Indonesian EFL Journal (IEFLJ) p-ISSN 2252-7427, e-ISSN 2541-3635 Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2022 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/IEFLJ/index 91 INVESTIGATING EFL TEACHERS’ APPROACHES TO MEANINGFUL LEARNING IN BLENDED-LEARNING LISTENING AND SPEAKING COURSES Fitria Rahmawati English Language Education Department, Faculty of Language Education, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia Email: fitriarahmawati@umy.ac.id APA Citation: Rahmawati, F. (2022). Investigating EFL teachers’ approaches to meaningful learning in blended- learning listening and speaking courses. Indonesian EFL Journal, 8(1), 91-104. https://doi.org/10.25134/ieflj.v8i1.5602 Received: 27-09-2021 Accepted: 28-11-2021 Published: 30-01-2022 INTRODUCTION Creating a meaningful learning experience has become the goal of every teacher, especially in a foreign language instruction context. By developing technology, blended learning methods have commonly been used to facilitate meaningful learning experiences. Several aspects should be considered to achieve the said goal during blended learning. Blended learning activities should facilitate: 1) students-centeredness (Lim, 2015; Arteaga & Rodas, 2018), 2018; Huang, 2019), 2) collaborative learning (Anjaniputra, 2013; Ahmad, 2016; Arteaga & Rodas, 2018; Cordova & Dechsubha, 2018; Ginaya, Rejeki & Astuti, 2018; Huang, 2019), 3) self-paced and independent learning (Hung, 2015; Banditvilai, 2016; Arteaga & Rodas). One of the efforts to provide meaningful learning experiences is implementing blended learning into foreign language classrooms with several careful considerations. Blended learning in EFL speaking and listening classes does not always meet the expectations. Several studies revealed some findings, including teachers’ lack of preparation and ability to use the Learning Management System (LMS) while using blended learning. A study conducted by Jeffrey, Milne, Suddaby and Higgins (2014) proved that only nine of ten teachers invited in their study could take all potentials of the blended learning method, especially its online aspect. Another study conducted by Bueno-Alastuey and López Pérez (2014) strengthened the fact by showcasing that teachers only used the learning platform as a storage space for providing the learning materials or presenting other materials relevant website links for additional learning resources. These situations potentially lead students to become confused and not fully engaged in the lesson, which further hinders the teachers’ aim in creating a meaningful learning experience during the blended learning implementation. In addition, the potentials of blended learning will be shown if the teachers have a positive attitude and careful preparation towards the implementation. Abstract: This study explored the approaches applied by EFL teachers to create meaningful learning activities to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context and investigated some contributing factors in implementing the activities. Six EFL teachers with a diverse length of teaching experiences were purposively selected as the participants of this study. A case study was adopted as the research design involving several data- gathering techniques, including in-depth interview, document analysis, and observation. The study revealed some approaches implemented by the EFL teacher-participants to facilitate meaningful learning activities to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context, both in the offline and online delivery modes. In addition, drawing inferences from the data, some factors became considerations by the teachers in selecting instructional approaches to be implemented to teach both English skills in a blended learning context. The study’s findings suggest the need for EFL teachers to carefully select and implement meaningful learning activities in a blended learning context specifically for teaching listening and speaking skills to assist student learning and provide better learning outcomes. Keywords: blended learning; in-class learning; out-class learning; listening and speaking skills; instructional activities; contributing factors https://doi.org/10.25134/ieflj.v7i2.4564 Fitria Rahmawati Investigating EFL teachers’ approaches to meaningful learning in blended-learning listening and speaking courses 92 There are some aspects of blended learning which can be further investigated. The development of technology gives an additional option for the EFL teachers by implementing blended learning methods; however, it also creates a demand for learning activities to become more meaningful and effective. The teachers should wisely consider the learning activities provided both in-class and out- class learning to achieve the learning objectives (Ahmad, 2016; McMurry, Rich, Hartshorn, Anderson & Williams, 2016). Eventually, teachers considerably play an important role in classroom instructions. Thus, exploring their experiences and acknowledging their beliefs towards meaningful blended learning instructions is valuable. The present study was conducted to shed light on how teachers, especially the EFL teachers, manage the activities in their blended learning courses and their consideration towards the selected activities. The study focused on implementing blended learning for English listening and speaking skill courses for adult EFL learners in a university context. The study is designed to answer the following research questions: (1) What approaches are implemented by the EFL teachers to facilitate meaningful learning activities to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context, both offline and online delivery modes? (2) What factors became the EFL teachers’ considerations towards the selected approaches to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context? Blended learning method Several experts and researchers have defined the blended learning method based on its implementation date. In the early 2000s, Cooney, Gupton and O’Laughlin (2000, as cited in Güzer & Caner, 2014) defined blended learning as the combination of ‘work’ and ‘play’ in the learning activities. Students are believed to study when they are playing and vice versa unwittingly. Thus, blended learning was used to add to classroom interactions in its early presence. Procter (2003) and Ata (2016) defined blended learning as a combination of more than one learning method in a certain course. Moreover, Graham (2006) defined the involvement of teaching media in learning activities, also called blended learning. However, blended learning method recently and commonly defined as a combination of in-class and out-class learning using technology-based systems to control (Jenkins & Hanson, 2003; Osguthorpe & Graham, 2003; Graham, 2006; Brew, 2008; Arteaga & Rodas, 2018; He, 2018; Huang, 2019). Those varied definitions of blended learning showed that the blended learning method has developed from time to time, thus continuing until now. LMS has various terms. Some experts and researchers also refer to LMS as a Course Management System (CMS) (Tang, 2013); Virtual Platform (Bueno-Alastuey & López Pérez, 2014); Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) (Tang, 2013; Arteaga & Rodas, 2018); Online Platform (Cordova & Dechsubha, 2018; Xu, Glick, Rodriguez, Cung, Li, & Warschauer, 2020), and the LMS itself (Tang, 2013; Caruso, Colombi & Tebbit, 2017). Despite having different terms, its function assists the learning process using technology as an integral part of a blended learning or an online learning method. Several experts and researchers mentioned the function of LMS in a blended learning context. Teachers can use LMS for different purposes, such as 1) to control the students in the distance learning (Staker & Horn, 2012), 2) as a platform to communicate between the students and their teacher, 3) to deliver the instructional materials, 4) to conduct quizzes or tests and even online registration (Cavus, 2010; Ouadoud, Chkouri & Nejjari, 2018). In conclusion, LMS can make many tasks easier and time-saving for teachers if used properly. Approaches to blended-learning listening and speaking courses Technology in a blended learning method gives other options of teaching approaches, especially for teaching listening and speaking skills. The approaches are not only in the classrooms but also in course books. The method aims to gain more meaningful learning activities. Several experts and researchers mentioned several in-class and out-class teaching and learning approaches for listening and speaking courses that can support students to achieve the learning objectives effectively in a blended-learning model. Many teaching approaches can be adapted or adopted in blended learning listening and speaking courses. Teachers and students are familiar with the in-class approaches such as dictation (Richards, 2008; Nation & Newton, 2009), cloze listening Indonesian EFL Journal (IEFLJ) p-ISSN 2252-7427, e-ISSN 2541-3635 Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2022 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/IEFLJ/index 93 (Richards, 2008), note-taking (Nation & Newton, 2009; Ahmad, 2016) and listening tests or quizzes (Nation & Newton, 2009) in listening courses. Moreover, there are speaking approaches such as cooperative activities (Richards, 2008; Anjaniputra, 2013), creative activities (Anjaniputra, 2013), debates (Ahmad, 2016), learning by teaching (Ahmad, 2016), drilling (Richards, 2008; Anjaniputra, 2013), and speaking performances such as role-play or simulation (Nation & Newton, 2009). Those teaching approaches are generally used in in-class listening and speaking courses. Technology plays a significant role in instructional approaches in a blended learning context. There are various approaches available to be included in the listening courses, such as accessing listening materials on the LMS (Takaesu, 2017; Yeh, 2017), watching instructional media, such as recorded video materials (Ahmad, 2016; Jalaludin, 2016; Caruso et al., 2017), conducting online quizzes or tests (Cavus, 2010; Caruso et al., 2017; Xu et al., 2020). In addition, in the speaking courses, there are several approaches such as accessing authentic materials (Harris, 2015; Takaesu, 2017; Yeh, 2017), learning by doing (Jalaludin, 2016; Bakar, Noordin & Razali, 2019; Precintha Rubini, James, Yong & Yunus, 2019), video conferencing, and recorder role-playing or simulation (Correa, 2015; Lenkaitis, 2019). Those approaches have eventually proven to enrich the choices to be adopted and the in-class learning mode. Factors of a blended-learning listening and speaking course Some factors need to be considered carefully to facilitate meaningful blended learning experiences for students to learn listening and speaking skills. In selecting and deciding the teaching and learning approaches executed, the EFL teachers should consider which approaches can facilitate their students to achieve the learning objectives (Ahmad, 2016; McMurry et al., 2016). Therefore, instructional approaches become the key component of the blended learning method. Many experts and researchers revealed some factors in selecting instructional approaches for listening and speaking courses in a blended-learning context. They mentioned in the researches and books about the factors such as the approaches should be able to: 1) assist students to obtain the learning objectives (Ahmad, 2016), 2) support students’ autonomous learning (Hung, 2015; Ahmad, 2016; Banditvilai, 2016; Arteaga & Rodas, 2018; Huang, 2019), 3) improve interaction and communication between the students and their teacher (Qomar, 2016), 4) allow for differences in students’ interests (Nation & Newton, 2009; Anjaniputra, 2013; Ahmad, 2016; Qomar, 2016), 5) encourage supportive learning environment (Vaughan, 2014; Ouadoud, et al., 2018); 6) expose students to how to listen and how to speak (Caruso, et.al., 2017), 7) facilitate student-centered principle (Lim, 2015; Ahmad, 2016), 8) attract students’ attention (Anjaniputra, 2013; Cordova & Dechsubha, 2018), 9) show real-life situation or authenticity (Anjaniputra, 2013; Caruso, et.al., 2017; Harris, 2015; Jalaludin, 2016), 10) provide proper facilities and quality learning materiasl (Anjaniputra, 2013; Nation & Newton, 2009), and 11) support flexibility principle (Caruso, et.al., 2017). METHOD The research was conducted using the qualitative method. This selection of research methods is on the availability of comprehensive summarization and personal experiences on specific occasions (Lambert & Lambert, 2012). Moreover, in-depth and wide-ranging answers of the participants are available in this kind of inquiry method. The participants are free to share their ideas according to the topic for gaining deep understanding and comprehension (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). In addition, the case study was chosen as the research design of the current study. The reason for selecting is the delimitation of the discussed topic on the object of the study or the case (Merriam, 1998). Moreover, a specific policy was investigated in this study regarding the implementation of blended learning in a higher education context (Merriam, 1998). Eventually, a policy would be a new thing for some people in a certain context and not for others. Hence, this study is expected to portray a blended learning method for listening and speaking courses in an EFL context based on the EFL teachers’ experiences and beliefs during their teaching practices. The research subjects in this research are six EFL teachers of a private university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, were voluntarily involved in this study. Specifically, they have been teaching listening and Fitria Rahmawati Investigating EFL teachers’ approaches to meaningful learning in blended-learning listening and speaking courses 94 speaking courses, either for daily conversation, formal setting, career development, or academic purposes. A university’s English Language Education Department offers the courses for its first-year students. The study was conducted during the academic year of 2019/2020. Pseudonyms were used to protect the participants’ confidentiality. Since the first implementation of blended learning in the university in 2018, the teachers have already had adequate experiences implementing blended learning in the listening and speaking courses. Thus, it fits the qualitative method that seeks direct experiences regarding the issues (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). For collecting the data, the researcher arranged the sequences to obtain the data of this research. Interview, document analysis, and observation were conducted for data collection purposes. Specific explanations on each of the techniques are presented below. The researcher arranged and utilized an interview guideline to focus more on the discussed topic in the first phase. The interview covered research questions about which instructional approaches were implemented and what factors were considered in selecting the approaches, both in the online and offline delivery modes. The questions were delivered in Bahasa Indonesia to gain a more in-depth explanation about the topic. The interview was conducted in about 40-60 minutes for each participant. However, since the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, two out of the six participants were interviewed using videoconference platforms. The researcher used an audio-recorder feature built in the mobile phone for recording the interview. The researcher also used field notes to take notes on the interesting discussions during the interview. Document analysis. In the next phase, the researcher analysed the course guidelines used by the participants during listening and speaking courses in the academic year of 2019/2020. The document analysis was used to reveal the first research question on the selected instructional approaches implemented by the teachers both in in- class and out-class learning modes of the blended learning method. The researcher asked permission from the teacher-participants to get the course guidelines or syllabus. Besides, the researcher also accessed the course guideline available inside the LMS. Observation. In the final phase, the researcher observed to get the data for further clarification to answer the first research question on the approaches being implemented, especially in the online learning mode. The researcher observed the listening and speaking courses. The researcher also observed the LMS or the platform used by the teachers to conduct the learning blended-learning activities, especially the online mode. Thus, the researcher asked permission from the participants to access the LMS for each course. Afterward, the researcher observed the approaches arranged by the teachers in the LMS. The researcher took notes while observing the course LMS. Table 1. Research questions and instruments Research Questions Research Instruments 1. What approaches are implemented by the EFL teachers to facilitate meaningful learning activities to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context, both offline and online delivery modes? 1. Offline learning activities: interview and document analysis 2. Online learning activities: interview, document analysis, observation of the LMS 2. What factors became the EFL teachers’ considerations towards the selected approaches to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context? Interview RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This study provides information on the approaches implemented by the ELF teachers in the blended- learning listening and speaking courses and the factors in selecting the approaches. The following explanations are divided into two sub-themes. The first is the teaching and learning approaches implemented in a blended-learning context to teach listening and speaking courses. The second is the factors of selecting the approaches. Darwin, Paul, Ivy, Poppy, Angel, Clara were used as pseudonyms representing the participants involved in the study. The entire research findings are presented and discussed below. Indonesian EFL Journal (IEFLJ) p-ISSN 2252-7427, e-ISSN 2541-3635 Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2022 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/IEFLJ/index 95 Approaches to blended-learning listening and speaking courses Blended learning is commonly known as combining in-class learning activities and out-class learning activities using technology. Integrating information and communication technology in a blended learning method gives both teacher and students a chance to conduct classroom activities inside and outside the classroom. Therefore, the findings of the teaching approaches were presented in two different sections, namely 1) the offline and 2) the online teaching and learning approaches. The offline instructional approaches. The teacher-participants applied different approaches in their listening and speaking classes during the offline learning modes. The offline learning mode refers to in-class learning activities. The participants mentioned some approaches that consist of listening, speaking, and a mixture of both language skills during the interviews and based on the course guidelines. The approaches were as follows: Input session The study participants applied different ways of lecturing techniques in classroom meetings. Darwin explained that “Each meeting of the course consists of 4 credits, the first two-credit was for giving input sections through delivering the learning material by direct lecturing or watching a video(s) about the topic, and the last two credits were for reviewing the materials”. Moreover, another teacher applied another way of learning. Paul stated that “The teacher explained the materials and also instructed the students for a direct practice”. Hence, the teachers applied different instructional approaches to deliver the learning materials in the classrooms and lecture in front of the class. Lesson review During the interview, Ivy explained that “After watching a video, students have to retell what is in the video”. Two participants mentioned reviewing the lesson in their classroom activity in the course guidelines. Darwin and Ivy mentioned, “I asked my students to review the learning materials, either from the video or other resources.” Besides the interview, their course syllabus presents the information regarding the activity related to the reviewing process. The teachers provided quiz(es) to check the students’ understanding of the lessons. The purpose of reviewing was for the teachers to check the students’ comprehension of material through reviewing or discussing the learning materials. Listening comprehension practice. The teacher-participants implemented listening comprehension practice during the classroom interaction in different ways. Darwin, Poppy and Paul mentioned listening comprehension practices were conducted in their classrooms to teach listening and speaking courses. They revealed it during the interview, as seen in the following excerpts. “I gave listening quiz(es) to my students to give them exposures to the native speakers’ dialogues and accents” (Darwin). In addition, Poppy stated that “I provided listening activities in the classroom, such as by giving the recorded dialogue about the topic or video from YouTube. Then give them a quiz afterward.” Besides, quizzes contribute to the course’s final grade from the course syllabus, especially in the assessment and grading system. Each quiz was worth 3-5% of the total course grade. Furthermore, Darwin, Poppy, Paul, and Iris mentioned that they conducted listening comprehension quizzes in the classroom and graded the quiz. Classroom discussion Classroom discussion was also revealed as another approach. Inferred from the interview data, Darwin, Paul, and Ivy admitted that they regularly conducted a classroom discussion in their in-class learning sessions. Furthermore, Darwin and Poppy mentioned classroom discussion in their course syllabus. Ivy mentioned that “Classroom discussion was conducted in a small-group and a whole-class discussion”. Paul and Ivy stated that students were divided into several groups and discussed the lesson topic in the small-group discussion. Other than that, in the whole-class discussion, Ivy explained that “All students in the classroom discussed what they had learned, then the teacher provided a brief explanation to clarify things, and then followed by a question and answer session”. Accordingly, based on the participants’ experiences, classroom discussion can be conducted in classroom sessions or offline modes. Fitria Rahmawati Investigating EFL teachers’ approaches to meaningful learning in blended-learning listening and speaking courses 96 Communicative tasks. Another in-class instructional approach was intended for speaking skills. Speaking is a productive skill. The students can explore their knowledge during the activity or learning-by-doing (Bakar et al., 2019). The participants implemented several speaking practices in their offline classroom mode, including presentation, speech, role-play, and job-interview simulation. Presentation. Presentation is one of the in-class learning activities. Poppy and Paul mentioned presentation as the approach they assigned to their students during the in-class activity in the interview. Poppy stated that presentations could be conducted individually or in groups. Furthermore, Poppy’s course syllabus proves that the presentations were conducted in groups and individually. Moreover, Poppy also explained how she conducted the presentation in her class during the interview. Eventually, the interview data were not similar to the information from the course syllabus. All of the teacher-participants included in-class presentations written in the syllabus. The researcher made a follow-up interview session with the other participants who were not mentioning presentation as the in-class instructional approach. The reason was revealed as the answer to the case. Some participants planned to have it as the approach, and they had written it in the syllabus. However, they had to switch the plan as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Indonesia as the learning process was completely online. Angel admitted that one of the participants changed the plan, “I changed the plan. It (presentation) took more time, which was impossible to be conducted in an a-full-4-credit course. Unless students have a stable and sufficient internet data to listen to their classmates live presentation session”. Therefore, they had to adapt that the whole courses should be conducted fully online with limitations. Speech. Another speaking practice implemented during the in-class sessions was speech. The participants only mentioned it in the course guides. Darwin and Ivy mentioned speech activity in their list of learning activities in the course guide. Moreover, Darwin and Ivy explained that “Students were required to write about 250 words for a speech text and delivered a speech for 4-5 minutes. Role-play and simulation. The findings from the interview revealed that role- play and simulation become the most favourable approach for teaching listening and speaking skills during the offline mode. In the interview, Ivy mentioned that “Role-play was implemented as one of the classroom activities”. Moreover, Paul and Clara mentioned the in-class role-play as the instructional approach in the interview and their course syllabus. In general, role-play was performed by the students in groups. Poppy and Angel explained that in the role-play, the students had to perform the scenario in groups with their friends, and they had to consult the script before the performance. Furthermore, role-play activity can be applied for students’ exercise and is an assessment tool to evaluate students’ speaking proficiency. Poppy explained that “I assigned my students to perform a role-play in groups. Then, I asked them to perform in front of the classroom for speaking practice”. In addition to role play, Darwin applied interview simulation as a tool to assess his students’ speaking performance. He shared his teaching practice, “As I teach speaking for career development purposes, one of the assignments was an in-class job interview simulation”. Darwin paired the students, asked them to practice before the simulation performance. He further explained that each student performed both as the employer and the employee candidate. The online instructional approaches Besides the offline instructional approaches, the teacher-participants also implemented some approaches to teach listening and speaking skills during the online learning modes of a blended learning method. They used the university LMS as the learning platform to manage the course works and progresses. The interview, the course syllabus analysis and the LMS observation were used as the data sources for approaches implemented to teach listening and speaking skills and the combination of both skills. The findings were as follows. Self-access to the online learning materials. One of the most common approaches done by teachers in online learning, either a fully online or blended learning context, was sharing content. The contents include the learning materials, including Indonesian EFL Journal (IEFLJ) p-ISSN 2252-7427, e-ISSN 2541-3635 Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2022 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/IEFLJ/index 97 the .pdf files, presentation slides, recorded dialogues, recorded video learnings, links, or other relevant contents embedded on the LMS as additional resources. By doing so, students were given adequate exposure to the language. They can, thus, learn the materials autonomously according to their own learning pace and time. Based on the interview with Ivy, she revealed that “Students learned the materials which I provided inside the LMS prior to the classroom session”. In the LMS, Darwin, Poppy and Paul facilitated their students with various learning materials, such as recorded audio and video learning, to access and learn the material individually and autonomously. The students accessed the LMS and learned the materials before the face-to-face in-class session. Further, the study participants explained that they provided the video from different sources, especially regarding the video. From the interview, Poppy and Ivy mentioned a video-sharing platform for their sources of the video learning materials. They acknowledged using YouTube videos to get relevant and appropriate videos to the lesson. In addition, Darwin, Poppy and Paul provided URL links from other websites or video-sharing platforms on the LMS from the observation of the LMS. In addition, Darwin and Ivy uploaded their own created video learning materials. In addition to taking the materials from the internet, teachers can also create their video learning materials. Online discussion forums. The findings revealed that the teacher-participants used the “Forum” feature offered by the LMS to conduct an online discussion about the lesson topic among the students and the teacher. The teacher gave a case as the material to be discussed, while the students followed the instruction and shared their experiences and analysis by posting a reply or comment on the teacher’s post. Poppy and Ivy stated that they had some online discussion forums in the interview. In addition, as observed from the course guide and the LMS, Darwin, Poppy, Paul, and Ivy included online discussion forums in their list of the online teaching and learning approaches. Furthermore, Poppy and Paul explained that students answered the questions based on the video provided by the teacher in the LMS. Then, they discussed the language expressions and other aspects of the language, and finally, they were given a case or situation which required them to apply the language expressions they had learned. Other than that, as seen in Paul’s course LMS, his aim of having an online discussion forum was to ask the student to answer the open-ended questions based on students’ experiences and opinions regarding the course topic. Synchronous meeting sessions. The teacher-participants delivered and explained the lesson through videoconferencing platforms. During the interview, Paul explained that he used videoconferencing application to conduct synchronous online meetings. In addition to explaining the lesson through the synchronous meeting, the teachers sometimes conducted synchronous discussion using the same platform through the chat or dialogue box or live QnA sessions. Ivy explained the learning process that the students were divided into groups and used videoconferencing platform for an online discussion (P4.42). Several video conferencing applications were used for synchronous meetings. In the interview, Darwin and Paul stated that the classroom sessions turned into online video conference modes since the pandemic. They used Zoom as the platform. Differ from Darwin and Paul, Poppy and Ivy used Microsoft Teams (Ms. Teams) for having synchronous meetings with the students. Those participants used different videoconferencing platforms for teaching listening and speaking courses. Online listening comprehension practices. Based on the interview and the observation of the participants’ LMS, the online listening quizzes were conducted in different formats. Poppy mentioned several listening quizzes, such as multiple choices, filling in the blanks (cloze quiz), and correcting inappropriate words/phrases/language expressions. In addition to Poppy, Darwin stated the learning media used for the listening comprehension quizzes, “The teachers can use video or audio files for the listening comprehension practices”. Using the LMS, several participants also mentioned other types of quizzes for the listening comprehension practices. Darwin applied the True-False question type for the online listening quiz. Although the LMS provides a “Quiz” feature to conduct the online quiz, the participants also used several other online quiz applications. In the interview, Poppy mentioned, “I used Kahoot! for conducting online quizzes Fitria Rahmawati Investigating EFL teachers’ approaches to meaningful learning in blended-learning listening and speaking courses 98 (P2.36)”. Darwin and Ivy were also confirmed to use Padlet to conduct online quizzes in their LMS in LMS. The findings revealed that the LMS, to some extent, facilitated the participants to assess the students’ understanding of the lesson through the Quiz feature. In addition, the LMS allows the teachers to use other quiz applications by embedding the link to the post. Project-based speaking assessment The final approach implemented by the participants was a project-based speaking assignment. The aim was to make the students create real products in English as the target language. Based on the findings, this activity can involve many variations. Paul mentioned ‘video blog’ (Vlog) and Podcast using the Anchor application. Darwin also recorded a video on interviewing foreigners, while Ivy applied a recorded role-play video. During the interview, Paul also mentioned the synchronous job interview as the approach for the speaking assessment conducted using the videoconferencing platform. Unlike the in-class interview simulation, the teacher was the interviewer in this activity, while the students were the interviewees. He further explained the process, “The meeting was recorded using the platform, and the teacher only focused on giving questions for the students”. In addition to the interview, the course syllabus and the LMS contents also revealed the same findings. Paul, Darwin, Poppy, and Ivy stated the approach clearly in the course syllabus. They explained that students created the video of their presentation about a specific topic, uploaded the video on the video- sharing platform or cloud drive, and shared the video link in the LMS. Thus, the study participants become an alternative to provide meaningful learning experiences to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context. Considering factors in adopting teaching approaches implemented in a blended-learning listening and speaking course The participants revealed various instructional approaches for teaching listening and speaking courses in a blended-learning context. They chose those approaches with several factors which were carefully considered. An interview was used for collecting the data to get the answers on the factors being considered by the EFL teachers in selecting the approaches. The findings regarding the factors were presented as the following. Meet the learning objectives. Meeting the course learning objectives became the most considering factor for the participants in selecting the teaching and learning approaches. It was revealed from the interview that most of the participants, Darwin, Poppy, and Ivy, mentioned that the approaches should be appropriate for the objectives. One of the learning objectives is improving students’ listening and speaking proficiency. Thus, it is also important to consider implementing teaching and learning approaches that enable the teachers to achieve the said objective. Darwin stated that the selected approaches should train students’ listening and speaking proficiencies. Fit the students’ needs Teachers must understand their students’ needs and take necessary actions to facilitate them. Based on the interview, another factor considered by the teachers in selecting and implementing a teaching approach to teach listening and speaking skills was that the approach should fit the students’ needs. Ivy stated that teachers should consider students’ needs when selecting teaching approaches. Hence, if teachers understand the needs of their students, it becomes easier for them to select suitable teaching and learning approaches. Expose the students to real-life language contexts Based on the interview, Darwin and Paul mentioned that students had to get sufficient exposure to the real language use from the classroom interactions. Furthermore, Paul asserted that exposures to meaningful real-life context learning experiences would affect students’ future lives. In other words, the approaches being implemented should fit the criteria of providing an adequate amount of English language exposure relevant to the real-life context. During the interview, Darwin stated that he implemented a teaching approach that can expose his students to as much as language exposures necessary for real-life language use. Encourage student-centred learning principles That the approach facilitates student-centeredness becomes another factor the study participants consider in selecting the teaching approach. Paul asserted that the approach should be student- centred. He further explained, “In a blended- Indonesian EFL Journal (IEFLJ) p-ISSN 2252-7427, e-ISSN 2541-3635 Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2022 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/IEFLJ/index 99 learning method, students are expected to become autonomous and initiative”. Student-centredness is essential to be encouraged in a blended-learning context as it allows students to be autonomous and independent over their work. Thus, EFL teachers should carefully decide how to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context that promotes student-centred learning. Validate the students’ performance effectively Another factor that was being considered by the teacher-participants in selecting the teaching approaches was that the approaches should be able to measure the students’ performance, especially their listening and speaking skills. Teachers need to assess the students’ performance effectively and appropriately. That being said, the selected approaches should deem fit as a valid assessment tool to measure students’ performance. From the interview, Paul and Ivy stated that the approaches implemented by the teachers should be able to measure students’ listening comprehension and speaking performance. In addition, Poppy highlighted the importance of implementing appropriate teaching approaches to assess the students’ language performance online, both for the listening and speaking skills. Like the offline learning mode, the teachers should also carefully choose the approaches that can validate their students’ English performance in an online learning mode. Promote the students’ interest and motivation The teaching approaches should be thought- provoking and attention-grabbing for students. Paul stated that the approaches should make students attracted. If so, the students would voluntarily take part in the learning process. In addition, the participants also considered that the approach should promote students’ motivation in learning. As English is a foreign language to the Indonesian context, not every student is motivated to master it. Poppy and Ivy explained that the instructional approaches enhanced students’ motivation to learn English. Thus, EFL teachers must maintain their teaching approaches to engage and motivate. Enhance the interaction between teachers and students The development of technology provides a possibility of facilitating interaction and communication between students and their teachers. Especially in the online learning model, teachers should select the teaching approach which enables interaction between both parties as to the factor. Paul, during the interview, asserted that one major difference between online and offline learning is in terms of intense communication between the teachers and the students. In addition, Poppy shared her experience that she also provided more informal channels to communicate with her students, such as through WhatsApp chat groups and LMS (online discussion forum). Teachers, thus, are responsible for establishing rapport to facilitate the students’ needs by providing a sufficient amount of verbal or non-verbal communication during the online learning classroom. In doing so, teachers could encourage their students to participate more in the learning process. Provide practicality and flexibility The findings from the interview revealed that the participants agreed that practicality and flexibility were important factors to be taken into account in selecting teaching approaches. The issue of practicality and flexibility is strongly interconnected to the online learning mode of a blended learning implementation. Darwin, Poppy, Paul and Ivy acknowledged that the teaching approaches should be simple and easy to conduct. Furthermore, Paul and Ivy identified that the approach should be possible to do in various time, place, and technical aspects. In addition, Ivy asserted that the learning activity should be flexible to conduct at students’ respective times and place. Regarding the time, Paul and Ivy expressed a thoughtful idea about the time length or duration of the approach. They stated that the duration is for the teachers to decide. Teachers should consider the appropriate duration of the learning process, especially in the online learning mode with limited resources. The duration can be adjusted to the difficulty level and the weight of the tasks being provided. Accordingly, it would be fair for the students. Therefore, in a blended-learning method, which combines two different learning modes: the in-class learning session and the out-class learning session, the instructional activities should be practical and flexible to be conducted. The study revealed findings on various teaching approaches implemented by the EFL teachers in a blended learning model. In addition, some factors Fitria Rahmawati Investigating EFL teachers’ approaches to meaningful learning in blended-learning listening and speaking courses 100 that become the teachers’ consideration in selecting the approaches were also revealed. This section discusses the interpretation of findings using multiple data sources, including interviews, document analysis (the syllabus), and observation. The teaching approaches implemented by the EFL teachers to create meaningful learning activities in blended learning listening and speaking courses were categorized into two following the nature of a blended-learning method, namely the in-class session and the out-class session. The approaches were input sessions, lesson reviews, listening comprehension practices, classroom discussion, and speaking practices in the in-class or offline learning mode. While for the out-class session or the online learning mode, the approaches were self-access to the online learning materials, online discussion forums, synchronous meeting sessions, online listening comprehension practices, and project- based speaking assessment. The EFL teacher-participants of the study varied the teaching approaches to facilitate meaningful learning experiences in a blended-learning method. The following discussion focuses on the finding regarding the offline teaching approaches. The first approach implemented to create a meaningful learning experience was the input session. The teachers can apply several ways of delivering material in the classrooms. The teacher can involve the students in learning activities instead of only listening to the teachers’ explanations. Besides explaining the learning material, the teacher can apply a learning-by-doing approach (Bakar et al., 2019) using the media or inviting the students to learn activities. The second approach was lesson review. The teachers are required to check students’ comprehension of the learning material. One of the review activities was note-taking (Ahmad, 2016). Students were supposed to take notes on the important information when listening to the material. Another approach was by providing listening comprehension practices. Following the lesson review, teachers provided a quiz or test to check the students’ understanding further. This way helped the teachers to confirm the students’ comprehension. Listening comprehension practice was flexible to be conducted in the classroom activities. The activity can be graded or only used for an exercise without a grade. Different listening comprehension activities included partial dictation, statement response, recorded cloze, and information transfer (Nation & Newton, 2009). The fourth approach was a classroom discussion. Classroom discussion was conducted in groups. It means that classroom discussion can be included in cooperative activities (Richards, 2008; Anjaniputra, 2013). In this activity, the students did not only listen, but they also had to talk to each other, even in pairs or groups, to discuss the learning topic. The last approach conducted in an offline mode was communicative tasks. Teachers can expose students to various speaking tasks, including presentation, interview, role-play, and simulation. These tasks involve interaction and communication among the students in using English. Accordingly, the students practice producing the target language for communication purposes. Communicative task engages students in producing the target language to complete meaningful tasks they might encounter in the real world (Ellis, 2003; Harmer, 2007). In addition to the offline instructional approach, the online instructional approach was also conducted in a blended learning method by the teacher-participants of the study. Teachers could assign students the following approach for listening and speaking courses: self-access to the online learning materials, online discussion forums, synchronous meeting sessions, online listening comprehension practices, and project-based speaking assessment. The first approach was providing self-access online learning materials. The use of technology provides teachers with alternatives in delivering the learning materials, including video for students to practice their skills. The teachers could use video from free accessed video-sharing platforms (Harris, 2015). Otherwise, the teachers could also create the instructional video by themselves (Ahmad, 2016). Moreover, the students can access the learning material (Harris, 2015; Jalaludin, 2016). The internet gives more options for the students to access additional learning material anytime and anywhere using their gadgets or personal devices. The second approach was by initiating online discussion forums. An online discussion forum is an activity to check the students’ comprehension of learning material and interact using the target language. Online discussion should be conducted student-centred (Lim, 2015; Arteaga & Rodas, 2018) independently (Arteaga & Rodas, 2018; Huang, 2019). The students were expected to Indonesian EFL Journal (IEFLJ) p-ISSN 2252-7427, e-ISSN 2541-3635 Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2022 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/IEFLJ/index 101 express their ideas using the target language. The next approach was by performing online listening comprehension practices. Teachers can use various alternatives to conduct online quizzes through the LMS. Several types of listening quizzes such as partial dictation, responding to statement, recorded close-ended questions, and information transfer can be applied by the teachers (Nation & Newton, 2009). Another online, blended learning method for teaching listening and speaking skills was conducting synchronous meeting sessions. Several previous studies had mentioned videoconferencing as the activity for online listening and speaking courses (Correa, 2015; Lenkaitis, 2019). Therefore, it gives the teacher another alternative for conducting the learning activities and presenting the materials to students. By having this synchronous meeting, students can interact with their teachers in real-time. Finally, a teacher could also conduct an online project-based speaking assessment. The students need to experience the real activity using the target language. A learning-by-doing principle is appropriate for project-based learning concepts (Bakar et al., 2019). Thus, the students were expected to be proficient in listening and speaking by doing the projects. One example of the project was that the students created an instructional video (Precintha Rubini et al., 2019), then shared their video on a video-sharing platform (Jalaludin, 2016). The teachers considered several factors in adopting the teaching approaches in a blended- learning listening and speaking course. The study revealed that one of the most significant factors to be considered was that the approach should facilitate meeting the learning objectives. A previous study mentioned that the expected outcomes should be the first factor in selecting teaching and learning approaches (Arteaga & Rodas, 2018). Hence, it infers that appropriateness towards learning objectives becomes an important factor in selecting the approach. The second consideration was regarding the students’ needs. Teachers are required to identify their students’ characters. Gonzalez, Ochoa, Cabrera, Castillo, Quinonez, Solano, Espinosa, Ulehlova and Arias (2015) mentioned several factors that the teachers should consider in selecting instructional approaches and materials, including age, learning style, and proficiency level. Thus, the teachers have to consider those aspects. The approaches should also expose the students to real-life language contexts. The students should practice what they have learned in the classrooms. Therefore, the teachers should consider the learning activities that are real and appropriate to the real-life context (Anjaniputra, 2013 & Caruso et al., 2017) as experiences are expected to give basic knowledge and enhance students’ proficiencies for their future. The next factor was that the approaches should encourage the student-centred learning principle. The student-centred learning principle is the main principle of the blended learning method. A previous study mentioned that blended learning implementation should increase self-learning principles and students’ activeness during the learning process rather than dominate teacher talk (Lim, 2015). Moreover, several studies stated that blended learning emphasized that students become autonomous learners (Hung, 2015; Ahmad, 2016; Banditvilai, 2016; Arteaga & Rodas, 2018; Huang, 2019). Hence, a teacher should carefully select instructional approaches which facilitate students to be more active and independent during the learning process. Another factor was regarding the assessment. The students should achieve proficiency at the end of the course. Hence, the instructional approach aims to measure students’ ability to comprehend the learning materials (Caruso et al., 2017). Therefore, it is important to implement an instructional approach that can effectively validate the students’ performance, especially regarding their listening and speaking skills. It infers that the students’ comprehension and progress can be effectively measured during the learning process. In addition, the approach should be able to promote students’ attention. A varying instructional approach enables teachers to attract students’ attention. Previous research revealed that the instructional approaches must be meaningful and attract students’ attention (Anjaniputra, 2013; Cordova & Dechsubha, 2018). Meaningful and attractive learning can make the learning process more effective. Vaughan (2014) assured that it is important to have an active learning environment to support learning activities. Promoting students’ attention can be done by supporting collaboration and communication during the learning process (Vaughan, 2014; Ouadoud et al., 2018). The participants’ next factor was that the instructional approaches should enhance the interaction between teachers and students. Fitria Rahmawati Investigating EFL teachers’ approaches to meaningful learning in blended-learning listening and speaking courses 102 Educational technology provides more chances for teachers and students to interact. A previous study mentioned that technology improves communication intensity between teachers and students (Qomar, 2016). Hence, the learning process can still be carried outside the classroom learning, especially in an online learning mode. The last considering factor was regarding practicality and flexibility. Simple and easy learning activity is important, in line with the concept of a ‘stress-free’ learning activity (Nation & Newton, 2009). Moreover, Nation and Newton (2009) referred to stress-free as a fun learning environment. Thus, students can enjoy the learning activity, and it becomes more effective to achieve the learning objectives. Online learning gave flexibility and probability for teachers and students to conduct outside classroom learning activities (Caruso et al., 2017). However, teachers also have to consider the duration of the learning activities. Even though online learning is flexible in time and place, considering the duration is also important. CONCLUSION The findings of the current study revealed the EFL teachers’ approaches to teach listening and speaking skills in a blended learning context, covering both the offline and online delivery modes. Since teachers are required to wisely integrate various instructional approaches, this study is valuable to provide practical knowledge and best practices for them in order to facilitate meaningful learning experiences and achieve better learning outcomes. In addition, this study identified some factors valued by the EFL teachers in selecting the approaches. Thus, other teachers could also consider some factors revealed from the study to select instructional approaches both for in-class and out-class learning based on their students’ background and condition. The study implies the needs for EFL teachers to carefully select and implement meaningful learning activities in a blended learning context specifically for teaching listening and speaking skills. 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