Teaching Presence in Online EFL Courses: A Study of Community of Inquiry Model in Iranian Context

Abstract

By the arrival of technology into the world and how it touches learning contexts, it seems of cardinal importance for educational centres to participate in a systematic study of making the optimal learning available for their future students. The present study examines the effect of the Community of Inquiry Model of Online Learning on EFL learners’ perceived learning and sense of community. The purpose was to figure out how teaching presence affected EFL learners’ perceptions of learning and sense of community in online EFL courses. Pertinent data were collected from EFL students and selected teachers. There were significant relationships between the teaching presence elements and students’ sense of community. It was discovered that there was a small but significant relationship between the students’ perceptions of learning and their sense of community. Directed facilitation and satisfaction with course length were both statistically significant in predicting a sense of community. As claimed by EFL learners, there were statistically significant correlations between teaching presence, perceived learning, and sense of community. The instructors demonstrated similar positive relationships with no significant differences when the student and instructor data were compared.