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What makes a good-quality language MOOC? An empirical study of criteria to evaluate the quality of online language courses from learners’ perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2021

Rong Luo Open the ORCID record for Rong Luo [Opens in a new window]  and
Zixuan Ye Open the ORCID record for Zixuan Ye [Opens in a new window]
Rong Luo
Affiliation:
Hangzhou Normal University, Mainland, China (luoronghznu@163.com)
Zixuan Ye
Affiliation:
Hangzhou Normal University, Mainland, China (hshalyy@163.com)
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Abstract

This paper focuses on quality assurance in language massive open online courses (LMOOCs). It is a qualitative study that adopts the grounded theory method and analyses evaluative comments on the quality of LMOOCs from learners’ perspectives. With the data collected from 1,000 evaluations from English as a second language (ESL) learners on China’s biggest MOOC platform “iCourse”, this study examines what has influenced learners’ perceptions of LMOOCs and identifies the specific quality criteria of five types of them, including ESL courses for speaking, reading, writing, cultural studies, and integrated skills. The results of the study will lay a foundation for the establishment of a quality criteria framework for LMOOCs and provide insights into design principles for effective online language courses tailored to the diverse needs of a massive number of language learners.

Keywords

language MOOCs (LMOOCs)quality assuranceevaluationlearnersgrounded theory method
Type
Research Article
Information
ReCALL , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 177 - 192
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning

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