ABSTRACT
This study aimed to examine the effects of the integration of blended learning with traditional writing instruction for the university level English Essay Writing course in Thailand by focusing on the students’ ability to use cohesion devices and students’ attitude towards the integration of Facebook as blended learning. The participants were sixty mixed-ability English-majored students which were recruited with purposive sampling method and were divided into the experimental group and controlled group. Both groups received the same lessons on narrative essay writing in class for eight weeks. Apart from the in-class instruction, the experimental group was required to participate in the online practice provided through Facebook which serves as blended learning. To compare the use of cohesion devices in writing of both groups, the essay writing pretest took place before the first lesson and the essay writing posttest took place after the last lesson. Moreover, the questionnaire and the interview were also used with the experimental group after the posttest for evaluating their attitudes towards the blended learning. According to the quantitative findings, the comparison indicates that even though the use of cohesion devices in writing improved in both groups, the experimental group showed significantly greater improvement. The qualitative findings from the questionnaire and the interview also underlined the effectiveness of the blended learning in terms of its convenience, more opportunities for learning, and sources of writing references.
KEYWORDS
Translation Studies, Non-Equivalence, Literary Translation