Examining effectiveness of communities of practice in online English for academic purposes (EAP) assessment in virtual classes |
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| Affiliation: | 1. English Department, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran;2. Department of Foreign Languages, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran;3. English Department, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran;1. Professor of Applied Linguistics in Education, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom;2. Jilin University, China;1. Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China;2. School of Agriculture, Food & Wine, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia;3. College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China;4. Foreign Language Department, Northwest A&F University, 53# North Campus, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China;5. Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia;1. Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65178, Islamic Republic of Iran;2. TEFL, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran |
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| Abstract: | The literature on English for academic purposes (EAP) methodology highlights the significance of learners' engagement in learning language (Hyland, 2006) in mainstream general and online contexts. Blogs have been recommended in many studies as having the potential to bring the sense of community and collaboration in online classes. Therefore, this study sought to investigate whether blogs in large classes would help students enhance their perceptions of learning. To this end, Forty-two undergraduate students of Information Technology (IT) at an Iranian university participated in a weblog writing course in order to promote collaboration and reflective learning. Instrumentation included a questionnaire of perceived learning and sense of community, semi-structured interviews, and participant observations. The findings revealed a significant difference in perceived learning between the students with low sense of community and those with a high sense of community. Based on the qualitative findings of the study, we suggest an assessment framework incorporating constructivist and social-interactionist theories of learning in order to treat students as members of a community of learning. The findings may promise implications for gearing EAP assessment to more collaborative modes in online courses and suggest a model framework for the assessment of students in EAP online classes. |
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| Keywords: | English for academic purposes (EAP) Online learning Assessment framework Communities of learning Online assessment |
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