Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1
Department of English Language and Literature, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
2
Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
3
Department of English Language, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain
10.22055/rals.2023.44703.3138
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a systemic review of empirical Language Massive Open Online Course (LMOOC) publications from 2014 to 2021, by identifying their research foci, types of technology platforms, target language skills/components, pros and cons, as well as future research trends through 4 databases, namely Google Scholar, ERIC, Taylor & Francis, and Scopus. A descriptive statistical approach was used to conduct a systemic analysis of 60 empirical LMOOC studies including peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Thirty-two empirical LMOOC conference papers were also added to expand the qualitative data of the research using thematic data analysis. In the empirical LMOOCs analyzed, Spain and China were found to be the most prolific countries in terms of publications. Most publications were journal articles, mostly published in Computer Assisted Language Learning, among others. From institutions publishing empirical LMOOCs, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia in Spain had the highest number of publications. With most publications having, at least, 2 authors, these studies were collaborative in nature. Considering their research foci and analysis methods, most studies were student and design-focused using mixed-methods approaches. As for the data collection methods, descriptive statistics were used the most frequently, followed by inferential statistics, content analysis, and social network. Audiovisual tools stood out among other technology platforms and almost half of the studies focused on the overall language proficiency. Implications of findings for language education are discussed in terms of the pros and cons and future trends of empirical LMOOC studies.
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