The Impacts of Blended Learning on English Language Proficiency in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Blended learning, as an educational model that integrates traditional classroom teaching with online learning, has gradually become an important method for improving unviersity students' English language proficiency in recent years. As globalization has raised the bar for English proficiency among unviersity students whose first language is not English, studying the impact of blended learning not only has theoretical value, but also provides valuable reference for higher education practice. This study aims to explore the impact of blended learning on unviersity students' English language proficiency (listening, speaking, reading and writing).

This study used a systematic literature review as a method, adopted the PRISMA 2020 process, and used the PICO framework to determine the research question: What is the impact of blended learning on the English language proficiency (listening, speaking, reading and writing) of higher education students? High-quality literature published between 2020 and 2024 was identified through a search of the Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOhost and ERIC databases using keywords such as “blended learning”, “English language proficiency” and “university students”. Ultimately, 52 articles were included in this study after screening and quality assessment of the literature, of which 30 met the quality criteria of the MMAT assessment tool. These studies used quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods to systematically analyze the effects of blended learning on listening, speaking, reading and writing through coding and data extraction.

The studies showed that blended learning had a significant positive effect on all four language proficiency. Effective teaching methods, such as timely feedback and interaction, task-based learning, project-based learning and self-paced learning. Effective teaching approaches, such as online and offline combination, flipped classroom, multimodal learning, mobile learning technology, group collaborative learning and other methods. These teaching methods and approaches increase learning flexibility, enhance interactivity, provide personalized support and rich learning resources.The results can be used to guide instructional design and policy development and promote the quality of language education.

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