PRESENTATION OUTLINE

1 Research title

2 Rationale for the project

3 Mapping Research Questions with research objectives

4 Literature review

5 Methodology

6 Results

7 Discussions

8 Conclusion – what my research was all about.

 “Exploring the Effectiveness in the
Teaching of Grammar using the Virtual
Learning Environment to Grade Seven
Lower-Secondary ESL Learners in a Semi-
Private School of Sri Lanka”.
 ➢ VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) has grown in
➢ Virtual learning refers to an environment where students importance and is seen to offer particular benefits
study a digital-based curriculum taught by instructors to the learning process. Numerous studies have
that lecture online via video or audio ex. Zoom, Moodle, shown that students who use effective online
LMS. Designed to extend educational experiences. learning platforms will success academically (Artino,
& Jones, 2012)

➢ Conversely, although such learning has been

➢ As a result, teaching has started to move away from
traditional or face-to-face classroom settings and
toward online learning platforms in many countries
across the globe in many areas of education, including
English language (Vovides, SanchezAlonso, Mitropoulou,
& Nickmans, 2007).
recognized for its values, there are still ambiguity
and opinions that state the use of VLE is unsuccess
in many other ways such as being unable to
capture group cohesion that physical classrooms
would offer. Furthermore some believe that VLE
lacks stimulation for students and may create
anxiety for some students due to the lack of
physical presence as offered in traditional ways
(Godwin-Jones, 2012)

➢ Whilst there is substantial research on this topic in many countries across the globe, this is still a
highly debated topic and lacks research specifically to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
 Mapping of Research Questions to Research Objectives
PROBLEM STATEMENT: MAIN OBJECTIVE;
Map to This research seeks to recognize the impact of British
There is a substantial degree of effectiveness rendered Council Virtual Learning Environment on the teaching
by BC VLE on the teaching of grammar for Grade 07 of grammar to grade 07 lower-Secondary ESL Learners
Lower secondary ESL learners in a semi private school in a semi- private school of Sri Lanka.
of Sri Lanka.

Retrieved from Achieved all

Retrieved from
RESEARCH QUESTIONS SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. What impact does VLE have towards the development 1. To analyze the impact VLE has towards the
of grammar in the grade 07 lower secondary level Answered By development of grammar learning.
students in a semi private school during this study?

2.To analyze the perception of the students towards

2. What are the perceptions of the students in this study utilizing BC VLE in enhancing the grammar skills.
in utilizing VLE in enhancing the grammar competencies.
Answered By
 Significance of the research
▪ The findings of this study were expected to assist the society in Sri Lanka to create a better understanding on the
benefits of adopting VLE in teaching and learning of English, considering that all the Sri Lankans will become more alert
about the revolution in the 21st century teaching industry, which is the blended teaching and learning.

• This subsequently showed that there are more effective teaching and learning process in comparison with the
traditional or conventional way of classroom instructions.

• By finding out the effectiveness of utilizing VLE in enhancing the teaching of grammar among Grade 07 lower-
secondary school ESL learners and the positive results in the findings were important in proving the successfulness
of the BC VLE in creating an effective online learning platform.

• This is allowing teaching, learning, collaboration and administrative functions to take place through the Internet.
However, the implementation of such ambitious technology has sparked controversy. The study of VLE's
effectiveness in enhancing the language of the students will be very significant in proving its successfulness.

• In addition, globalization in this era greatly demands e-learning to be included to the teaching approaches
and also justifies the needs for creating a learning environment with reality and also virtuality, which are the
traditional classroom teaching and online learning. In relevance to this, blended reality and its diverse
applications in education are highly emphasized these days (Bower, Lee & Dalgarno, 2017).
 THEORY 01
The Bloom’s
taxonomy(Forehand,2005)
This is a multi-layer model that classifies the
thinking pertaining to the use of cogitative
complexity which stems from the knowledge,
comprehension, application, analysis process
and synthesis in evaluation.
For the purpose of this study the modern and
revised version of the taxonomy is being related
with the ESL context under the grammar
learning process. Initially the grammar lessons
are being taught and then they retained the
grammar rules given to them, and then they
comprehended their meanings and structures.
THEORY 02
VLE in ESL Classroom (2006)
The use of VLE in ESL classrooms derives
from the interactionist application theory for
second languages.
Chapelle (2006) investigated the role of
interaction in the second language
learning process and the significance of
interaction in ESL acquisition according
to interactionist theory, which predicts a
better potential for language growth
through interaction phases.
THEORY 03
Teaching of Vocabulary in ESL
Classroom– Rashid, Abdul Rahman and
Yunus (2017)
They discovered in their study that after spending
many years studying English in primary and
secondary school, many pupils in Sri Lanka still
lack grammatical knowledge. According to
Richards and Rodgers, the Direct Technique,
which was the original approach of grammar-
translation in English language education in Sri
Lanka, has been overtaken by the SLT method.
Therefore, the most influential strategies
connected to grammar learning per Nation (2001)
is the use of activity-based learning rather than
explaining the pure theory.
 Studies on students'
opinions and attitudes
towards the use of
educational technology-
Ayres (2002)
The purpose of this study was
to examine the attitudes of
students towards use of
computer-assisted language
learning (CALL).
study results indicated that
perceived usefulness, perceived
ease of use, and subjective
norms were significant predictors
of computer attitudes.
Cheok & Wong (2016) which
explored the teachers’
involvements of adopting
VLE in their classes.
This study elaborates the teachers’
worries and obstructions, besides
giving recommendations for
enhanced employment of VLE to
enhance the teaching and
learning processes.
In their study, most teachers in
Malaysia accepted that the Frog
VLE has produced high students’
attentiveness. They also identified
the benefits of Frog VLE in
providing easy access to a vast
amount of materials which can
help to enhance the learning
outcomes besides motivating the
students to be more autonomous
in learning.
Influence of psychological
ownership on instructors'
perceptions of cloud-based
VLE use, using two primary
factors: perceived utility and
perceived usability. Yim,
Moses, and Azalea's (2018)
This paper studied how the
psychological ownership shaped
teachers’ beliefs about using a
cloud-based VLE.
This research found that perceived
utility and usefulness and ease of
use are based on instructors'
actual experience with the
software.
 Methodology
Purpose of research- The purpose of the study is exploratory.

Approach The key approach is deductive

Explore the effectiveness of British council virtual learning

environment on grammar development of grade 07 lower-
Type of investigation Secondary ESL Learners in a semi- private school of Sri
Lanka

The analysis is based on the intervention based pre-test

Unit of analysis and post test based methodology along with semi-
structured interviews and surveys.
 Methodology
Population Grade 07 ESL lower- secondary level students at a semi-
private school in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Study Sample 40 respondents irrespective of gender aged 13.

Sample size & selection of The sample for this study is drawn from a population of 40
sample by convenience sampling method.

External Primary data would be collected.

Sources of data

Pre-test & post test would be conducted by a test paper

(Both groups). A semi structured interviews and
Collection of data questionnaires will be conducted post test (Experimental
group only).
 Methodology
T-Test analysis will be utilized and run-through SPPS
Data Analysis Strategy software as a flexible data analytic tool for the
investigation.

Independent variable : Motivation & Attitude towards BC

VLE (lessons)
Variables
Dependent variable : Marks of the students(effectiveness
of BC VLE).
STAGE 01 The researcher selected two grade 07 classes from a lower- secondary school located in Colombo district
through convenience sampling method. A total of 40 students were selected from the two grade 10
classes in that school

STAGE 02 The researcher assigned one class as the controlled group and the other as the experimental group. Once
the groups were assigned, the pre-test which comprised of grammar questions were administered to all
the students involved. The pre-test was based on Bloom’s revised taxonomy and the pre- test were
marked and graded accordingly for data analyzing purpose later.
STAGE 03 Once the pre-test was conducted, the intervention was followed. A schedule was planned for the
experimental group where they attended VLE English grammar lessons for six weeks. A standardized
lesson plan template taken from the school was used. The controlled group learned English vocabulary in a
conventional method [traditional method].
STAGE 04 After six weeks, both groups were sitting for the post-test administered by the researcher. The post-test
was similar to the pre-test administered in Stage 2. Similar to Stage 2, the post-test was marked and
graded accordingly for data analyzing purposes later.
STAGE 05 Upon the completion of the tests and interventions, surveys and semi-structured interviews were
conducted. The data were collected based on the themes available from the responses of the
respondents. For the semi-structured interview, volunteer/group sampling method was used where
respondents participated in the interview session voluntarily.
Stage 06 Data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel 2013 and SPPS and be presented in Chapter 4, Findings
and Discussion.
 LESSON PLAN

Six lessons on grammar were chosen

to be done each week as shown.
 Sources of data and procedure of data collection
Molina Azorin (2007), stated that, in order to construct a
mixed-methods study utilizing triangulation, it is necessary
to first identify a theoretical goal that is closely connected to
the study's research objectives.
RQ - 01
❖ The true experiment method was employed in order to find out the
impact of the intervention to answer the first research question of this
study.
❖ The rationale for using the true-experiment method was because it
includes both an experimental and a control group participant for this
study, with the existence of the control group revealing if the
intervention or treatment offered had the predicted effects.
❖ In this research, the impact of adopting VLE was determined by
comparing the test results of both the control and experimental groups.
❖ The control group received the traditional way of learning English
grammar lessons, while the experimental group was taught the same
lessons using the BC VLE.
❖ The test results were then evaluated using Microsoft Excel, and a T-
test and SPSS software.
In the framework of this research, the theoretical objective was to
examine the efficacy of BC VLE in enhancing the knowledge of
English grammar of the lower -secondary ESL students, as
well as to ascertain their impressions of BC VLE.
RQ - 02
❖ Secondly, Quantitative & qualitative data was needed thus the
experimental group was subjected to surveys and semi-structured
interview in order to find out the perceptions of the students
towards VLE to learn English grammar with reference to the
second research question.
❖ The research questionnaire has been designed as a systematic
technique for collecting data and consists of a number of written
or spoken questions to which respondents must reply honestly. 10
Questions based
❖ And in order to measure the impact of the independent variables
on dependent variable, a five point ‘Liker scale’ was used.
❖ Right after the posttest, the semi-structured interviews were
conducted with 10 experimental group members.
 Procedure of data collection

The main objective of this chapter is to investigate the effectiveness in the teaching of grammar using the BC
Virtual Learning Platform to grade 07 lower -secondary ESL Learners in a semi- private school of Sri Lanka.

The specific data is analyzed using the SPSS software and T-Test.

Correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between Effectiveness in the
Teaching of Grammar and the independent variables (Motivation to Learn English Through
BC VLE and Attitude towards the Learning Instruction of BC VLE.

Categorical moderator analysis used to identify how it would change the effectiveness in
the teaching of grammar using the BC Virtual Learning Environment by gender.

Regression model used to predict or explain the variation in one variable

based on another variable.
 Description of the results

There were 12–60% females in the experimental group and 14–75% in the
control group. Males made up 8-40% of the experimental groups and 14-35%
of the control groups, respectively.

The discrepancies between their pre-test and post-test scores had also been
expressed as percentages.
 This was done in order to
determine the efficacy of the
intervention, and the differences of
the grades between pre- and post-
tests were calculated for both the
experimental and control groups.
 This depicts the frequency of variations between pre-test
and post-test scores for both the experimental and control groups.
✓ After undergoing the six-week intervention, the participants in the experimental
group did score better on the grammar tests.

✓ Differences of the mode between the pre-test and post- test post of the
experimental group averaged +16% with a frequency of 7 students, greater than
the controls group's average differences of +4% and -4% with a frequency of 5
students.
 T – Test analyze of experimental and controlled groups test results

The significant level is 0.003 at a 95% confidence level, The t-test for
the experimental group was therefore significant. The results of the
paired samples t-test revealed that the experimental group's participant
pre-test and post-test results ranged from M = 32.83, SD = 7.91, to M =
67.9524, SD = 9.39402; t = -3.433, p = 0.003 .005.
The level of significance is 0.006 which, at a 95% confidence level, is less
than 0.05 (0.05). The t-test for the experimental group was therefore
significant. The participant's pre-test and post-test of the controlled group
were pre-test (M = 57.2857, SD=13.41694) and post-test (M = 55.2381, SD
=13.26614; t = 0.770, p = 0.006 .005), according to the paired samples t-
test.
 Discussions on the Questionnaire Survey

In order to collect the data on evaluating the perceptions of the ESL

grade seven lower- secondary learners on the utilization of BC VLE in
the teaching of grammar, the researcher had analyzed the responses of
all the 20 students through a total of 20 questionnaire survey questions.

The questions included in the survey were categorized to test

two different aspects, which were their motivation to learn
English through BC VLE and their attitudes towards the
learning instruction of BC VLE.

It can be concluded that majority of the responses from the students

were more towards giving positive perceptions on the utilization
of BC VLE in the teaching of English Grammar.
 Correlation Analysis
To identify the significant relationship between motivation and attitude in the learning of grammar towards the effectiveness in
the teaching of grammar, a correlation analysis for dependent and independent variables was done.

The connection between the predictor variables (Effectiveness in the

Teaching of Grammar) and the independent variables (Motivation
and attitude to Learn Grammar Through BC VLE ) are 0.002 and
0.000, respectively, according to the correlation analysis. At a 95%
confidence level, the significance value is less than 0.05

Correlation analysis revealed a connection between the predictor

variable Effectiveness in the teaching of grammar and
independents variables Motivation to learn English through BC
VLE and Attitudes towards the learning instruction of BC VLE.
The attitudes toward the learning instruction provided by BC VLE
and the motivation to study English with BC VLE are significant
statistically. As a result, there is statistical significance in the
association between both the predictor variables Effectiveness in the
Teaching of Grammar and the independent variables Attitudes about
the Learning Instruction of BC VLE and Motivation to Learn English
Through BC VLE.
 Multiple regression analysis

To identify the relationship between Effectiveness in the teaching of grammar

and the independent variables.

According to multiple regression analysis, the independent variables

taken into consideration in this study can predict 94.6% of the variance in
the Effectiveness in the grammar teaching.
✓ According to the coefficient table, the coefficient values
of Motivation to learn English through BC VLE and
Attitudes towards the learning instruction of BC VLE
is -0.662 and 1.835 respectively.

✓ According to this, the most affected factor to the

Effectiveness in the teaching of grammar is Attitudes
towards the learning instruction of BC VLE

As a result, attitudes toward the BC VLE's learning instruction is the factor

that had the most impact on the dependent variable.
A histogram is similar to a bar graph, in that it
organizes a group of data into ranges that
approximate the probability distribution .

The histogram represents the distribution of

data. This histogram shows a normal
distribution among the data set.
This table shows the Pearson Correlation Coefficient among
dependent variable Effectiveness in the teaching of grammar and
independent variable motivation to learn English through BC VLE. The
correlation value is 0.357 and it is a positive correlation.

The significance value for the Leven's Test, as seen in the

table, is 0.003, which is lower than 0.05. Less than 0.05,
the two-tailed significance value is 0.005. Two tailed
significance level and Leven's Test significance value are
both less than 0.05. In order to obtain a good significant
relationship, it must be less than 0.05.

As a result, there is a considerable correlation

between gender and effectiveness in the teaching of
grammar through BC VLE.
This scatterplot demonstrates how motivation and efficacy in
the teaching of grammar using VLE are moderated by
gender.

As a result, all male & female students will learn grammar more
effectively when their motivation to study English through BC
VLE is higher. However, in the histogram, the slope of the curve
for men is greater than that for women.

This indicates that when male students are encouraged to learn

English through BC VLE, the effectiveness in learning
grammar through VLE will be higher than that of female
students.
 Interview session

According to the interview results, response of

seven students out of ten were positive about BC
VLE. In addition, those eight students were told
that they think BC VLE really helped them in
improving their grammar skills.
According to the interview results, response of eight
students out of ten have chosen BC VLE among
traditional way and BC VLE.
According to results, 09 of students like BC VLE in
learning grammar because of quiz, games, picture and
videos out of 10 students
This study's major goal is to investigate the effectiveness in teaching of grammar using BC VLE to lower-secondary ESL learners in grade 7
at a semi-private school in Sri Lanka utilizing a virtual learning platform. For both controlled and experimental data sets, the researcher ran
pre- and post-tests. In contrast to the marks demonstrated in the pre-test highlights the current grammar knowledge of the students, and the post-
test marks highlights the knowledge gained to fill the current gap of their grammar knowledge after the intervention process

Although there had been many studies conducted by many experts and researchers relating to studies on students' opinions and attitudes towards
the use of educational technology (Ayres,2002), accessing students learning in an online environment (Somarathna 2021 et al.) students’ satisfaction
towards online learning experience(Ananda, Dissanayake et al,2021) and effectiveness of online assessments, there had had been no research
done focusing on the effectiveness of teaching and learning grammar through the BC VLE in Sri Lanka. Also,
whilst there is substantial research on this topic in many countries across the globe, this is still a highly debated topic and lacks research
specifically to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The frequency between the pre-test and post-test of the experimental group proved that after undergoing the six-week intervention, the participants in
the experimental group did score better on the grammar tests. And the pre- and post-test results demonstrated the effectiveness of the
intervention because, in comparison to the control group, which had undergone traditional methods for grammar teaching and learning, the majority
of the experimental group participants showed improvements in their post-test scores.
The coefficient values of the independent variables are 0.662 and 1.835 respectively. According to this, the most affected factor to measure the
effectiveness in the teaching of grammar is the attitude of students towards the BC VLE. The effectiveness in the teaching of grammar
using Virtual Learning Platform can be seen through a student’s attitudes towards the BC VLE, When the student’s attitudes towards BC
VLE increased, as a result the effectiveness of teaching of grammar using Virtual Learning Platform is high.

Furthermore, according to multiple regression analysis, the independent variables taken into consideration in this study can predict 94.6% of the
variance in the effectiveness in the grammar teaching. The coefficient table showed that attitudes toward the BC VLE's learning instruction are
the factors that had the greatest impact on the effectiveness of grammar instruction. As a result, the independent variable learning
instruction is the factor that had the most impact on the dependent variable. Therefore, it can be concluded that statics were precise of the
research outcomes.

According to the responses received from the interview, most of students liked BC VLE in learning grammar because of the quiz, games,
pictures, gap fillers and videos. They think when using quiz games, picture, videos and songs they can learn and remember the rules of
grammar structures very well than traditional way of learning.
 Recommendations
According to the results of the study, the most influential factor on the Effectiveness in the teaching of grammar using Virtual Learning
Platform is Motivation to learn English through BC VLE. Hence, it will be very effective to give attention to motivate students for virtual
learning platforms. The researcher has mentioned that some suggestions to increase the Effectiveness in the teaching of grammar using
Virtual Learning Platform

• Individualizing Education ▪ Giving Meaningful students

feedbacks
Motivation occurs naturally when
It is crucial to provide kids honest
pupils learn in a more practical
feedback in addition to recognizing their
way. Students feel more in control
accomplishments. Feedback enables
when they have input on a course's
students to monitor their progress and
curriculum, learning routes, or even
gain a better understanding of the actions
delivery methods. This gives the
they should take to enhance their
course a more pleasant and
performance. Feedback is essential for
manageable appearance.
parents of young learners to comprehend
Personalization is now essential in
how they can facilitate their child's
online learning, as it is crucial to
learning.
maintain students' interest.
 Self-Monitoring Is Allowed

Self-monitoring is another technique to keep students

engaged and informed about their academic progress.
Platforms for online learning provide reporting capabilities
that gather information on students. This information
contains the quantity of students enrolled in each
course, results, time and attendance, and much more.

Utilizing a Range of Learning Resources

A definite method to guarantee that students stay interested in

online learning is to offer choice and variety. As was previously
mentioned, pupils react differently to various teaching
strategies. Others like audiobooks or a gamification lecture
interface, while some students react better to video lectures.
Students similarly have a favored method for completing
homework, taking quizzes, and presenting projects.
 Limitations

The researcher encountered time constraints since permission to the room was granted only once a week only from the school for the VLE
sessions to be conducted. The one-hour session per lesson each week was challenging and hindered the ability to perform the intervention to
enhance the pupils linguistic competence was challenging.

The major and most significant restriction of this research was the time limit. Due to school vacations, the period of the intervention provided to the
pupils was just six weeks.

It was challenging to generalize the findings of this study which was due to the limited sample size, and the absence of viewpoints from language
instructors.
 MAIN OBJECTIVES AND JUSTIFICATIONS OF THE
DEFENSE PROPOSAL MET.

WHY I CHOOSE THIS TOPIC Talked about the motivations for this study, research problems were addressed
which embarked on the study.

WHAT RESEARCH PROJECT WAS ALL ABOUT Basically, repeated the abstract of my thesis.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF MY RESEARCH Stated the specific aspects of my research topic which was covered.

Stated how my research work can be helpful to other researchers, educators,

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
organizations.

WHAT WERE THE RESEARCH VARIABLES Explained my independent and dependent variables that grasped the
research topic
 Research design procedure adopted was explained. The
WHAT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY WAS USED data collection methods and sampling techniques
employed was explained.

Justification was given based on a literature as to why I

WHY I EMPLOYED THAT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
used the triangulation method for example.

Difficulties and challenges encountered during the data

LIMITATIONS ENCOUNTERED collection was explained.

Stated what my primary sources such as questionnaires,

WHAT SOURCE OF DATA WAS EMPLOYED FOR THE RESEARCH ? interviews. The secondary data books, journal articles
were used.

HOW WOULD I RELATE MY FINDINGS TO EXCISTING THEORIES ON THE The existing theoretical and empirical research supports my
STUDY? findings.
 References

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and backward design’. Relic Journal, 44(1), 5-33.
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Davis, F. D. (1989). ‘Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of
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ceived_Usefulness_Perceived_Ease_of_Use_and_User_Acceptance_of_Info
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https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fred_Davis2/publication/200085965

Rashid, R. A., Abdul Rahman, S. B., & Yunus, K. (2017). ‘Reforms in the policy of
English language teaching in Malaysia’. Policy Futures in Education, 15(1), 100-
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Chapelle, C. A. (2006). ‘Interactionist SLA theory in CALL research’. CALL research
perspectives 65-76. Routledge. Retrieved from
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