Abstract
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been called the biggest innovation in education in 200 years for their unique attribute of being open and free to any individual with Internet access; however, their high dropout rate has led many people to be concerned or dubious about their effectiveness and applicability. The applicability of MOOCs in English for specific purposes (ESP) courses (in this case, hospitality English) needs more empirical evidence; the present study intends to help fill this gap and extend our current understanding of this issue. This study followed a grounded theory methodology to develop a theoretical model based on a constant dialogue between collected data and the literature. The results suggest that most participants had positive perceptions of language MOOCs (LMOOCs) in general, but some doubted their applicability. Most participants said they would continue to use LMOOCs for learning, depending on the attributes of specific courses. Based on the extracted data, a conceptual model for the applicability of LMOOCs is proposed.
Highlights
Information about this language MOOCs (LMOOCs) was disseminated through the networks of the National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism (NKUHT) in Taiwan; some private aviation training schools helped to circulate the information to their students
LMOOCs to be positive and suggested that the learning platform was convenient and helpful for them. They considered that their learning experience with LMOOCs and other
The present research was undertaken with the aim of exploring the applicability of LMOOCs in hospitality English
Summary
Web-based learning has engendered a brand-new paradigm for teaching and learning [1,2,3]. The affordances of MOOCs—breaking down limits of time and space and bringing in learners with various cultural, linguistic, and geographic backgrounds into one class through the Internet—can possibly realize social learning and enable learners to more effectively construct their own knowledge For this reason, it is a topic worthy of researchers’ attention, and turning MOOCs into effective tools will enable every learner who is eager to learn to have access to learning materials [17,25], including LMOOCs. The present study was designed to explore the applicability of LMOOCs for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to learn hospitality English.
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