Teaching English grammar in a hybrid course: student performance and teacher and student perceptions

This M.A. thesis reports on an action-based research project that used a quasiexperimental design and was conducted in two sections of an English grammar and editing skills class taught at the University by the same instructor. One section was a traditional face-to-face (f2f) class while the other one was a hybrid. Students were assigned to sections based on the normal registration process. Action research is designed to assist the teacher in understanding whether hybrid instruction has a positive effect on students' development of English grammar and editing skills; it also investigates teacher and student perceptions of the hybrid and f2f formats. A pretestposttest design was used to measure whether hybrid instruction had a positive effect on the students' performance. Teachers' perceptions of both formats were investigated through teaching journals, and students' perceptions of the hybrid format were obtained from questionnaires and data from a focus group conducted by a professional from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) at the University. The results of pre- and posttests indicate that there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of their knowledge of English grammar and editing skills after the treatment. An analysis of the perceptual data indicates that both the teacher and the students had positive perceptions about the hybrid course. However, data also indicated that the hybrid course should be refined in several ways to help students manage their time better and study more effectively during online days. The f2f format was perceived to be equally effective by the teacher; however, managing the classroom and keeping students' attention in the f2f format was perceived to be challenging.