Promoting Language Enrichment Activities through Social Learning Platform among Malaysian Gifted Students

Abstract

This study covers the need to prepare suitable activities for the language enrichment programme for the gifted students. MOOC as a social learning platform for students at the lower secondary is a new approach for the gifted students as they could enrol and go through them at their own pace. This study discovers whether the gifted students could benefit from the language enrichment programme using this social learning platform. An online questionnaire was distributed to all Foundation 1, 2 and 3 students of Kolej GENIUS Insan who participated in the pilot programme developed by Open Learning Malaysia. The students also wrote their reflection on the use of MOOC in their journal. Their responses were analysed and reported using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Students acknowledged that the activities were interesting and engaging. They could understand the MOOC instructions easily and clearly. Majority enjoyed peer engagement features such as comments and likes. However, the user interface and navigation were considered tough because students were not used to the platform. They also thought the lessons and activities helped them learn English. The findings revealed the potential of social learning platform to offer flexible learning experience. It could also assist the preparation of suitable materials and activities in a language enrichment programme for gifted students. Teaching and learning process could happen anywhere and anytime providing that students are motivated to complete the activities in the courses. For gifted students, this platform offers independent learning and acceleration at their own pace.