Abstract:
Many undergraduates enrolling in the English intensive course at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura find it challenging to achieve the outcome of improving English writing
skills expected of them. In this study, we explored whether different delivery modes (face to face, online and
blended) influenced their outcome achievement. Three tutors of English taught the same content to three
groups of students using face-to-face, online and blended modes over two months in the Department of
English Language Teaching in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. With the face to face mode continuing as a
control group (n=20), the blended (n=20) and online (n=20) groups received six online modules and four
quizzes on writing. While the online group received all lessons and quizzes online with no face to face
instructions, the blended group received 70% of the course materials online with six face to face lessons to
cover up the balance 30% of the course modules. The control group too received the same writing learning
lesson materials and practiced these only in their face to face classes. While the three groups showed the
performance as Blended mean score=42.75, Online mean score=39.35, Face to face mean score =43.95 at the
pre-test having sixty fill in the blank questions in dialogue completion, the course-end test (of sixty fill in the
blank questions in a similar dialogue completion exercise) showed the blended group participants to have
scored significantly increased marks (mean score=50.85, t=-9.181, p=.000), compared to their counterparts
(Online mean score=46.10, t= -5.465, p=.000, Face to face mean score =49.05, t= -6.144, p=000) at the
significance level of p < .005. This study, with further confirmatory evidence, can have implications for teaching
English writing in the context of teaching English as a second language in higher education.
