
mainly with traditional teaching method. Every two weeks, one unit was taught.
Therefore, 7 last units in New Headway - pre-intermediate and 7 units of Online
Learning Program were evenly distributed to 15 weeks plus three tests.
2.3. Subjects
2.3.1. Questionnaire respondents
The respondent group for survey questionnaire includes 165 second-year
students among which are 55 students from class QTDLKS1, FTTT, 55 students
from class CĐT2, and 55 others from class CK1, all of them come from FME, HaUI
with the age ranging from 18 to 22. They come from different backgrounds and
environments, varied from cities to mountainous areas of Vietnam. The majority of
students have learnt English for about 7 years, but a few of them started learning it
when they attended the university. Before learning General English 3 with online
learning program, they had finished the first term with General English 1 at
elementary level and second term with blended learning course at pre-intermediate
level.
2.3.2. Interview informants
10 teachers of English at Faculty of Foreign Languages are chosen to
interview. Their age ranges from 25 to 35 with at least 2 years of teaching
experience at HaUI. 5 of them have MA degrees, 3 are taking part in post-graduate
program and 2 have BA degrees. Most of them have very good command of English
and are experienced in teaching English to students.



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2.4. Data collection instruments

2.4.1. Questionnaire
The purpose of the questionnaire is to explore students‟ attitudes and
opinions towards online learning as part of the course, the benefits students get from
online learning, the challenges they come up with during the course, and their
suggestions for better use of online learning in their learning of English. The survey
questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese to help them understand the questions
clearly and give correct answers.
2.4.2. Interview
Structured interviews were carried out to 10 teachers so as to investigate
their opinions, attitudes and the suggestions for maximum use of online learning.
The interviews were carried out when it was convenient, either at Faculty of
Foreign Languages or during the break time between two-period classes in the staff
room. The interview lasted from 10-15 minutes for each teacher.
2.4.3. Pre-test, post-test and students’ online learning reports
 Pre-test and post-test: To evaluate students‟ progress during the
implementation of the OLP in the term, two tests were designed. The pre-test
was taken at the beginning of the course (in the second week of the term),
and the post-test was carried out by the end of the course (in the 14
th
week of
the term). The content of the two tests were mainly taken from the online
materials with familiar types of exercises to students. These tests include
grammar and vocabulary, reading, listening, writing and speaking and were
carried out offline (in class).
 Students’ online learning reports: Every week during the term, students‟
online learning reports were exported by their teachers from the website for
learning management. The data in each weekly report show students‟
completion of the lesson (%), the score they got (on the scale of 100) and the
time they spent learning that lesson. At the end of the term, the final report
was exported to show students‟ completion of all lessons (%), the score they

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got for the whole term ( also on the scale of 100), the whole amount of time
they spent on learning all the lessons and the total entries (times they got
access to the website to learn). These results accompanied with those of pre-
test and post-test are the basis to evaluate students‟ online learning.
2.5. Data analysis procedures
To analyze data, both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed.
Information collected from questionnaires will be quantified and displayed in charts
and tables. In order to figure out the common themes, data from interviews will be
coded. Data from online reports, pre-test and post-test will be assessed to evaluate
students‟ learning.