View Article |
Exploring the interactions and perceptions of EFL instructors in the Saudi online learning environment
Alamir, Ali Hussein1.
With the proliferation of online teaching and learning in Saudi tertiary education, the role of the
instructor during students’ second language (L2) interaction has been seen as crucial in the
online environment. However, it is yet to conclude how to promote L2 interaction between EFL
instructors and their students when they interact in instructor-student online exchanges. The aim
of the current study is to examine and understand the interactions and perceptions of EFL
instructors to help enhance their interactions with their L2 students in the Saudi online
environment. Three EFL instructors interacted online with their Saudi EFL students for a whole
semester to discuss argumentative topics in the discussion forum. Data were collected through
the transcripts of online interactions and one-to-one structured interviews. A content analysis
approach was employed and a template for analysing online interactions was developed during
the study. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed for data analysis. The findings
show that the three instructors played different interactional roles when they interacted with their
students in the online discussion forums. Instructors observed that their students paid attention to
linguistic errors and improve their L2 output when they interacted in instructor-student online
exchanges. Instructor online presence and language corrective feedback given by instructors
appeared to influence Saudi students to pay attention to the linguistic accuracy of their
interactions and improve their language in the online environment. Some implications for EFL
instructors have been pointed out by the researcher to help foster online L2 interaction between
EFL teachers and Saudi students. More research is needed to help understand how to promote L2
interaction between EFL teachers and L2 students in the online environment.
Affiliation:
- King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia
Download this article (This article has been downloaded 296 time(s))
|
|
Indexation |
Indexed by |
MyJurnal (2021) |
H-Index
|
3 |
Immediacy Index
|
0.000 |
Rank |
0 |
|
|
|