Proceedings of The 6th International Conference on Modern Research in Education, Teaching and Learning
Year: 2023
DOI:
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EFL Students’ Engagement in an Online English Language Teaching and Learning context. The Private Sector, Algeria
Sarah Messous, Dr. Brona Murphy and Dr. Nick Wilson
ABSTRACT:
The use of technology, computers, and the internet in teaching and learning has transformed education and given rise to the use of a diverse set of terminology and concepts in academic literature, including online learning. The term online learning refers to the delivery of teaching and learning online, with the internet via synchronous and asynchronous teaching modes; students are thus not dependent on their physical presence in the classroom(Singh and Thurman 2019) Given the country’s expanding interest and need for English language teaching and learning this research study intends to investigate EFL students ‘engagement experiences in an online English language teaching and learning context within the private sector in Algeria. Considering that the primary and main focus of current online teaching and learning research has included universities and public schools, the experiences of private school students and teachers were less explored with the scarcity of research on EFL students’ experiences in the private sector being acknowledged as a global issue (Echeverry Mera 2020; Chang 2021) (Xiong et al. 2022).
This research project aims to focus on student engagement in an online English language teaching and learning context in the private sector in Algeria. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the first phase of the research will be presented. This involves online student questionnaires completed by (n=50) adult EFL students from various EFL levels, ages, regions, and educational backgrounds, in the Algerian ELT private sector. The preliminary findings of the online questionnaires suggest that overall, adult EFL students have had positive experiences of online EFL learning so far, despite having experienced some difficulties and obstacles around their online learning and engagement. Accordingly, understanding adult students’ experiences and investigating their engagement online is crucial for the future of EFL online learning in Algeria and assuring the development of improved online learning environments that meet the demands of adult EFL students.
keywords: Online learning, Student engagement, Adult students, private sector, EFL, Algeria, Synchronous and asynchorous learning