THE EFFECT OF BLENDED LEARNING TO THE STUDENTS ’ ACHIEVEMENT IN GRAMMAR CLASS

Blended learning is believed to improve students’ understanding in learning second language. The employment of offline and online activities is expected to give better outcome than the traditional face-to-face activities. This article presents how blended learning was applied in an English grammar class and whether it significantly improved students’ achievement after the treatment. The participants involved in this research were 26 students of the the second semester students of the English Letters Department, Sanata Dharma University. A pre-experimental research was conducted by comparing the means of the participants’ scores in both pre-test and post-test. The analysis figured out that there was a significant improvement, proven by the paired t-test analysis. The p-value 0.00 was less than alpha 0.05. This research concluded that blended learning was effective to assist the students to learn English grammar. To strengthen the findings, this research also involved pre-questionnaire and post-questionnaire to understand students’ responses on the use of blended learning. In the end of the semester, most students found that online activities help them comprehend and practice the materials. Students’ reflective journals also revealed that blended learning was able to improve their understanding and interest in learning English grammar.


INTRODUCTION
Blended learning has been popular in language learning and teaching methodology due to the fact that this digital era enables both students and teachers to access online sources easily.It should be accepted that today's generation is familiar with technology, hence they are categorized as the net generation.Students prefer to access their phone or laptop than to save piles of papers containing information they look for.One of the advantages of having online files is that students can find out the files they have and read e-books, as an intance, more flexible in time and space.It is, then, inevitable that learning and teaching process should provide online materials and exercises to engage the students' contexts.Therefore, the use of computer asisted language learning (CALL) should be familiarized among different levels of education.
In spite of the flexibility of its implementation, CALL is believed to improve the students' autonomy.Students are close with computer and internet.It means that there is greater possibility for them to be more autonomous and responsible.It is expected that students are responsible for the courses they take and perform their language competency, including speaking and writing.
To be autonomous, the students should have willingness to change and improve learning strategies since language learning also progresses (Godwin-jones, 2011).
Students' autonomy cannot be separated from their integrative motivation to improve their language competencies.In Indonesia, the use of CALL is not yet seen as common method in teaching and learning.It results in the students' dependency on the teacher in learning materials.If this problem continues, the barrier on the students' autonomy may be cultural (Godwin-jones, 2011).Teacher-centered learning is still common to happen in Indonesia in every education level.One of the factors is the lack of sufficient facilities in certain schools.Therefore, some college students who are in the first year of college still face difficulty or inconvenience when they use computer or internet in their learning processes.
Another challenge faced by teachers when using computer and internet in classroom is the students' motivation which results in their passivity and the teachers' loss of control (Godwin-jones, 2011).It is also suggested that effective CALL needs an instructor capable of locating optimal balance of approaches, resources, and tools to meet the needs of particular IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 4 (1), 2017 18-30 http://journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/ijee| DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v4i1.5697P-ISSN: 2356-1777, E-ISSN: 2443-0390 | This is an open access article under CC-BY-SA license leaners in particular learning context (Donaldson & Haggstrom, 2006).The previous background motivates this research to apply blended learning in grammar class.
The term "blended learning" is regarded as a new term in relation to the development of the 21 st century technology (Wright, 2017).There are some definitions of what so called blended learning.One of them argues that blended learning is applied using various multi-media applied in an ideal way to solve problems (Keshta & Harb, 2013).Blended learning combines faceto-face method and the use of computer in teaching learning process (Grgurovic, 2011).Blended learning aims at providing effective and efficient learning experience by combining learning environment which suits the students (Chansamrong, 2014).
There are two approaches in blended learning: "program overflow model" and "core-and-spoke model" (Bersin, 2004).In the first model, the teacher designs curriculum by integrating some media in the scheduled syllabus.Each step or discussion is the follow-up of the previous discussion.To measure the whole learning, a task or test is given in the end of topic discussion (Bersin, 2004).In the second approach, the instructor gives online class or web-based course.Usually, the instructor gives particular activities such as delivering materials, interactivity, learning sources, and material assessment.In this approach a task or test may be given, yet not necessarily to be scheduled in the syllabus (Bersin, 2004).
One of the blended learning methodologies is by using moodle.Ayan (2015) mentions that moodle is one of the mostly used open source learning management systems, which can create an encouraging, informative, and always renewable language education environtment.The previous statement implies that moodle is one of digital sources which can be further developed so that is suits the teaching learning purposes.In this article, moodle is provided by the university in exelsa2012.ac.id.The website can be accessed by Sanata Dharma University students by logging in the website using their student number and password.The information provided in the moodle is integrated with the academic information system supported by the university.Therefore, the students who take particular courses are automatically registered in the moodle.Similar research is done in different language skill (Camahalan & Ruley, 2014).The research also employs pre-assessment and post-assessment to the students.Post-assessment is given after a six-week-learning process.Even though the practiced language skill is writing, students' grammar competency is also important to exercise students' accuracy in writing.It is found that students' writing in the post-assessment is better than previous.Seen from students' reflection, blended learning is also appreciated by the students.
Blended learning is also observed in relation to self-regulated learning (SLR) (Dettiro & Perico, 2007).They observe the relation between blended learning and SLR in terms of both cognitive and meta-cognitive aspects towards pre-service teachers.The research finds that blended learning offers a good opportunity to the preservice teachers to improve their SLR.However, face-to-face meeting is still important to build the participants' motivation to follow the learning process so that the use of online learning can be exercised to sharpen their cognitive skills (Dettori & Persico, 2007).Similar research is also done by Shen and Liu (2011).The research figures out that students' SLR can be improved by understanding students' context so that blended learning can be employed more effectively (Shen & Liu, 2011).
Motivated by the elaboration of the background above, this article attempts at figuring out how students' understanding of the materials, represented in scores, are affected by the implementation of blended learning; how the students respond to the questionnaires of their experience in blended learning class; and how the students reflect their learning experience in blended learning class.

METHOD
Program overflow model offered by Bersin (2004) (Thorne, 2003).LMS also offers various types of learning activities such as classroom based learning, e-learning, virtual learning, technology-based training, books, and videos (Thorne, 2003).However, Naidu (2006) argues that LMS is lack of tools and capability for the development of complex cognitive and social skills (Wright, 2017, p.64).Since this research attempts at knowing how blended learning influences students' understanding of the materials, LMS is already sufficient to involve.
In order to figure out the influence of blended learning in grammar class, this research applied a pre-experimental research.The treatment applied in this research is blended learning, which involved students' activities outside classroom by using computer and internet.Experimental research is one kind of correlational (associational) research as it aims to test a relationship between or among variables and to make predictions, which are dependent on the outcome of a strong relationship between or among variables (Mackey & Gass, 2005, p. 145).
Pre-test and post-test were involved to measure the individual students' achievement in the beginning and the end of the treatment.Thus, a paired t-test was applied to compare the means of the group's scores.T-test aims at knowing whether the means of the two groups are significantly different from one another.It also identifies the relationship between the treatment group and its outcomes after experiencing particular method, i.e. blended learning (Burns, 2010, p. 13).
The participants were the second semester students of the English Letters Department, Sanata Dharma University.There were 34 students registered in the observed class which was English Grammar II, but only 26 students were analyzed in the pairedtest.It happened because not all students came in both tests.The students already took the pre-requisite course, English Grammar I given in the first semester.To pass the course, the students should get 56 or a C in their final score since grammar is one of the basic skills the students should master.
In Addition to comparing the students' scores in pre-test and post- test, this research also used another instrument, questionnaire.The prequestionnaire and post-questionnaire were also distributed to the students.The questionnaire distributed used Lickert scale in which the students had to choose the options "strongly disagree", "disagree", "neutral", "agree" and "strongly agree".The questions distributed in the questionnaire were adopted from Grugrovic's previous study (2011) as follows:  I like to work on online activities to improve my grammar skill

 I prefer to work on online activities for homework  Working on online activities helps me with practicing grammar  I can see the connection between online activities and activities done in class
The last instrument involved in this research was students' reflective journal.The employment of this instrument aims at knowing how the students experience the treatment.Journal writing motivates the students to depicts their interests, thinking and curiosity about their experience in their surrounding world (Al-rawahi & Al-Balushi, 2015).By writing reflective journal, this research could discover the students' impression on the treatment, blended learning.The reflective journal was submitted in Moodle after the given treatment.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This part is divided into three.The first part discusses the students' mean score in both pre-test and posttest.In addition to discussing whether the mean difference in both pre-test and post-test is significantly different, the process of blended learning during the semester is also elaborated.The second part shows the students' responses in the questionnaires.To find more comprehension on the students' responses to blended learning, the third part discusses the students' reflective journal.By employing reflective journal, the students are expected to be involved in the learning process.0.00 or less than the alpha = 0.05.The p-value was statistically significant since it is less than alpha = 0.05, meaning that the result rejects the null hypothesis.In conclusion, there was a significance difference between the students' score in the pre-test and posttest.
The students' achievement cannot be separated from the semester's learning process.This result is similar to the one conducted by Chansamrong, Tubsree & Kiratibodee (2014).The average result in the previous study also improves in the post-test compared to the pre-test.It suggests that blended learning is effective to assist the students to learn English Grammar.The finding of this research also supports Keshta and Harb (2013).They find that blended learning is able to enhance selflearning and students' achievement (Keshta & Harb, 2013).
The results of the students' achievement above cannot be separated from some interventions exposed during the semester.It triggers the students' autonomy in learning second language.This finding agrees with Godwin-jones' statement that CALL is able to improve autonomous learning (2011).In this research, the first intervention exposed to the students is the use of videos and PowerPoint files uploaded in the LMS.The videos are uploaded several times based on the numbers of topic discussion in the semester.The PowerPoint files are those created by the lecturer and presented in class.Observed from the students' participation in the LMS, there is a consistency between students' achievement in end of the semester with their regularity in accessing the online materials and assignments.The table below displays the summary of the students' percentage in completing the online assignments with their final grade.
As there was not any student who got 50-55 in the post-test, the percentage in the above table is represented in 0%.The table above reveals that there is consistency between the students' completing assignments with their results in the post-test.Those who achieve higher score are the students who complete more assignments than the others.Practicing grammar online regularly is proven to improve the students'  In self-regulated learning, the learners perform the course activities with confidence, diligent, and aware of their skills to master specific learning task (Tongchai, 2016).Table 2 above clearly displays that most of the students have become self-regulated learners.It also proves that selfregulation is the key factor for successful learning (Tongchai, 2016).It happens as self-regulation learning reflects the learners' taking control of their own learning (Orhan, 2007).Further, Orhan mentions that selfregulation learning is closely related to motivation.Thus, the students who are self-regulated learners can identify a goal to accomplish and control their behavior, motivation, affect and cognition (Orhan, 2007, p. 391).This research is also in line with Shen & Liu (2011) who previously proposed that blended learning can improve the students' self-regulated learning.
As mentioned in the previous part, there are two main activities exposed in the LMS.They are online learning sources and assignments.The picture below is the example online materials uploaded in the LMS.

Picture 1. Examples of Online Materials
The picture 1 shows that the lecturer uploads PowerPoints and Pdf files for the students to download.The module is given in the beginning of the semester so that the students can print it themselves.The other files containing workbook and presentation files are also available in the LMS.The use of online assignments is also displayed in LMS.There are some types of online assignments given to the students: fill in the blanks, multiple choice, and file upload.Below is the example of students' participation score in the online quiz.

Picture 3. The Example of Online Assignments
The LMS used in this research is integrated with the academic information system in the university.The students' names and student numbers are already integrated when they log in to exelsa2012.usd.ac.id.The regular assignments given online are proven to help the students practice their grammar skill.By practicing regularly, the students practice their linguistic performance.Even though the students can work with their friends in the online assignments, their scores are assessed individually.This is to encourage them to be familiar with blended learning.The previous finding shows that blended learning is able to increase the students' interaction and participation, as suggested by Al Fiky (2011) (Keshta & Harb, 2013, p. 213).
The students' participation during the treatment proves that they are placed in a suitable environment which can influences their motivation.Motivation is a key of learning success since the students can control their learning processes (Orhan, 2007, p. 391).The motivation is shown by their participation of the given assignments.The students have become autonomous as they have duty to complete the assignment.

IJEE (Indonesian
They consciously participate the tasks in blended learning class to achieve their goal.This research found that the most of the participants have been in self-regulated learning.Self-regulated learning requires an active and conscious control of the learners' activity in terms of metacognition, motivation and behavior individually and socially (Dettori, 2007).

Students' Responses in the Questionnaires
The questionnaires were given both in the beginning and in the end of the semester.It aims at figuring out how the students show their experience in blended learning class.Similar to comparing the students' scores in the pre-test and post-test, there are also differences in the students' responses in blended learning class.The table below shows the students' responses in the questionnaires.
The first statement to respond in the questionnaire is "I like to work on online activities to improve my grammar skill".In the prequestionnaire, most of the students choose "neutral", presented in 50%.On the other hand, in the postquestionnaire there are 53% of the students choose "agree".This finding reveals that after experiencing blended learning class, the students' learning style changes.Seen from the option "agree", there is 13% increase of those who enjoy the online activities to improve their grammar skill.The number is satisfying as the students show their interest in the class.The result of the questionnaire above suggests that students can find the advantage of being involved in the blended learning environment as they can develop their autonomy.By practicing online, the students can save time and be motivated (Keshta & Harb, 2013).The students have found their motivation to achieve the goal in class.The positive outcomes shown by the students cannot be separated from their engagement of the learning environment.It is undeniable that computer and internet become the students' part of life.Consequently, students' positive effect on learning outcomes is reflected after they experience a blended learning class (Moreno, 2012).
The second statement in the questionnaire is "I prefer to work on online activities for homework".In the beginning of the semester, there were 35% of the students choosing "neutral", whereas in the end of the semester there were 42% of the students choosing "agree".The dominating students who choose the option also changes.In the beginning of the semester, most of the students do not show exact interest to work online activities for their homework.However, in the end of the semester, the majority of the students like the online activities for their homework.It shows that the students enjoy their learning process.
In spite of the fact that the students found their motivation in learning, students become accustomed to use internet and computer to do their homework.Students have created their learning styles suitable to their life.Their completing work outside classroom reflects their autonomy.Students have developed their strategies in order to chase their individual learnings (Godwin-jones, 2011).The goal they set to learn grammar is enhanced by practicing individually outside classroom.Their autonomy is represented through their position, time and place in which they are doing the tasks which refer to the atmosphere different from classroom (Ayan, 2015).
The third statement in the questionnaire is "Working on online activities helps me with practicing grammar".The important difference observed in this statement is the number of students who choose "disagree" and "strongly agree".The percentage of the students choosing "disagree" decreases, while it increases in the option "strongly agree".In the beginning of the semester, the students show that in the previous semester, they do not find any benefits to practice grammar online.It is totally different Students who choose "strongly agree" show their high interest in the online activities in relation to their grammar skill.
The result of the questionnaire above indicates that students give positive value to blended learning.This case cannot be separated from the quality of dialogue and relationship between the teacher and students (Ayan, 2015) when negotiating the employment of blended learning in class.Despite the lack of facilities faced by the students, the teacher provided online materials and assignments in the website provided by the university.Thus, students have more access to be involved in blended learning environment.
The different finding is found in the students' option is also found in the last statement "I can see the connection between online activities and activities done in class".In the beginning of the semester, most of the students choose the option "agree", shown in 48%.The dominant students, in the end of the semester, also choose the same option.However, there is a difference in the options "disagree" and "strongly agree" which increase in the end of the semester.This finding shows that students still can see the connection between activities done in class and the online one.Before attending the blended learning class, some students already practice online themselves.It is good that, as digital natives, the students should be able to use the online materials autonomously.The ease of browsing online materials gives them a lot of opportunities to develop their competencies.

Students' Reflective Journal
From the activity, the students are assigned to write their opinions related to the activities offered in the LMS.Below are some examples of students' reflection.
 I can learn the material from the video before class so that I won't be confused when it is taught in the class.I also can watch the videos to make me remember the materials.Observing the students' language choice, the reflective journal shows that the students show positive responses to the use of blended learning in grammar class.The verbs such as learn, help, and improve infer that the students conduct particular actions in their learning process.The given materials provided online are proven to motivate the students exercise their grammar skill.The actions done by the students affect their cognition shown by the verbs understand and remember.Moreover, the use of adjective helpful also displays clear relation between the students' regular activities in the LMS and their understanding of the materials.The previous conclusion is also strengthened by the students' results in the post-test.
The second activity is giving online assignments.The given assignments vary: filling in the blanks, uploading single file, and taking multiple choice assignments.Those assignments were given in the end of each topic discussion.To motivate the students' regularity of online practices, the assignments weigh the same as the test scores.By applying that strategy, the students are motivated to access the LMS regularly.In doing the assignments, the students are also allowed to discuss the assignments with their friends even though the The students' language choice in the above journals shows that the students appreciate the assignments.The previous fact is proven by the use of some positive adjectives such as active, nice, helpful, and useful.Those adjectives reveal that the students show their interest and excitement when they are given the online assignments.To increase their participation and learning comprehension, the videos which are uploaded before the class is also effective to apply.In line with Wright's research, the videos should be preceded by pre-online-lesson and class explanation.Post-online-lesson is also necessary to follow up the students' understanding.By doing so, teachers can spend time to discuss students' questions and rule clarification (Wright, 2017).

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
Blended learning is suitable to implement in courses related to language skills, particularly grammar.The regular activities given online are proven to help the students exercise their understanding of the given materials, seen from the results in both pre-test and post-test.There is also consistency between the students' achievement in the post-test with the students' completion of the online assignments.The exposures given in the LMS are proven to motivate the students to practice their grammar ability.Moreover, the uploaded videos also become another learning resource for the students.Referring to the students' reflective journals, students show their appreciation to blended learning by choosing positive adjectives in their journals.On the other hand, the use of verbs in the journal also reveal the students' practice and access to the online activities.This article suggests that blended learning be applied in other courses related to language skills.Thorough interview and wider survey are also needed to enrich the present findings.The use of discourse analysis is highly suggested.
IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 4 (1), 2017 24-30 http://journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/ijee| DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v4i1.5697P-ISSN: 2356-1777, E-ISSN: 2443-0390 | This is an open access article under CC-BY-SA license In addition to sharing files in the LMS, the lecturer also shares the links of videos in YouTube.Below is the example of the videos.Picture 2. The Example of Online Videos in LMS The numbers of the videos uploaded in LMS are in line with the numbers of topic discussion during the semester.It aims at providing the students an alternative source of learning.Moreover, the students can recall what they have learnt in class.The exposure of the use of videos in LMS is welcome by the students.Besides understanding the materials, the students also practice their listening skills.
Besides showing their interest, students show their appreciation by the verb help and the adverb efficiently.The students' reflective journal also emphasizes the students' responses in the questionnaires.IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 4 (1), 2017 29-30 http://journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/ijee| DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v4i1.5697P-ISSN: 2356-1777, E-ISSN: 2443-0390 | This is an open access article under CC-BY-SA license The elaboration presented in the above paragraphs infers that the participants can improve their understanding in grammar by means of blended learning.The uploaded videos in the LMS are useful to enhance the students

Table 2 .
The Summary of Students' Completing Online Assignments