The Impact of Blended Learning on Iraqi Students' Achievement in English Literature Courses and Their Attitudes towards It

With the advent of technology, blended learning (also known as hybrid learning), as an approach to learning has become a common feature of education across the world. Considering the importance of learners' attitudes toward learning environments, in this study, an attempt was made to investigate the impact of the blended learning model on Iraqi students' achievement in an English literature course as well as their attitudes toward blended learning. In doing so, a total number of ۵۰ English Literature BA participants took part in the study. The participants were subjected to a pre-test and a post-test after their homogeneity was confirmed using the Oxford Placement Test. In the next step, the students were interviewed to help the researchers gain a deeper understanding of the learners' perspectives on blended learning. The results of the repeated measures analysis suggested that blended learning could improve EFL learners' literary knowledge, especially in the genres of short fiction and drama. Moreover, it was found that the learners had a positive attitude toward this learning method since they considered it a new form of learning that could heighten their motivation, improve their participation, and provide the chance to be autonomous learners. These findings are discussed and conclusions obtained from the results are put forward.

Keywords:

Attitude , blended learning , Iraqi EFL learners , literary genres , Motivation