Student Engagement in an EFL/SFL Speaking LMOOC during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Influence of Learners’ Social, Affective and Cognitive Dimensions

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.