Calibrating self-regulated learning: Convergence and divergence in EFL university teachers' and students’ perceptions in blended learning environments

Abstract

This qualitative case study examines how Chinese EFL university students and teachers perceived self-regulated learning (SRL) in a blended learning environment. Drawing on interviews with 20 students and 18 teachers, reflective journals, and classroom observations, the study identifies shared understandings and persistent misalignments. Both groups viewed SRL as involving learner responsibility, especially goal setting and resource selection. However, teachers emphasized guidance, monitoring, feedback, and self-evaluation, whereas students relied more on peer interaction and practical resource use during online and out-of-class learning. Student interviews and reflective journals indicated that practical strategy use often emerged through task completion and peer exchange, whereas teacher interviews and classroom observations showed that these strategies were rarely taught explicitly as transferable SRL practices. Interpreting these findings through a sociocultural lens and in relation to Confucian heritage traditions, the study highlights the need for more explicit, socially supported, and pedagogically integrated SRL in blended EFL courses.