Blended learning technologies: course design, collaboration and assessment in improving students’ essay writing skills

As the current measures in higher education are being related straight to both online and offline platforms, blended learning can be a prototype model in increasing quality and content factors of this stage of education, thereby providing teachers and students with connected and continuous education in practice. In many studies related to the issues mentioned above, blended learning, its practical functions are central to the discussion. Besides that, doing scientific investigations on the correlation between competencies and technologies in TFL plays a constructive role in creating a competitive educational environment for everyone. The study aimed to test blended learning technologies in improving students’ writing competence in essay writing skills. As for the tasks of the study, they are: (1) to analyze the importance of course design in conducting lessons on writing skills successfully; (2) to practically experiment collaborative learning between a teacher and students on both platforms; (3) to investigate benefits of e-assessment in evaluating students’ writing tasks in the environment of blended learning. The experimental study was carried out among teachers and second-year students of Uzbekistan State World Languages University (UzSWLU) with the help of qualitative and quantitative types of data collection. First, the qualitative method was used while interviewing teachers about the implemented methods, technologies, and approaches at the end of the study. Then, the second type of data collection – quantitative was used as a form of questionnaire among the participants (students) of the research on virtual platforms to obtain results of blended learning in fostering essay writing skills. According to the research findings, blended learning has a considerable impact on training students as future personnel by assisting them in fostering their communicative and subcompetencies in practice.