TITLE:
Effectiveness of Teaching in Blended Mode: A Case Study from Sri Lankan University System
AUTHORS:
Ruwini Prasadini Dharmawardene, Lishanthi Wijewardene
KEYWORDS:
Online Learning, Blended Learning, Presentation Skills, Face-to-Face Learning, Business Communication
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.8 No.9,
September
16,
2021
ABSTRACT: Undergraduates in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka find it challenging to achieve the outcome of improving business presentation skills during their one-year Intensive English Course. In this study, we explored whether different delivery modes (of face-to-face, online and blended) influenced this outcome achievement. Three tutors with the same level of qualifications and service record were employed to evaluate the three groups of students (N = 180) who practised thirty sessions of business presentations in the face-to-face, online and blended modes in four batches from 2017 to 2020. A pre-test and a post-test were conducted to assess presentation skills. The online group received their training fully online with no face-to-face hours while the blended group received 70% of their practice online, with 30% in the physical classroom. The three groups showed the performance improvements as Blended mean difference = 8.933, Online mean difference = 2.000 and the face-to-face mean difference = 5.267 showing a significant improvement in the blended mode group indicating an association between the mode of learning and presentation skills which will be of use for the Business Communication course developers in Sri Lanka in the future. This study, with further confirmatory evidence, can have implications for improving Business English presentation skills in the context of enhancing communication skills in higher education.