Reviewed by Jinyou Zhou and Lin CongSchool of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
周金友、丛林，北京师范大学外国语言文学学院，中国北京
{"title":"Elaborating Multiliteracies through Multimodal Texts: Changing Classroom Practices and Developing Teacher Pedagogies","authors":"Jinyou Zhou, Lin Cong","doi":"10.56498/832562021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/832562021","url":null,"abstract":"Reviewed by Jinyou Zhou and Lin CongSchool of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121953884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Teaching English has been one of the subjects deeply affected by the lockdown and physical isolation period caused by COVID-19, and schools around the world had to switch to online instruction at short notice. Students engaged in this distance learning process with different autonomy levels; some adapted to the new learning system easily, while others felt lost and depended solely on what the teachers said. This descriptive study aims to discover the perception of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers on learner autonomy levels of Turkish EFL learners during online instruction throughout the lockdown period; what the biggest barriers that blocked their students’ autonomous study habits were; and what strategies teachers/ instructors followed to enhance the students’ autonomy levels. In order to analyse the data collected through an online questionnaire from 66 teacher participants, a descriptive study design with a mixed method approach was adopted. Correlational analysis was performed on the quantitative data, and qualitative data was open coded with content analysis. Findings showed that Turkish EFL learners were perceived to be autonomous at a rate of 55% by their teachers during the online instruction period, and self-access materials, technology, motivation, and the affective factors played a significant role in the development, degree, and perception of autonomy in online learning.
{"title":"EFL Teachers’ Perceptions on Learner Autonomy in Online Instruction during the Lockdown Period","authors":"Aslıhan Tuğçe Güler, Metin Esen","doi":"10.56498/802562021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/802562021","url":null,"abstract":"Teaching English has been one of the subjects deeply affected by the lockdown and physical isolation period caused by COVID-19, and schools around the world had to switch to online instruction at short notice. Students engaged in this distance learning process with different autonomy levels; some adapted to the new learning system easily, while others felt lost and depended solely on what the teachers said. This descriptive study aims to discover the perception of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers on learner autonomy levels of Turkish EFL learners during online instruction throughout the lockdown period; what the biggest barriers that blocked their students’ autonomous study habits were; and what strategies teachers/ instructors followed to enhance the students’ autonomy levels. In order to analyse the data collected through an online questionnaire from 66 teacher participants, a descriptive study design with a mixed method approach was adopted. Correlational analysis was performed on the quantitative data, and qualitative data was open coded with content analysis. Findings showed that Turkish EFL learners were perceived to be autonomous at a rate of 55% by their teachers during the online instruction period, and self-access materials, technology, motivation, and the affective factors played a significant role in the development, degree, and perception of autonomy in online learning.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128197836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Information and communication technology (ICT) has been increasingly implemented in L2 writing contexts for the last decade. A wide range of research was conducted mostly on the use of a single most commonly used Web-based social tool such as wikis or blogs while other practical tools that can be combined in L2 writing classes remained largely unexplored in the literature. To address this gap, the present study investigated the effect of using various Web 2.0 tools on learners’ L2 writing performances and perceptions of students towards integration in the context of Turkish higher education. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of social constructivism, three commonly practiced Web 2.0 tools, i.e., Socrative, Padlet and Google Docs, were integrated into the experimental collaborative writing class. The data were collected by means of students’ writings, focus group interviews and teacher observation checklists. An independent sample t-test of the writing score gains revealed that Web 2.0 tools group had statistically significant higher writing outcomes. Analysis of the qualitative data concluded that varied Web 2.0 tools provided students with significant benefits such as encouraged learner autonomy, increased motivation and participation in addition to much more enjoyable writing lessons and enhanced social interaction.
{"title":"Students’ Perceptions and the Potential Impact of Web 2.0 Tools in Collaborative Writing Classes","authors":"Erguvan Uras Eren, Derin Atay","doi":"10.56498/812562021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/812562021","url":null,"abstract":"Information and communication technology (ICT) has been increasingly implemented in L2 writing contexts for the last decade. A wide range of research was conducted mostly on the use of a single most commonly used Web-based social tool such as wikis or blogs while other practical tools that can be combined in L2 writing classes remained largely unexplored in the literature. To address this gap, the present study investigated the effect of using various Web 2.0 tools on learners’ L2 writing performances and perceptions of students towards integration in the context of Turkish higher education. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of social constructivism, three commonly practiced Web 2.0 tools, i.e., Socrative, Padlet and Google Docs, were integrated into the experimental collaborative writing class. The data were collected by means of students’ writings, focus group interviews and teacher observation checklists. An independent sample t-test of the writing score gains revealed that Web 2.0 tools group had statistically significant higher writing outcomes. Analysis of the qualitative data concluded that varied Web 2.0 tools provided students with significant benefits such as encouraged learner autonomy, increased motivation and participation in addition to much more enjoyable writing lessons and enhanced social interaction.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"49 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121646200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nalini Arumugam, Geraldine De Mello, Selvajothi Ramalingam, Mohammad Nor Afandi bin Ibrahim, Puspalata C Suppiah, Isai Amutan Krishnan
The serious consequences of COVID-19 have resulted in a temporary slowdown in different sectors of daily activities including the education sector. In Malaysia, the impact of the pandemic has caused all the classes to be conducted online. The present study aims to investigate the challenges faced by English Second Language (ESL) educators in online teaching. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth phone interviews were conducted with 20 ESL educators of Private Higher Learning Institutions. The findings indicated that they encountered problems such as isolation, lack of motivation in online teaching, technical difficulties with online teaching tools, time-consuming resources and work-life imbalance. The findings further revealed that ESL educators’ work-life imbalance had emotionally impacted their families and social relations, which in turn had affected their professional lives. Thus, by understanding the problems, educational institutions can come up with short and long-term strategies to ensure that ESL educators can be productive regardless of the mode of teaching activities. Among them would be introducing pertinent courses in online teaching, Internet training, and the integration of multimedia resources that could improve online teaching.
{"title":"COVID-19: Challenges of Online Teaching among ESL Educators of Private Higher Learning Institutions in Malaysia","authors":"Nalini Arumugam, Geraldine De Mello, Selvajothi Ramalingam, Mohammad Nor Afandi bin Ibrahim, Puspalata C Suppiah, Isai Amutan Krishnan","doi":"10.56498/74122021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/74122021","url":null,"abstract":"The serious consequences of COVID-19 have resulted in a temporary slowdown in different sectors of daily activities including the education sector. In Malaysia, the impact of the pandemic has caused all the classes to be conducted online. The present study aims to investigate the challenges faced by English Second Language (ESL) educators in online teaching. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth phone interviews were conducted with 20 ESL educators of Private Higher Learning Institutions. The findings indicated that they encountered problems such as isolation, lack of motivation in online teaching, technical difficulties with online teaching tools, time-consuming resources and work-life imbalance. The findings further revealed that ESL educators’ work-life imbalance had emotionally impacted their families and social relations, which in turn had affected their professional lives. Thus, by understanding the problems, educational institutions can come up with short and long-term strategies to ensure that ESL educators can be productive regardless of the mode of teaching activities. Among them would be introducing pertinent courses in online teaching, Internet training, and the integration of multimedia resources that could improve online teaching.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"150 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133745860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world not only a health crisis but an instructional challenge about shifting teaching and learning from the classroom to online. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of online English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction during the coronavirus pandemic at Changzhou University in China (CCZU). A mixed-method design, including questionnaire surveys and interviews, was employed for the specific purposes of this study. A group of 90 Chinese EFL students from CCZU completed the surveys measuring learner attitude and needs in online EFL instruction amid the pandemic. 5 Chinese EFL university teachers from CCZU with rich experience in online instruction participated in the interviews. The findings displayed that Chinese EFL learners showed positive attitude toward online EFL instruction since it is proven that achieving learning objectives was also possible in emergency online classes which are considered as more convenient and effective amid the pandemics. The findings also indicated that learners had strong needs in learning engagement and classroom management to achieve the learning objectives in online EFL instruction. Strategies for effective online EFL instruction delivery were discussed and recommendations for future instruction were given.
{"title":"Effectiveness of Online EFL Instruction amid COVID-19: An Attitude-and-Need-Based Study of EFL Learners at Changzhou University, China","authors":"Yan Han, Yong Yi","doi":"10.56498/67122021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/67122021","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world not only a health crisis but an instructional challenge about shifting teaching and learning from the classroom to online. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of online English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction during the coronavirus pandemic at Changzhou University in China (CCZU). A mixed-method design, including questionnaire surveys and interviews, was employed for the specific purposes of this study. A group of 90 Chinese EFL students from CCZU completed the surveys measuring learner attitude and needs in online EFL instruction amid the pandemic. 5 Chinese EFL university teachers from CCZU with rich experience in online instruction participated in the interviews. The findings displayed that Chinese EFL learners showed positive attitude toward online EFL instruction since it is proven that achieving learning objectives was also possible in emergency online classes which are considered as more convenient and effective amid the pandemics. The findings also indicated that learners had strong needs in learning engagement and classroom management to achieve the learning objectives in online EFL instruction. Strategies for effective online EFL instruction delivery were discussed and recommendations for future instruction were given.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"06 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114918865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the education sector to explore dramatically different teaching modes. This article is a study of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in a community college in Hong Kong. It investigates the challenges that a cohort of 50 ESL lecturers encountered and the strategic responses they adopted in relation to ERT. Documents such as the college newsletter, post-teaching reports and meeting records were used to analyze the language teachers’ context of adjustment, and one-on-one interviews were conducted with four participants from the cohort to explore their firsthand experiences. The analysis revealed the variety of challenges that the participants faced, including the development of technological skills, the preparation of online materials, the implementation of online assessment and marking, as well as interaction with students. In response to these challenges, the participants adopted diverse strategies to achieve pedagogical development in facilitating their teaching practices with students in synchronic online teaching. This article argues that language educators need to develop technological and online interactional competencies so that new pedagogical activities can be developed to enhance students’ learning. In addition, training sessions should be provided to support their pedagogical adaptation and development of new skills. Accordingly, it concludes that adjustment requires both individual and institutional investments.
{"title":"Emergency Remote Teaching in Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: Pedagogical Adjustments of Community College ESL Lecturers in Hong Kong","authors":"Wenli Wu, Huiwen Shi","doi":"10.56498/73122021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/73122021","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the education sector to explore dramatically different teaching modes. This article is a study of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in a community college in Hong Kong. It investigates the challenges that a cohort of 50 ESL lecturers encountered and the strategic responses they adopted in relation to ERT. Documents such as the college newsletter, post-teaching reports and meeting records were used to analyze the language teachers’ context of adjustment, and one-on-one interviews were conducted with four participants from the cohort to explore their firsthand experiences. The analysis revealed the variety of challenges that the participants faced, including the development of technological skills, the preparation of online materials, the implementation of online assessment and marking, as well as interaction with students. In response to these challenges, the participants adopted diverse strategies to achieve pedagogical development in facilitating their teaching practices with students in synchronic online teaching. This article argues that language educators need to develop technological and online interactional competencies so that new pedagogical activities can be developed to enhance students’ learning. In addition, training sessions should be provided to support their pedagogical adaptation and development of new skills. Accordingly, it concludes that adjustment requires both individual and institutional investments.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124006553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
COVID-19 has affected university educators on a global scale, and Japan is not an exception. Many EFL educators, including myself, began the academic year with much uncertainty as to how things would unfold. And, like many other EFL teachers in Japan, my spring semester classes were taught fully online. This study intends to illustrate the experience of a Japanese EFL university teacher amid COVID-19. It portrays how I initially changed my teaching practices to cope with the difficult situation but ended the semester with an increased feeling of competence as an educator. This experience is described autoethnographically in a three-part journey: Sho, chiku, bai. As Chang (2008) points out, one danger in autoethnography is excessive focus on the self. In order to avoid this, artifacts and comments of the students whom I taught were used for analysis in addition to autoethnographic reflections. Results pointed to three obstacles that I faced. Rewriting the course syllabus, getting students accustomed to information technology and altering my teaching practices. However, by the end of the semester students appeared to have developed close interpersonal relationships amongst their peers, improved IT literacy, and increased their motivation to study English. These positive results boosted my feeling of efficacy as an educator. Findings imply that there may be ways to change this tough COVID-19 situation into an opportunity to grow as a teacher. The research may provide instructional ideas that could possibly be implemented into other Asian EFL educators’ classrooms.
{"title":"COVID-19 Changes Teaching Practices: An Autoethnographic Account of a Japanese EFL Teacher","authors":"T. Hashimoto","doi":"10.56498/75122021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/75122021","url":null,"abstract":"COVID-19 has affected university educators on a global scale, and Japan is not an exception. Many EFL educators, including myself, began the academic year with much uncertainty as to how things would unfold. And, like many other EFL teachers in Japan, my spring semester classes were taught fully online. This study intends to illustrate the experience of a Japanese EFL university teacher amid COVID-19. It portrays how I initially changed my teaching practices to cope with the difficult situation but ended the semester with an increased feeling of competence as an educator. This experience is described autoethnographically in a three-part journey: Sho, chiku, bai. As Chang (2008) points out, one danger in autoethnography is excessive focus on the self. In order to avoid this, artifacts and comments of the students whom I taught were used for analysis in addition to autoethnographic reflections. Results pointed to three obstacles that I faced. Rewriting the course syllabus, getting students accustomed to information technology and altering my teaching practices. However, by the end of the semester students appeared to have developed close interpersonal relationships amongst their peers, improved IT literacy, and increased their motivation to study English. These positive results boosted my feeling of efficacy as an educator. Findings imply that there may be ways to change this tough COVID-19 situation into an opportunity to grow as a teacher. The research may provide instructional ideas that could possibly be implemented into other Asian EFL educators’ classrooms.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131685096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the updated version of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – Companion volume (Council of Europe, 2020), the action-oriented approach is highlighted as the most viable approach for learning languages. To translate this approach into practice, we applied the method of project-based language learning (PBLL) and devised two collaborative language learning projects for a group of second-year students enrolled in the EFL course (C1 language proficiency) at a technical university in the Baltic region. The projects were implemented online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure rigorous implementation of the method, we designed them on the basis of the research-informed Essential Project Design Elements for Gold Standard PBL (Boss & Larmer, 2018). Because PBLL projects aim to go beyond mere linguistic development of learners, the present study explores the students’ reflections in terms of three aspects: 1) acquisition of their major-related knowledge, 2) procedural aspects, and 3) development of general and communicative linguistic competences. Data was collected through the participants’ individual reflective learning journals. The inductive thematic analysis of their content revealed that the projects were perceived to be instrumental in gaining additional major-related knowledge in a meaningful way. Although online collaboration was a new experience, the students experienced it as a beneficial hands-on introduction to this way of working. While the learners were poor judges of their communicative linguistic development in an online environment, they indicated a number of general competences that the projects helped to develop. Importantly, the study draws attention to the research-informed project-based language learning elements and other aspects that need to be considered when implementing this method online.
{"title":"Online Project-based Language Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: University EFL Students’ Perceptions of Content, Process and Development of Competences","authors":"Evelina Jaleniauskiene, Donata Lisaitė","doi":"10.56498/70122021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/70122021","url":null,"abstract":"In the updated version of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – Companion volume (Council of Europe, 2020), the action-oriented approach is highlighted as the most viable approach for learning languages. To translate this approach into practice, we applied the method of project-based language learning (PBLL) and devised two collaborative language learning projects for a group of second-year students enrolled in the EFL course (C1 language proficiency) at a technical university in the Baltic region. The projects were implemented online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure rigorous implementation of the method, we designed them on the basis of the research-informed Essential Project Design Elements for Gold Standard PBL (Boss & Larmer, 2018). Because PBLL projects aim to go beyond mere linguistic development of learners, the present study explores the students’ reflections in terms of three aspects: 1) acquisition of their major-related knowledge, 2) procedural aspects, and 3) development of general and communicative linguistic competences. Data was collected through the participants’ individual reflective learning journals. The inductive thematic analysis of their content revealed that the projects were perceived to be instrumental in gaining additional major-related knowledge in a meaningful way. Although online collaboration was a new experience, the students experienced it as a beneficial hands-on introduction to this way of working. While the learners were poor judges of their communicative linguistic development in an online environment, they indicated a number of general competences that the projects helped to develop. Importantly, the study draws attention to the research-informed project-based language learning elements and other aspects that need to be considered when implementing this method online.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130690305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
It is empirically demonstrated that Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) contribute to the development of learners’ foreign language (FL) competences. Thus, it is not surprising that these courses have experienced exponential growth over the last decade, being English as a foreign language (EFL) one of the most demanded subjects by LMOOC learners. However, LMOOCs face low learner engagement rates, which might be influenced by learners’ proximal and distal variables. The present study contributes to the understanding of learner engagement in an English as a FL (EFL) and Spanish as a FL (SFL) speaking LMOOC during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, it aims to understand to what extent learner engagement in the course varied during the pandemic emergency period. Second, it aims to identify the aspects of the course that promoted learner engagement, related to learners’ cognitive, affective and social dimensions. The research context is TandemMOOC, an EFL/SFL speaking LMOOC offered annually by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain). Participants of the study were 2,585 enrolled learners in the TandemMOOC edition of 2019 or 2020. The study followed a mixed-method approach. First, data on learner participation was retrieved from the course system. Second, a post-course questionnaire with closed and open-ended items was administered to learners of the latter edition. Descriptive statistics on quantitative data and content analysis on qualitative data were carried out. Subsequent integration of findings showed that learner engagement in TandemMOOC increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and revealed that aspects of the course linked to learners’ social dimension were the most engaging ones.
{"title":"Student Engagement in an EFL/SFL Speaking LMOOC during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Influence of Learners’ Social, Affective and Cognitive Dimensions","authors":"Blanca Cristòfol Garcia, Christine Appel","doi":"10.56498/72122021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/72122021","url":null,"abstract":"It is empirically demonstrated that Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) contribute to the development of learners’ foreign language (FL) competences. Thus, it is not surprising that these courses have experienced exponential growth over the last decade, being English as a foreign language (EFL) one of the most demanded subjects by LMOOC learners. However, LMOOCs face low learner engagement rates, which might be influenced by learners’ proximal and distal variables. The present study contributes to the understanding of learner engagement in an English as a FL (EFL) and Spanish as a FL (SFL) speaking LMOOC during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, it aims to understand to what extent learner engagement in the course varied during the pandemic emergency period. Second, it aims to identify the aspects of the course that promoted learner engagement, related to learners’ cognitive, affective and social dimensions. The research context is TandemMOOC, an EFL/SFL speaking LMOOC offered annually by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain). Participants of the study were 2,585 enrolled learners in the TandemMOOC edition of 2019 or 2020. The study followed a mixed-method approach. First, data on learner participation was retrieved from the course system. Second, a post-course questionnaire with closed and open-ended items was administered to learners of the latter edition. Descriptive statistics on quantitative data and content analysis on qualitative data were carried out. Subsequent integration of findings showed that learner engagement in TandemMOOC increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and revealed that aspects of the course linked to learners’ social dimension were the most engaging ones.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"195 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123366245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges to the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) around the globe, including China. Through online instruction, data-driven learning (DDL), a pedagogical tool that extracts concordances of authentic language examples from specific corpora, can be seen as a powerful resource for helping learners deal with their EFL writing errors during the lockdown. This paper examines the effects of DDL on students’ EFL writing accuracy considering four specific error types and shows how students, as well as teachers, perceive this learning method. Four students and their English teacher in a Chinese university participated in this study. Students were required to complete six writing tasks electronically, which were later revised for four most frequent lexico-grammatical errors under the conditions of using (a) typical referencing resources, (b) DDL material only and (c) the combination of two. Online error correction spreadsheets and stimulated recall were used to investigate students’ error correction preferences and processes, while the online questionnaire and interview were used to retrieve students’ and their teacher’s perceptions of DDL-mediated error correction. The qualitative data analysis revealed that DDL material supported activation of students’ prior knowledge and helped them learn appropriate language use by utilising a series of cognitive strategies. Participants highly appreciated the advantages of DDL-mediated writing activities, although some reservations were made about their practices which warrant further investigation.
{"title":"Supporting EFL Writing during the Pandemic: The Effectiveness of Data-Driven Learning in Error Correction","authors":"Fangzhou Zhu","doi":"10.56498/66122021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/66122021","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges to the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) around the globe, including China. Through online instruction, data-driven learning (DDL), a pedagogical tool that extracts concordances of authentic language examples from specific corpora, can be seen as a powerful resource for helping learners deal with their EFL writing errors during the lockdown. This paper examines the effects of DDL on students’ EFL writing accuracy considering four specific error types and shows how students, as well as teachers, perceive this learning method. Four students and their English teacher in a Chinese university participated in this study. Students were required to complete six writing tasks electronically, which were later revised for four most frequent lexico-grammatical errors under the conditions of using (a) typical referencing resources, (b) DDL material only and (c) the combination of two. Online error correction spreadsheets and stimulated recall were used to investigate students’ error correction preferences and processes, while the online questionnaire and interview were used to retrieve students’ and their teacher’s perceptions of DDL-mediated error correction. The qualitative data analysis revealed that DDL material supported activation of students’ prior knowledge and helped them learn appropriate language use by utilising a series of cognitive strategies. Participants highly appreciated the advantages of DDL-mediated writing activities, although some reservations were made about their practices which warrant further investigation.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121220641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：