Learning Fundamental Academic English via MOOC

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Turisiana Ahmad Buhari ◽  
Doreen Azlina Ab Rahman ◽  
Nurbaya Mohd Aris ◽  
Shairah Hana Sulaiman
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Basic Skills ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Academic English ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
English Reading

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has since its launch provided a diverse choice of learning courses and modules. Openlearning.com claims to have over 4000 MOOCs from around the world, making it an indispensable place to gain knowledge other than the traditional classroom or formal education. This growing number of MOOCs means that the mass has the interest to learn various subjects the virtual way at their own pace and comfort. Despite this increasing number, there are also concerns that not all subjects and skills can be delivered and taught online.  Like many language subjects, Academic English is a challenging course to teach and learn. This is due to the specific skills involved in which requires constant guidance on how to deliver best. Hence, Fundamental Academic English course was created to provide knowledge and skills to teach Academic English concisely, virtually, and effectively, adhering to MOOC requirements. This course is unique as its modules are organized to firstly go over basic skills required in Academic English, then introduce the relevant tasks in Academic English, and lastly present steps and tips in ensuring effective verbal and written Academic English performance. The presentation of the course encourages a smooth transition from understanding and applying basic skills to transferring these skills into Academic English reading, writing, and speaking. It is hoped that the ten (10) specifically crafted modules help learners to grasp Academic English faster and more effectively. Fundamental Academic English has the potential to serve as an essential blended learning material at pre-university and university level and provide necessary English language skills for university students to perform academically.

scholarly journals FEATURES OF USING MOOC RESOURCES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanbyrbay Kagazbayev ◽  
Nazym Tokpayeva
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Technology In Education ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Massive Open Online Course

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is part of the big invention of technology in education nowadays. With the existence of technology in today’s world, technology currently acts a big role and invention in the 21st century teaching and learning. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is widely known by most universities all over the world. Most universities have started to implement the combination of MOOC and traditional classroom as part of the teaching and learning process especially in ESL learning. In Kazakhstan, English language is well-known for its role as the second language and English language is not only used in the primary and secondary level of education, but also in tertiary level of education. Thus, in relation to that, this paper intended to study students’ acceptance and perceptions on the use of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for ESL learning. A document analysis method is used through the secondary resources regarding MOOC and in what ways MOOC helps for ESL learning. Discussion and recommendations are further explained in this study

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Integrating MOOCs in Traditional Classrooms for Undergraduate Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Joseph Israel
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Traditional Classrooms ◽  
Teachers Colleges ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Conventional Classroom

<p class="BodyA">The idea of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has attracted a lot of media attention in the last couple of years. MOOCs have been used mostly as stand-alone online courses without credits. However, some researchers, teachers, colleges, and universities have attempted to utilize MOOCs in blended format in traditional classroom settings. This paper reviews some recent experiments in the context of current trends in MOOCs by examining methodologies utilized in blended MOOCs in a face-to-face environment. This paper further discusses the preliminary findings related to its effectiveness of learning outcomes and its impact on students and instructors in blended MOOCs format. The review of blended MOOCs in classrooms assists to form the emerging consensus on integrating MOOCs in conventional classroom settings, while highlighting potential opportunities and challenges one might face when implementing MOOCs in similar or entirely different contexts.</p>

scholarly journals Ancient Cities

2021 ◽  
pp. 107-116
Author(s):  
Michael Blömer ◽  
Francis Brouns ◽  
Alain Duplouy ◽  
Stefan Feuser ◽  
Simon Malmberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Academic Teaching ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
The University

The paper presents the international, multilingual teaching project 'Ancient Cities'. The contributors explain the production of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) 'Discovering Greek & Roman Cities', its structure and learning material (such as videos, introductory texts, and quizzes), the participants’ varied demographics and their feedback. Furthermore, they show how the course’s materials were successfully implemented in academic teaching at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and at the University of Pennsylvania.

scholarly journals Participation in an Online Course about Death and Dying: Exploring Enrolment Motivations and Learning Goals of Health Care Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Claris Oh ◽  
Lauren Miller-Lewis ◽  
Jennifer Tieman
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Online Course ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
Care Workers

The Dying2Learn massive open online course (MOOC) was a five-week course designed for the general community covering various topics related to death and dying, developed with a sociocultural focus that encouraged personal reflection and open discussion, rather than a medical or clinical focus. Yet, the majority of the participants identified as health care workers. Their motivations to enrolling in the course as well as their learning goals were examined. Responses to questions relating to their motivations for enrolment and learning goals were assigned codes and grouped into themes. We then made comparisons between the different demographic and occupational groups. The most commonly mentioned responses related to general interest in the topic of death and dying. HCWs were more likely to mention work-related motivations and improving communication skills than non-HCWs. We found that HCWs hoped to be better at talking about death and dying, which might indicate a possible gap in their formal education in this area.

scholarly journals Global Reach of an Online COVID-19 Course in Multiple Languages on OpenWHO in the First Quarter of 2020: Analysis of Platform Use Data (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heini Utunen ◽  
Ngouille Ndiaye ◽  
Corentin Piroux ◽  
Richelle George ◽  
Melissa Attias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Professional Affiliation ◽  
Language Version ◽  
Material Development ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Language Courses

BACKGROUND At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Emergencies Learning and Capacity Development Unit, together with the WHO’s health technical lead on coronaviruses, developed a massive open online course within 3 weeks as part of the global response to the emergency. The introductory coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) course was launched on January 26, 2020, on the health emergencies learning platform OpenWHO.org. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to investigate the geographic reach of different language courses accessed by a worldwide audience seeking information on COVID-19. Users’ professional identities and backgrounds were explored to inform course owners on the use case. The course was developed and delivered via the open-access learning platform OpenWHO.org. The self-paced resources are available in a total of 13 languages and were produced between January 26 and March 25, 2020. METHODS Data were collected from the online courses’ statistical data and metrics reporting system on the OpenWHO platform. User patterns and locations were analyzed based on Google Analytics and the platform’s own statistics capabilities, and data sets were overlaid. This analysis was conducted based on user location, with the data disaggregated according to the six WHO regions, the top 10 countries, and the proportion of use for each language version. Data included affiliation, gender, age, and other parameters for 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of the users who indicated their background. RESULTS As of March 25, 2020, the introductory COVID-19 course totaled 232,890 enrollments across all languages. The Spanish language course was comprised of more than half (n=118,754, 50.99%) of all course enrollments, and the English language course was comprised of 38.21% (n=88,988) of enrollments. The WHO’s Region of the Americas accounted for most of the course enrollments, with more than 72.47% (138,503/191,130) enrollment across all languages. Other regions were more evenly distributed with less than 10% enrollment for each. A total of 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of users specified a professional affiliation by choosing from the 12 most common backgrounds in the OpenWHO user profiles. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, users were spread over the 11 distinct affiliations, with a small fraction of users identifying themselves as “Other.” With the COVID-19 introductory course, the largest number of users selected “Other” (16,527/52,214, 31.65%), suggesting a large number of users who were not health professionals or academics. The top 10 countries with the most users across all languages were Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. CONCLUSIONS The online course has addressed a worldwide learning need by providing WHO’s technical guidance packaged in simple formats for access and use. The learning material development was expedited to meet the onset of the epidemic. Initial data suggest that the various language versions of the course, in particular Spanish, have reached new user groups, fulfilling the platform’s aim of providing learning everywhere to anyone that is interested. User surveys will be carried out to measure the real impact.

scholarly journals Time students spend reading threaded discussions in online graduate courses requiring asynchronous participation

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbie H. Brown ◽  
Tim Green
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Graduate Courses ◽  
Threaded Discussions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Time Commitment ◽  
Language Competency ◽  
Count Function

The authors report the results of a study that provides bases for comparison between the time necessary to participate in courses delivered asynchronously online and courses delivered in a traditional classroom setting. Weekly discussion threads from 21 sections of six courses offered as part of online, degree-granting, accredited, graduate programs were examined. The purpose of this research is to determine whether students are spending more or less time participating in an online course than in a traditional classroom. The discussion size (i.e., the number of words per discussion) was determined using the automatic word count function in MS Word. Once the word counts for each course section were determined, the average words per discussion were calculated. The authors used 180 words per minute to calculate the average reading time, based on the work of Ziefle (1998) and Carver (1985, 1990), in order to determine the average minutes per week a student spent reading the discussions. The study indicates that a typical, graduate-level, online, asynchronous discussion requires about one hour a week of reading time, and the time commitment for participatory activity is similar to that of traditional, face-to-face courses, given that it takes under two hours to compose initial messages and responses to the discussion prompt. Although these findings are informative, further research is recommended in the area of time spent on online course activities in terms of student hours earned to enable a direct focus on various student characteristics, such as English language competency and student level.

scholarly journals LEARNING BASIC STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY THROUGH MOOC

2019 ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
Isma Liana Ismail ◽  
Nur Faezah Jamal ◽  
Mohd Zaki Awang Chek ◽  
Mohd Sapuan Baharuddin
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Basic Skills ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Learning Modules ◽  
Statistics And Probability ◽  
Massive Online Open Course ◽  
First Time ◽  
Traditional Class ◽  
Selection Of

Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) since its launch provides a wide selection of courses and learning modules. Openlearning.com said that more than 4000 MOOC from around the world, making it a very needed to get knowledge in addition to the traditional class or formal education. This is a growing number of MOOC which means that the mass has a passion for studying a variety of subjects’ virtual ways with their own levels and comforts. Although this amount is increasing, there is also concern that not all subjects and skills can be delivered and taught online. Like many language subjects, Basic Statistics and Probability is a challenging course for teaching and learning. This is because certain skills requiring ongoing guidance on how to provide the best teaching. Hence, Basic Statistics and Probability course has been created to provide knowledge and skills to teach fundamental of statistics and probability briefly, convenient, and effectively, according to MOOC’s requirements. This course is unique as its modules are organized for the first time to dominate the basic skills required in statistics and probability, then introduce the relevant tasks, and steps in ensuring the performance of the Basic Statistics and Probability verbally and in writing are effective. Presentation of this course promotes a smooth transition from understanding and using the basic skills to transfer these skills into reading, writing, and speaking about basic statistics and probability. It is hoped that ten (10) modules designed specifically help students to understand Basic Statistics and Probability faster and more effective. Basic Statistics and Probability course have the potential to become important in the teaching material at pre-university and University and to provide Statistics and Probability skills required for university students to implement the academic practice.

scholarly journals Sosialisasi Bahasa Inggris Berekuivalen Toefl (Test Of English As A Foreign Language) bagi Guru Yayasan Nara Kreatif Jakarta Timur

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Rr. Astri Indriana Octavita ◽  
Ria Saraswati ◽  
Andi Santoso
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Community Service ◽  
English Language ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Language Socialization ◽  
Basic Skills ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Language Structure ◽  
Learning English

The purpose achieved in this community service is to provide English language socialization to TOEFL as it can be one of the efforts to improve English mastery skills for teachers. The material in the socialization provided includes basic competence that are very useful to support the ability to communicate both oral and written. The materials are structure of English, reading, and listening. The structure of English language is the basis competence for mastering other basic skills because a good mastery on language structure can significantly improve the ability in other languages. These three basic competence are the basic elements of learning English for both academic and practical purposes. This socialization is expected to help teachers both English  and non-English teachers to motivate themselves and to optimize their potential in English so that they can make a significant  contribution to the school, and even for the development of their own careers.Keywords: TOEFL, English Language, socialization, equivalentABSTRAKTujuan diadakannya kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat ini adalah untuk memberikan sosialisasi Bahasa Inggris berekualensi TOEFL salah satu upaya yang dapat dilakukan untuk meningkatkan kemampuan penguasaan bahasa Inggris bagi guru. Materi dalam sosialisasi yang diberikan mencakup kemampuan dasar yang sangat berguna untuk menunjang kemampuan berkomunikasi baik lisan maupun tertulis. Materi tersebut adalah struktur bahasa Inggris, membaca, dan menyimak. Struktur bahasa Inggris merupakan dasar bagi penguasaan kemampuan dasar yang lain karena dengan penguasaan struktur bahasa yang baik, kemampuan dalam bidang bahasa yang lain secara signifikan dapat ditingkatkan.  Ketiga kemampuan dasar tersebut merupakan elemen dasar dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris, baik untuk tujuan akademik maupun untuk tujuan praktis. Dengan adanya sosialisasi ini diharapkan dapat membantu para guru baik guru bahasa Inggris maupun guru non bahasa Inggris untuk memotivasi diri dan mengoptimalkan potensi yang mereka miliki dalam bahasa Inggris sehingga mereka dapat memberikan sumbangan yang berarti bagi sekolah, dan terlebih lagi bagi pengembangan karier mereka sendiri.Kata Kunc : TOEFL, Bahasa Inggris, Sosialisasi, Berekuivalen

scholarly journals Global Reach of an Online COVID-19 Course in Multiple Languages on OpenWHO in the First Quarter of 2020: Analysis of Platform Use Data

10.2196/19076 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. e19076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heini Utunen ◽  
Ngouille Ndiaye ◽  
Corentin Piroux ◽  
Richelle George ◽  
Melissa Attias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Professional Affiliation ◽  
Language Version ◽  
Material Development ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Language Courses

Background At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Emergencies Learning and Capacity Development Unit, together with the WHO’s health technical lead on coronaviruses, developed a massive open online course within 3 weeks as part of the global response to the emergency. The introductory coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) course was launched on January 26, 2020, on the health emergencies learning platform OpenWHO.org. Objective The aim of this paper is to investigate the geographic reach of different language courses accessed by a worldwide audience seeking information on COVID-19. Users’ professional identities and backgrounds were explored to inform course owners on the use case. The course was developed and delivered via the open-access learning platform OpenWHO.org. The self-paced resources are available in a total of 13 languages and were produced between January 26 and March 25, 2020. Methods Data were collected from the online courses’ statistical data and metrics reporting system on the OpenWHO platform. User patterns and locations were analyzed based on Google Analytics and the platform’s own statistics capabilities, and data sets were overlaid. This analysis was conducted based on user location, with the data disaggregated according to the six WHO regions, the top 10 countries, and the proportion of use for each language version. Data included affiliation, gender, age, and other parameters for 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of the users who indicated their background. Results As of March 25, 2020, the introductory COVID-19 course totaled 232,890 enrollments across all languages. The Spanish language course was comprised of more than half (n=118,754, 50.99%) of all course enrollments, and the English language course was comprised of 38.21% (n=88,988) of enrollments. The WHO’s Region of the Americas accounted for most of the course enrollments, with more than 72.47% (138,503/191,130) enrollment across all languages. Other regions were more evenly distributed with less than 10% enrollment for each. A total of 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of users specified a professional affiliation by choosing from the 12 most common backgrounds in the OpenWHO user profiles. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, users were spread over the 11 distinct affiliations, with a small fraction of users identifying themselves as “Other.” With the COVID-19 introductory course, the largest number of users selected “Other” (16,527/52,214, 31.65%), suggesting a large number of users who were not health professionals or academics. The top 10 countries with the most users across all languages were Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Conclusions The online course has addressed a worldwide learning need by providing WHO’s technical guidance packaged in simple formats for access and use. The learning material development was expedited to meet the onset of the epidemic. Initial data suggest that the various language versions of the course, in particular Spanish, have reached new user groups, fulfilling the platform’s aim of providing learning everywhere to anyone that is interested. User surveys will be carried out to measure the real impact.

scholarly journals Spanish-speaking English learners’ English language and literacy skills: The predictive role of conceptually scored vocabulary

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Kyoung Hwang ◽  
Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez ◽  
Janna Brown McClain ◽  
Min Hyun Oh ◽  
Israel Flores
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Academic English ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
English Reading ◽  
English Reading Comprehension ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractVocabulary represents a key barrier to language and literacy development for many English learners. This study examined the relationship between Spanish-speaking English learners’ conceptually scored Spanish–English vocabulary, academic English proficiency, and English reading comprehension. Second- and fourth-grade English learners (N = 62) completed standardized conceptually scored vocabulary measures in the fall and state-administered standardized measures of academic English proficiency and English reading comprehension in the spring. Conceptually scored vocabulary measures are designed to tap knowledge of the number of known concepts, regardless of the specific language (Spanish or English) used to label the concept. Regression analyses revealed that academic English proficiency and English reading comprehension were not predicted by the conceptually scored measure of receptive vocabulary. However, both academic English proficiency and English reading comprehension were predicted by the conceptually scored measure of expressive vocabulary. In addition, the relationship between conceptually scored expressive vocabulary and English reading comprehension remained after controlling for academic English proficiency. Results underscore the utility of measures that incorporate English learners’ first and second language skills in understanding the vocabulary knowledge English learners bring to English language and literacy learning tasks.

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