STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF BLENDED ASYNCHRONOUS AND SYNCHRONOUS LEARNING IN AN ADVANCED SPANISH CONVERSATION CLASS

Abstract

This study examines students’ perception of blended asynchronous and synchronous learning in an advanced L2 Spanish conversation course that took place at a major-sized public university in the Unites States as an intensive 5-week summer course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty students participated in a survey, which was comprised with open-ended questions about their overall perception about the online activities and learning, in addition to 51 five-point Likert scale questions about course design, course components, instructor feedback, and peer interactions and rapport. Findings indicate that most of students perceived that they have gained proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing, and they felt more comfortable and confident in communicating in Spanish. The activities that students perceived more helpful than others in enhancing communication skills in Spanish were both the semi-guided synchronous, unsupervised group conversations via Zoom and the asynchronous video reports and discussions, while the small group Zoom conversation activity was also perceived as the most enjoyable. Students’ overall positive perceptions and satisfaction about this blended course were achieved through a combination of several factors, such as the clarity of the course design and instructions, the right combination of asynchronous and synchronous online activities that provided students with enriched materials to learn as well as ample opportunities to practice Spanish, the interactions and support with peers that created a sense of learning community and connectedness, and the instructor’s timely and constant feedback, rapport, and social presence to motivate students to learn. Article visualizations: