STUDY OF STUDENTS' SATISFACTION IN BLENDED FOREIGN LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT

Introduction: Blended learning is an innovative solution for building self-learning skills and individual approach to new generation's learners. Language teachers maybe did not know about the existence of the term "blended learning", but they have always used a "blending" of approaches in teaching, in order to provide the most appropriate language environment for the learners. Blended learning is not a new concept. The new element is the variety of opportunities for education in an interactive learning environment, which has become possible today with the use of technologies supporting teaching and learning. Aims and Objectives of the Study: The present research aims at studying the attitude of students from the National Sports Academy "V. Levski" to the foreign language blended learning course, organized during the 2017/2018 academic year, as part of the current evaluation of its effectiveness. Methodology: The present study aims at students' learning satisfaction in a blended foreign language environment as part of its efficiency's evaluation. The questionnaire survey method and the alternative analysis have been applied as mathematical and statistical methods. The questionnaire includes 20 questions, eighteen of which are closed-ended and two are open-ended. Results and Discussion: After processing the survey data important results have been outlined. Students have given their preference to blended foreign language environment for many reasons such as convenience, accessibility, flexibility, continuous learning etc. The results also show that learning climate and performance expectations significantly affect learning satisfaction. Blended teaching and learning have provided more opportunities for developing language skills, using authentic materials for listening, reading, writing and direct communication with language learners. Respondents believe that blended course creates better opportunities for time management, distribution and implementation of tasks to develop different language skills. Conclusions: Blended learning offers greater access to information. The study emphasizes that students' satisfaction with blended foreign language environment provides teachers with choices to develop more student-centered instruction and increased performance and engagement.