A Case Study on English as a Second Language Speakers for Sustainable MOOC Study

UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Gulustan Dogan (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/

Abstract: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have a great potential for sustainable education.Millions of learners annually enrol on MOOCs designed to meet the needs of an increasingly diverseand international student population. Participants’ backgrounds vary by factors including age,education, location, and first language. MOOC authors address consequent needs by ensuring coursesare well-organised. Learning is structured into discrete steps, prioritising clear communication;video components incorporate subtitles. Variability in participants’ language abilities inevitably createbarriers to learning, a problem most extreme for those studying in a language which is not their first.This paper investigates how to identify ESL participants and how best to predict factors associatedwith their course completion. This study proposes a novel method for automatically categorising(English as Primary and Official Language; English as Official but not Primary Language; and Englishas a second Language groups) 25,598 participants studying FutureLearn “Understanding Language:Learning and Teaching” MOOC using natural language processing. We compared algorithms’performance when extracting discernible features in participants’ engagement. Engagement indiscussions at the end of the first week is one of the strongest predictive features, while overall,learner behaviours in the first two weeks were identified as the most strongly predictive feature.

Additional Information

Publication
Duru, I.; Sunar, A.S.; White, S.; Diri, B.; Dogan, G. A Case Study on English as a Second Language Speakers for Sustainable MOOC Study. Sustainability 2019, 11, 2808. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102808
Language: English
Date: 2019
Keywords
Natural language processing (Computer science), MOOCs (Web-based instruction), English language

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