Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğretimi bağlamında Eğitim Bilişim Ağı (EBA) temelli harmanlanmış öğrenme: Lise öğrencilerinin algıları ve tutumları

The main purpose of the present study is to ascertain high school students' perceptions of the efficacy of blended learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes based on the Education Informatics Network (EIN) which is used as a learning management system in the Turkish state schools. The sample of the study was composed of ninth and eleventh-grade EFL students studying at a state high school in Samsun, Türkiye. All participants gave their consent to participate in the data collection procedures and were selected using the convenience sample technique. The study was designed with a convergent research design, one of the mixed-methods research designs. While the quantitative strand included a questionnaire with 122 students, the qualitative part consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted with 16 students. Quantitative data were analyzed through the SPSS program. Descriptive statistics were performed to understand students' views. In addition, a one-way ANOVA and independent samples t-test, as well as Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests, were used to examine the differences in participants' perspectives according to factors such as gender, grade level, and computer literacy. The MAXQDA software, on the other hand, was employed to evaluate qualitative data through the content analysis method. The quantitative results showed that students' general views on the EIN portal, assessment, and blended learning were neutral about EIN-based blended learning, but positive about face-to-face lessons. Furthermore, while there was no statistical difference in students' general attitudes toward EIN-based blended learning based on their gender or computer literacy skills, a statistical difference was discovered when the data was evaluated by grade level. Accordingly, ninth-grade students had more favorable opinions than eleventh-graders. On the other hand, the obtained qualitative findings mostly converged with the quantitative data results, and they also clarified that EFL students expected the EIN portal to be free of technical problems, easily accessible and to include more enjoyable and various activities for a better implementation of the EIN-based blended learning. Additionally, it was found that in an EIN portal designed in accordance with students' expectations, students' views about EIN would be more positive, and they would continue to benefit from the EIN in their future studies. Lastly, several suggestions for further research were put forward as well as some educational implications for teaching EFL in an EIN-based blended learning environment. Taken together, these findings and pedagogical implications can be informative and fruitful for EIN material and content developers, English language teachers, teacher educators, and curriculum developers about effective blended learning through the EIN portal.