Week 5: Content analysis &

Grounded theory
Modules 🗃️ Introduction to Research
Rollup Chuyên ngành

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1. Fill in the blanks: Identify the six main reasons found in the study for why students
dropped out of the blended English course. Fill in the blanks below with the reasons.

a. Lack of teacher support and feedback

b. Lack of learner-centredness/autonomy

c. Lack of interactivity in online materials

d. Lack of complementarity and integration of the face-to-face and online

components

e. Importance of interaction

f. Need for a relationship with peers and teachers

2. Compare and evaluate: Compare the reasons identified in this study to those found in
Stracke (2007) original study. Discuss any similarities and differences between the
findings of the two studies. Critically evaluate the significance of these comparisons.

Stracke (2007) identified three main reasons for dropping the blended language class
in her study:

lack of support/complementarity between the two components (This remains a

major concern for today’s Vietnamese students)
⇒ an urgent reminder for teachers to be aware of this issue and act upon it:
intergrate the various components of a blended language class, which combine

Week 5: Content analysis & Grounded theory 1

 both face-to-face teaching, synchronous online teaching, self-study offline and
online, with print and online tools and materials.

lack of print materials

students in this study seem to move with ease between the paper and the
computer medium
students in the original study missed the “conventional, traditional and normal”
materials (CALL had not yet reached the stage of normalization)

dislike of the computer medium

this does not show in the current data set. This finding does not come as a
surprise, given that this study was conducted more than 20 years later, and new
technologies have become part of our lives and the way we learn and teach.

⇒ no longer students’ concerns

the need for teacher support, feedback and guidance is another common theme
across both studies.
the need for “the teacher to offer the right amount of guidance and support to suit the
needs of each student” is as strong as 20 years before and can increase in times of
crises, when teachers were required to provide high levels of support and feedback
when all face-to-face teaching had to move online.
Software (with the perceived low level of interactivity) can aggravate the perceived
lack of feedback and guidance that learners need and puts the onus on the teacher.

3. Suggest improvements: Based on your understanding of the findings, suggest some

specific improvements that could be made to the blended English course or program to
help address the key reasons for dropout identified. Support your suggestions with
evidence from the paper.

Provide targeted teacher feedback and support for online work through a learning
management system.

Involve students in course design to better address needs and preferences for
learner-centredness

Enhance interactivity in online materials through the use of multimedia, peer

interactions, and automated formative feedback (E.g. The feedback is automated,
coming from apps' like Grammarly algorithms rather than a human editor. It scales
to provide feedback on large volumes of writing. The goal is to help writers learn by

Week 5: Content analysis & Grounded theory 2

 surfacing common issues, with the understanding that not all suggestions will be
correct or applicable in context.)

Better align face-to-face and online learning through joint planning by teachers
and connecting activities across components.

Schedule more optional synchronous online sessions to support interaction and

relationship-building.

4. Overall critical analysis: In 4-5 well-developed paragraphs, provide an overall critical

analysis of the paper. Discuss the strengths and limitations of the study. Critically assess
the main conclusions drawn by the authors. You may also discuss any other aspects of
the paper and the implications of the findings.

Critical review of the paper " A Road to

A critical review of the paper "EFL learners
Understanding - A Qualitative Study into Why
dropping out of blended language learning classes:
Learners Drop out of a Blended Language
A replication of Stracke (2007)”
Learning (BLL) Environment" (Stracke, 2007)

The paper presents a qualitative study that
replicates Stracke's (2007) research on why
students drop out of blended language learning
(BLL) courses. The authors interviewed 5 students
who dropped out of a BLL English course at a
university in Vietnam to understand their reasons
for leaving. The study identified 6 main themes: 1.
Lack of teacher support and feedback 2. Lack of
learner-centredness/autonomy 3. Lack of
interactivity in online materials 4. Lack of
complementarity and integration of the face-to-
face and online components 5. Importance of
interaction 6. Need for a relationship with peers
and teachers A key strength of this study is that it
replicates an earlier qualitative study on the same
topic conducted in a different context. Replicating
qualitative research is rare but can provide
valuable confirmatory insights. Comparing the
results of the original 2007 study and this
replication reveals some thought-provoking
similarities and differences over time. For instance,
both student groups felt a lack of complementarity
between online and face-to-face elements was the
main reason for dropping out. However, dislike of
the online medium itself was a key reason for
dropout in 2007 but not in the current study,
In her study: “A Road to Understanding”,
Stracker (2007) aimed to understand why learners
drop out of a blended language. This made an
early contribution to the field. Strake followed
practices for qualitative research through her
methodological approach. By conducting in-depth
interviews and carefully analyzing the transcribed
data, she was able to gain rich insights into
participants’ experiences and reasons for leaving
the course. Using multiple validity strategies like
participant checks enhanced the credibility of
Strake’s findings. Her clear reporting of the study
context and limitations also allowed readers to
adequately judge the trustworthiness and
transferability of results. Another particular
strength of Strake’s study was its value as an
“early initiative” (Introduction to Critical Review)
that could lay important groundwork for later
replication research.

Week 5: Content analysis & Grounded theory 3

 demonstrating changing attitudes as technology
becomes more normalized. A particular strength of
Stracke’s study was its value as an “early
initiative” (Introduction to Critical Review) that
laid important groundwork for later replication
research. By replicating Strack’s design and
methods, the current study was able to build on her
seminal work: compare findings over time as
technologies evolved and deepen understanding of
this issue. Stracke’s methodology proved robust
enough to be replicated productively fifteen years
later in a new context. Some limitations exist. The
small convenient sample inhibits generalizability.
Despite this, the authors justify this small sample
as an intentional focus on “extreme” cases to gain
insights from outliers. However, additional
quantitative or mixed methods follow-up with
larger samples could build on these qualitative
findings to generate generalizable results. Further,
unplanned changes to …. feedback, relationship-
building, and flexibility addressing diverse needs -
emerged as paramount for retention. In conclusion,
Stracke et al’s (2003) replication makes an
important methodological and practical
contribution. It strengthens fundamental
understandings of the multifactional reasons for
BLL dropout globally and locally. The qualitative
rigor and comparative analysis have real-world
value for enhancing BLL course design and
support structures. The study demonstrates the
benefits of replicating qualitative research and
provides an impetus for pedagogical excellence to
improve student retention and experience in
increasingly blended environments.

Week 5: Content analysis & Grounded theory 4