Blended learning model for English as foreign language (EFL) teaching in Indonesian higher education

Global market competition has compelled every country, particularly developing countries, to exert great effort in order to be globally competitive. The Indonesian government has been attempting to improve education in Indonesia by making English one of the subjects to study. In addition, the government views blended learning, the combination of face-to-face and online teaching, as a promising approach for instruction and highly encourages its use in all disciplines, including English. However, along with the challenges of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia, many Indonesian educators, especially EFL teachers and practitioners, are unfamiliar with the blended learning approach. Consequently, it becomes problematic when the government's strong encouragement to use the approach does not match practitioners' competence and proficiency in the field. Therefore, this study aims at clarifying the concept of blended learning, especially in the context of Indonesian higher education as well as providing insights into why blended learning has become a prominent approach worldwide, how this approach is implemented globally, how practicable the approach is for the Indonesian context, and to what extent this approach could be advantageous for EFL instruction in Indonesian higher education. In doing so, conceptual research was conducted to address the research questions. Qualitative data such as journal articles, books, websites, and published research reports were reviewed and analysed using a combination of deductive and inductive analysis. Research on blended learning models from America, UK-Australia, and several Asian countries were examined to scrutinise their benefits and limitations as well as their relevance to the Indonesian sociocultural context. The research findings revealed that the current available models of blended learning are mono-focused and might not be suitable for Indonesian EFL instruction. More important elements, particularly the specific sociocultural context and EFL as a specific subject, should be carefully considered. Hence, this research was concluded by proposing a more culturally appropriate, context-dependent, and comprehensive model that takes into account multiple elements of integrated learning and should be beneficial for teaching English in non-English speaking countries such as Indonesia.