Literature review: Blended learning in the foreign language classroom
Introduction
This literature review will support the innovation proposal to add a digital component to the foreign language classroom, moving from a traditional foreign language classroom setting to a more modern, progressive, blended classroom style. In the new blended learning environment, students take a more active role in their own education through a learn by doing online program rather than the more traditional teacher led instruction. The goal is to create a COVA learning environment where the instruction is more student centered with an active learning approach. The topics covered in this literature review include research related to Growth Mindset, Blended Learning, and Game-based learning.
Growth Mindset
The literature defines a growth mindset as an individuals’ perception that intelligence can be developed. In other words, intelligence is gained through effort and not via natural ability (Lou & Zarrinabadi 2022; Claro 2019; Zhao 2023; Zeeb 2020). The overall belief is that students with a growth mindset, show higher motivation, show higher engagement (Zeeb 2020), are more resilient (Zarrinabadi 2022), and have a tendency to score higher than students with a fixed mindset. In addition, language learners who employ a growth mindset find that effort rather than natural ability is the key to becoming more competent (Zarrinaldi 2022).
Lou & Zarrinabadi (2022) highlighted a growing interest in the growth mindset among language educators due to the belief that students who embrace a growth mindset are more motivated to achieve goals, apply more effort and have lower feelings of anxiety when it comes to language learning ( Lou & Zarrinabadi pg. 2-3). They indicated students with low competence benefit from a shift to a growth mindset . They also pointed out that a student’s mindset contributes to language learning outcomes such as reduced anxiety, increased self-confidence, and an overall belief that they can learn a foreign language. A fixed mindset does just the opposite and increases anxiety, destroys self-confidence and generally creates a defeatist attitude in the student (Lou & Zarrinabadi 2022 pg. 4).
Motivation and engagement are also big factors in a growth mindset. Zeeb Ostertag & Renkl (2020) claimed that a student’s willingness to learn is related to their belief that they can learn. Students with a growth mindset believe that they can learn by doing and show greater motivation and increased scores than students with a fixed mindset who believe that their abilities are lacking and therefore can’t learn (Lou & Zarrinabadi 2022 pg.1). Lou and Zarrinabadi (2022) concluded that teachers who create an environment that strengthens a growth mindset support students' overall motivation to learn (Lou & Zarrinabadi 2022 pg11). While students with a growth mindset tend to learn and advance in their learning objectives .
Students with a growth mindset tend to be more resilient when faced with difficult situations and seek out more challenging opportunities. The mindset of a person is crucial especially when faced with a challenging situation. Students with a growth mindset tend to push through challenges, whereas students with fixed mindsets avoid challenges altogether (Claro & Loeb 2019, pgs. 2-3). Zhao (2023) found that people with a growth mindset can adapt to changes or setbacks more readily than a person with a fixed mindset (pg. 3). Overall, the general consensus is that a growth mindset in students promotes a higher adaptability when faced with challenging situations, whereas students with a fixed mindset are more likely to give up and avoid more challenging situations.
Blended Learning
Online learning is the perfect complement to face-to-face (F2F) instruction because it provides students with the opportunity to take ownership of their learning by choosing the pace, time, and level in which they participate in their own learning experience. This does not preclude F2F learning guided by teachers who use blended learning as an additional outlet to provide further instruction. Online language instruction has been used to enhance the student experience and to allow students the flexibility to learn at their own pace, level, and place. The blended approach, F2F instruction, along with online learning allows the language teacher to choose the best components of both methods to provide language instruction to students (Polona 2020, pg 220).
Online learning components promote student-centered approaches to language instruction and offer more opportunities for students to learn in an individualized manner resulting in a more student-centered / student-autonomous approach ( Polona 2020 pg. 223-224). The student-centered approach to online learning allows students to learn at their own pace and at a time of their choosing (Solikhah 2022 pg. 3). It also allows for differentiation in the way lessons are presented to students, providing greater flexibility in the classroom and creating an individualized learning environment based on the needs of the students (Fazal & Luk 2020 pg 76). In addition, teachers have greater flexibility and more time to address students who are not on target while allowing students who are higher performers to pursue higher levels of digital content (Fazal & Luk, 2020, pg 76).
A byproduct of blended learning is that not only is student engagement higher, but so is student achievement (Solikah, 2022, pg 3; Fazal & Luk, 2020, pg 76). Teachers noted that students were excited to participate in online learning not so much for the grade but for the progress they made. Online learning also improved engagement in the material being taught because online learning provided students with small goals and visible achievements through online rewards (Fazal & Luk, 2020, pg 76).
Game-Based Learning
Student learning styles and needs have evolved over time, instigating the onset of a blended classroom. As a result, teaching methods have changed to cater to the “Games Generation” whose learning schemes and necessities are different from those that students used to have in the past (Gil-Acirón, 2022, pg 110). Today's students are “Digital Natives” because they have spent their entire lives exposed to technology in one form or another (Szabo & Kopinska, 2023, pg. 1). As a result, the integration of technology in the language learning process has become commonplace, and lesson gamification has become a routine (Gil-Acirón, 2022, pg. 103).
The gamification pedagogy diverges from the traditional classroom model where teachers disseminate lessons via lectures and evaluate student progress through exams and research papers (Gironella, 2023 pg4). The gamification of educational content is the use of game elements to teach content to students in a more engaging and enjoyable way. The benefits of gamification in second language learning include instant feedback, increased motivation, and social learning (Gil-Acirón, 2022, pg. 103). Additional benefits from content gamification are increased test scores, reduced language anxiety, and increased grammar performance (Gil-Acirón, 2022, pg. 111). In addition, gamification increases motivation, learner engagement, interactivity, and knowledge acquisition (Gironella, 202,3 pg. 1).
Content gamification in foreign language teaching has grown because it is recognized and acknowledged as a strong learning tool in the education of second language (L2)learners (Szabo & Kopinska, 2023, pg. 423). In content gamification, students are exposed to content in a game-like environment where students receive instant feedback by earning some type of prize acknowledging their achievements. For example, language learners engaged in learning content via gamification can earn points or badges by completing lessons or completing a task (Gil-Acirón 2023 pg. 107). The difference between traditional classroom instruction and content gamification is that in content gamification a student embarks in the study with a challenge instead of an objective (Gil-Acirón, 2023, pg. 107).
Part of the incentive and advantage to using online games in a blended classroom is that the games cater to human desires such as “reward, status, achievement, self-expression, competition, and altruism” (Gil-Acirón 2023 pg 108). In addition, games appeal to students because they are so closely associated with leisure time (Gil-Aciró,n 2023, pg. 109). Games also inspire and develop skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork (Gil-Acirón, 2023, pg. 109). Most importantly, gamification increases student autonomy in that they control their own progress through a course (Gil-Acirón, 2023, pg. 109). But these aren’t the only advantages of content gamification; content gamification allows teachers to differentiate the lessons, allowing students to move at their own pace and level. Because the content is gamified, each student receives individualized instruction and feedback at their own level and instructional pace (Szabo & Kopinska, 2023, pg. 418).
Gil-Acirón (2023) suggested gamification inspires motivation in students . L2 learners learn the language by working through a gamified lesson as a player completing a level or a task and earning a prize in recognition of the accomplishment (Gil-Acirón 2023 pg 115). As explained by Szabo and Kopinska (2023), this type of learning is gaining support among educators who see the value of content gamification through the gains made by students' accomplishments and productivity ( pg1).
Conclusion
Overall, adding a digital component or an online component to the foreign language classroom creates an enhanced learning experience for L2 learners. The literature supports the advantages of a blended learning environment for the purpose of teaching a foreign language. The research authors all agree that there are many benefits from adding an online component including the development of a growth mindset in students who see instant progress and learn to believe that they are capable of learning a second language through effort expended. The instant gratification seen in content gamification helps in the training of students into the growth mindset and delivers increased participation, motivation, and self confidence.
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