الفهرس 
Chapter OneOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to investigate theeffectiveness of utilizing the blended learning to improve vocabularyacquisition and reading comprehension skills in EFL among preparatory
school students whose inadequate reading comprehension skills and
vocabulary abilities constituted the rationale for this investigation.
A vocabulary and reading comprehension achievement test was
used as a pre and posttest. The SPSS statistics program was used for
analyzing data obtained from these tests. The t- test for independent
matched samples was used to investigate the differences between the
experimental and control groups posttest results. Then the effect size was
obtained by using Blake’s modified gain ratio for the control group is
lower than one while Blake’s modified gain ratio for the experimental
group is more than one , so we can say that the suggested program is
effective to develop the vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.
This proved through (Black’s constant) which is more than (1.2).
At last, the following results were reached:
1. There were statistically significant differences between the mean
scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on
the post administration of the vocabulary acquisition test.
2. There were statistically significant differences between the mean
scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on
the post administration of the students’overall reading
comprehension skills in English
Out of the main question, the following sub-questions are posed:
1- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing
preparatory school students’ vocabulary acquisition?
2- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing
preparatory school students’ overall reading comprehension skills?
3- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing
preparatory school students’ literal comprehension skills?
4- How far would blended learning program be effective in developing
preparatory school students’ inferential skills?
Hypotheses of the study
The following hypotheses were formulated to be tested:
1. There would be statistically significant differences between the
mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control
group on the post administration of the vocabulary acquisition test.
2. There would be statistically significant differences between the
mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control
group on the post administration of the students’overall reading
comprehension skills in English.
3. There would be statistically significant differences between the
mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control
group on the post administration of the students’ literal
comprehension skills in English.
4. There would be statistically significant differences between the
mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the post administration of the students’ inferential skills
in English.
5. There would be a statistically significant difference between the
mean scores of the experimental group pre- post vocabulary
acquisition test in favor of the post testing.
6. There would be a statistically significant difference between the
mean scores of the experimental group pre- post reading
comprehension test in favor of the post testing.
7. There would be a statistically significant difference between the
mean scores of the experimental group pre- post literal
comprehension skill component in favor of the post testing.
8. There would be a statistically significant difference between the
mean scores of the experimental group pre- post inferential skill
component in favor of the post testing.
The Study Sample
The sample of the current study consisted of two groups; one
group was the control group (N=23) and the other was the experimental
group (N=23) at preparatory school in Gharbiea Governorate, Egypt. The
sample’s ages ranged between twelve and fourteen years old. The
experiment under investigation was conducted during the first semester of
the academic year 2013/2014.
The Experiment
The experimental group and the control group were pre-tested
using the vocabulary and reading comprehension achievement test. Then,
the experimental group was taught using the blended learning approachbeside the traditional method that were included in the program prepared
by the researcher whereas the control group was taught using the
traditional method only. After that, both groups were post-tested using the
same instruments.
The Findings
The findings of the current study revealed that:
1. The blended learning approach beside the traditional method is
more effective than the traditional method only in developing
students’ vocabulary acquisition.
2. The blended learning approach beside the traditional method is
more effective than the traditional method only in developing
students’ reading comprehension skills.
5.7 Conclusions
The current study tried to find out the effectiveness of utilizing
the blended learning approach to improve vocabulary acquisition and
reading comprehension skills in EFL among preparatory school students.
To achieve this purpose, an English instructional program based on the
blended learning approach was redesigned and implemented during the
academic year 2013/2014. It was found that the blended learning
approach had significantly developed the learner’s abilities in reading
comprehension skills and vocabulary acquisition.
The current study also revealed that the blended learning had
significantly affected students’ engagement positively. Quoting a number
of related studies that supported the findings of this study could
encourage scholars to adopt this approach in developing learners’
comprehension skills and vocabulary acquisition and enhancing their engagement with the text.
It was found that the type of instruction that a student received
affected reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. More recent
research highlights the importance of engagement processes in facilitating
reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. Therefore, this
approach needed to be taught directly as students learn to read; and this
direct instruction needs to continue in different forms.
There were many ways to think about reading comprehension and
vocabulary acquisition and many factors that affected them. The
importance of the learning approach on improving students’ reading
comprehension and vocabulary acquisition abilities and engagement in
reading was the main force behind carrying out this study.
Recommendations
In the light of the findings of the current study, it is recommended
that:
1. Electronic curricula should be developed in the various stages of
education.
2. Encouraging the use of electronic learning programs by providing
an electronic educational environment in each school.
3. Providing teachers of English as a second language with the key
research suggesting that acquiring a native – like receptive
vocabulary size in a second language learner is an ambitious but
achievable goal to justify why direct vocabulary teaching is a
feasible proposition.
4. Investigating both teachers and students’ perceptions of teaching
the selected skills through blended learning approach.
5. Preparing special rooms to teach languages especially English.
6. Designing training courses for the teachers and informing them
with the scientific development in teaching languages and
especially English.
7. Establishing training programs for students, teachers and
administrators to make the most of technology that are suitable for
students’ level.