Application of CoI to Design CSCL for EFL Online Asynchronous Discussion

This chapter provides suggestions on how to apply the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework to design computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) for English as foreign language (EFL) learning. Online asynchronous discussion was the focus. A case study (five discussion activities with 42 students at a university in Japan) was used to investigate the relationships between a CoI and (1) EFL learners’ participation level, (2) their satisfaction with online discussion, (3) their perceived contributions to the discussion groups, (4) English proficiency as a foreign language, and (5) their interactions during the discussion. Suggestions were developed based on the study results: (1) students must be supported to establish open communication of social presence (SP) for productive participation, (2) teaching presence (TP) and cognitive presence (CP) indicated students’ satisfaction, (3) the design and organization of TP and the open communication of SP should be considered for student contributions to a learning community, (4) The CSCL activities may provide opportunities to practice English for all level students, and (5) students need help to establish SP first and then shift their focus to academic purposes. The results and discussion lead to the importance of the careful design of CSCL, including problem identification for assigned activities.