A Study of EFL Instructors' Perceptions of Blended Learning

Tremendous advancements in technology, which have also penetrated into our everyday lives, have been taking place at an unprecedented pace in recent years. While there stands the obvious reality that it is highly unimaginable for a person to continue her life without technology, attempting to keep education away from it does sound unreasonable. English language teaching necessitates the incorporation of technology into curriculum as well. Given the significance of ongoing interaction in English language learning, the crucial place occupied by technology could be better figured out. This can also illuminate why blended learning needs to be taken into consideration as an approach worth integrating into English language teaching in that blended learning is defined as intertwining long-standing face-to-face instruction with online learning. The purpose of this descriptive study is to uncover EFL instructors' perceptions of blended learning. 32 EFL instructors (22 female and 10 male) working at two state universities in Turkey participated in this study. A questionnaire comprised of one multiple choice question and three open-ended questions, and a semi-structured interview is used for collecting data. The analysis of the gathered data was conducted by SPSS 22 and content analysis. The findings indicate that the participants have positive perceptions of blended learning approach although they put forth a number of challenges regarding its implementation. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.