BLENDING MOOC AND ON-CAMPUS LSP COURSE

Abstract

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been challenging the traditional model of higher education since their appearance in 2008. Nowadays they draw a great deal of attention from all the parties involved: students, teachers, administrators and investors. Although such courses offer a wide range of possibilities and hold considerable potential, a number of issues have already emerged. In particular, the majority of MOOCs are criticized for being focused on knowledge transition without skills development. The objective of the action research described in this paper is to demonstrate that blending MOOC (Marketing Coursera course) and on-campus LSP (Language for Specific Purposes) course produces unexpected results from obtaining knowledge in the subject to acquiring skills of network collaboration and autonomous learners. The action research was carried out at Business School of Lomonosov Moscow State University, the participants were twenty three second-year bachelor students. The post-intervention questionnaire was used to collect the students’ perceptions.