Motivational Factors in a Blended Learning Course When Teaching Students from Confucian-Heritage Culture

Abstract

This study explores the attitudes of students with Confucian values toward blended learning classroom. In the Confucian learning culture, students are viewed as passive learners, reliant on rote memorization, assessment-driven, obedient to authority, and fearful of showing different opinions to the instructor. This style of learning is different than online learning, which encourages independence and require students to take greater responsibility for their own learning. This study comprised of 94 students who took a blended listening course in English from a medium-sized university in Southern Taiwan. A questionnaire was administered at the end of the course and it was found that the participants in this study demonstrated certain characteristics associated with the Confucian-heritage learning culture. Two important factors in helping students with Confucian values succeed in a blended classroom include classroom management and a user-friendly platform which reduces anxiety associated technology. The use of blended learning would be a good choice for such students because it offers a combination of the traditional classroom that students are used to for parts of the semester with the convenience of online learning for the other parts of the semester.