LECTURERS’ USE OF TECHNIQUES IN ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE EFL CLASSES = các PHƯƠNG PHÁP THU hút SINH VIÊN TRONG GIẢNG dạy TIẾNG ANH TRỰC TUYẾN

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER LECTURERS’ USE OF TECHNIQUES IN ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE EFL CLASSES Supervisor: Nguyễn Tuấn Anh (MA) Student: Nguyễn Thị Huyền Mi Course: QH2017.F1.E1 HÀ NỘI – 2021 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CÁC PHƯƠNG PHÁP THU HÚT SINH VIÊN TRONG GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH TRỰC TUYẾN Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.S Nguyễn Tuấn Anh Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thị Huyền Mi Khóa: QH2017.F1.E1 HÀ NỘI – 2021 LECTURERS’ USE OF TECHNIQUES IN ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE EFL CLASSES Submitted by Nguyễn Thị Huyền Mi Course: QH2017.F1.E1 Signature of Approval _ Nguyễn Tuấn Anh ACCEPTANCE PAGE I hereby state that I: Nguyen Thi Huyen Mi, class QH2017.F1.E1, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (programme) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Nguyễn Thị Huyền Mi Date: 04/05/2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Mr Nguyen Tuan Anh for his constructive recommendations and generous support He has assisted me greatly throughout the whole duration of this study, guiding me until the very last pages Secondly, I want to express my gratitude to Ms Tran Thi Lan Anh and Mr Nguyen Huy Hoang for their helpful and practical advice Thanks to their comments on my research proposal and report respectively, I managed to complete this study successfully Thirdly, I would like to thank Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong for her constructive feedback on my questionnaire Without her critical remarks, the questionnaire could not have been distributed with suitable items, appropriate format and suitable wording Fourthly, I want to acknowledge the assistance of 42 lecturers from English departments at the chosen university Without their participation, no reliable findings could be concluded to answer the research question Last but not least, I feel grateful for all my family members, and my classmates for their continuous support and unparalleled encouragement Their support plays an important role in motivating and encouraging me to accomplish this research ii ABSTRACT Online engagement can be identified as a meta-construct as it involves five different elements namely social, cognitive, behavioural, collaborative and emotional engagement (Redmond et al., 2018) Students will be fully engaged if they can feel a sense of belonging, while being offered opportunities to think critically, develop skills, or interact with others Also, expectations or assumptions should be clarified to motivate students to achieve their goals Within the concept of online learning, teachers play an important role in creating engaging virtual classes for learners, and thus, it is incontrovertible that they might employ different engagement techniques Carried out with an aim to analyse the most typical techniques used to retain students’ attention in online EFL classes, this research took place in one language university in Vietnam Both quantitative and qualitative research design adopting questionnaire and observation respectively were utilised Lecturers (n=42) from English apartments at this university were invited to complete the questionnaire, then observation of three online EFL classrooms was conducted It was shown that engagement techniques in the questionnaire were effective for the lecturers Specifically, three stages of online classes observed different techniques Before classes, material-related techniques focusing on student-to-material interaction were favoured However, during classes, lecturers prioritised fostering student-to-student and student-to-lecturer interaction via different groupings and calling students by name After classes, feedback and reflection were utilised to allow students to reflect on their learning experience Recommendations for each technique were proposed, with the introduction of a web-based platform called Edmodo and Google Classroom, assisting lecturers in the pre and post-class stages by allowing them to create classes for online discussions, quizzes, assignments; share materials or inform students of important deadlines via the add-in calendar In the second phrase called during classes, all participants can continue with Zoom to conduct online lessons Keywords: online learning, engagement, online EFL classes, engagement techniques iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION … …… 1.1 Problem statement and rationale of the study … …… 1.2 Aims and objectives … …… … … 1.3 Scope of the study … …… … … 1.4 Significance of the study … …… … 1.5 Outline of this study … …… … … CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW … …… 2.1 Student engagement … …… … … 2.2 Online student engagement … …… … 2.3 Techniques to engage students in EFL classes … …… 12 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY … …… 15 3.1 Research design … …… … …… 15 3.2 Research population … …… … … 15 3.3 Sampling … …… … .…… 16 3.4 Research participants … …… .… 16 3.5 Instruments … …… … …… 17 3.6 Data collection procedure … …… … 18 3.7 Ethical issue … …… … …… 19 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION … …… 21 4.1 Results … …… … …… 21 4.1.1 Engagement techniques employed before classes … ………… 21 4.1.2 Engagement techniques employed during classes … ………… 24 4.1.3 Engagement techniques employed after classes … …………… 29 4.2 Discussion … ………… … …………… … ………… 30 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION … …………… … ………… 47 5.1 Summary of findings … ………… … …………… .… 47 iv 5.2 Limitations …………………………………….……………………… 49 REFERENCES … ………… … ……………… … …… 51 APPENDICES …………………………………….…………………… 59 APPENDIX A: Strategies to facilitate interactions among learners, instructors and content by Martin & Bolliger (2018) …………………… 59 APPENDIX B: Engagement techniques employed pre-class … …… … 61 APPENDIX C: Engagement techniques employed during-class …… … 63 APPENDIX D: Engagement techniques employed post-class ….…… … 66 APPENDIX E: Observation form …………………………………….…… 68 APPENDIX F: Consent form and Questionnaire ………………………… 69 v LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS List of tables Table Engagement framework proposed by Fredericks et al (2004)… Table An Online Engagement Framework for Higher Education provided by Redmond et al (2018)…………………… … 10 Table A summary of participants based on their years of experience 16 Table Items on the pre-class techniques subscale…………………… 22 Table Items on the during-class techniques subscale………….…… 25 Table Items on the post-class techniques subscale………………… 29 Table Summary of engagement prioritised pre-class…………….… 31 Table Summary of engagement prioritised in-class……………….… 35 Table Summary of engagement prioritised post-class…………….… 42 Table 10 Summary of engagement techniques in online classes…… … 47 List of figures Figure Five levels of engagement by Phillip Schlecty (2002)…… Figure Three factors supporting online student engagement proposed Figure by Garrison et al (1999)……………… ………………… Edomo interface and its features………………… …… … 49 List of abbreviations EFL: English as a Foreign Language vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem statement and rationale of the study “Online learning has been a major area of application in information and communication technology, it has been used over the past two decades by many higher educational institutions around the world.” (Khaddage et al., 2020) This can be partially put down to the convenience and flexibility of the delivery of online education Several stakeholders who can reap benefits from this virtual situation can be referred to as students, teachers and institutions Learners are given chances to be present for online classes anywhere as long as they have their technical devices connected to the Internet, while teachers are able to deliver the lessons in the comfort of their own home, saving money on commuting on a daily basis Schools themselves can also manage their budgets more efficiently as there will be less demand for electricity, teaching aids or studying locations Lately, the deadly virus called COVID-19, first discovered in a seafood market in China, has been spreading massively over the world, posing a health threat on human’s lives Since people can contract this virus simply via close contact with the infected people, social distancing has emerged as a solution to help prevent COVID-19 As a result, myriad institutions are forced to be temporarily closed to reduce the interaction among students, teachers and administrators Online learning, hence, is undoubtedly a suitable crisis-response method, allowing the maintenance of education in the midst of this pandemic In other words, it is considered “a panacea in the time of COVID-19 crisis" (Dhawan, 2020) However, online education is regarded as a “good-to-have alternative but not a serious-mission model to guarantee steadiness of instructional activities" (Ribeiro, 2020) despite its benefits Also, the abrupt transformation from brickand-mortar classrooms into virtual ones due to the pandemic has challenged the education system all over the world, specifically educators, due to a number of difficulties like not being trained properly (AlBaadani & Abbas, 2020); providing feedback (Kim et al., 2005) or engaging students (Dhawan, 2020) As teachers APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Strategies to facilitate interactions among learners, instructors and content by Martin & Bolliger (2018): Interaction Specific activities Learner-to-learner Students use a virtual lounge where they can meet informally to share common interests Students complete an integrated profile on the learning management system that is accessible in all courses Students introduce themselves using an icebreaker discussion Students moderate discussions Students have choices in the selection of readings (articles, books) that drive discussion group formation Students post audio and/or video files in threaded discussions instead of only written responses Students interact with peers through student presentations Students work collaboratively using online communication tools to complete case studies, projects, reports, etc Students peer-review classmates’ work 10 Students are required to rate individual performance of team members on projects Learner-to-instructor 11 The instructor refers to students by name in discussion forums 12 The instructor sends/ posts regular announcements or email reminders 13 The instructor creates a forum for students to contact with the instructor about the course 14 The instructor creates a course orientation for students 15 The instructor posts a “due-date checklist” at the end of each instructional unit 16 The instructor creates short videos to increase instructor presence in the course 17 The instructor provides feedback using various modalities (e.g., text, audio, video and visuals) 18 The instructor provides students with an opportunity to reflect (e.g., via a journal or surveys) 19 The instructor posts grading rubrics for all assignments 20 The instructor uses various features in synchronous sessions to interact with students (e.g., polls, emotions, 59 whiteboard, text or audio and video chat) Learner-to-content 21 Students interact with content in more than one format (e.g., text, video, audio, interactive games, or simulations) 22 Students use optional online resources to explore topics in more depth 23 Students experience live, synchronous web conferencing for class events and/or guest talks 24 Discussions are structures with guiding questions and/or prompts to deepen their understanding of the content 25 Students research an approved topic and present their findings in a delivery method of their choice (e.g., discussions forum, chat, web conference, multimedia presentation) 26 Students search for and select applicable materials (e.g., articles, books) based on their interests 27 Students have an opportunity to reflect on important elements of the course (e.g., use of communication tools, their learning, team projects, and community) 28 Students work on realistic scenarios to apply content (e.g., case studies, reports, research papers, presentations, client projects) 29 Students use self-tests to check their understanding of materials 60 APPENDIX B: Engagement techniques employed pre-class Responses No Statement I… Mean Mode SD Type 40.48 4.21 0.75 B Never (1) Rarely (2) Sometime s (3) Often (4) Always (5) % % % % % 0 19.05 40.48 Ask students to read materials before classes Ask students to answer guided questions about the content of next lessons 4.76 11.9 35.71 26.19 21.43 3.48 1.11 C Create a forum for students to contact the instructor 4.76 4.76 30.95 35.71 23.81 3.69 1.05 S Design materials/activities related to real-world settings (e.g., presentations, reports) 2.38 11.9 61.9 23.81 4.07 0.68 B Investigate students’ needs, interests, goals to design PowerPoint, exercises 4.76 7.14 23.81 47.62 16.67 3.64 1.01 E Provide students with easilyaccessible materials 0 9.52 45.24 45.24 4.36 0.66 B 61 Provide further reading for students to self-study and explore topics in more depth 2.38 4.76 33.33 38.1 21.43 3.71 0.94 C Send/post regular announcements or email reminders 7.14 19.05 40.48 33.33 4 0.91 S Post grading rubrics for all assignments to discuss and modify if needed 2.38 14.29 21.43 28.57 33.33 3.76 1.14 Co 10 Other(s) – participants’ answers: ● Ask students to design a task for in-class activities Other(s) – via observation: ● Ask groups of students to prepare a vocabulary game for class (the vocab is in the upcoming lesson) ● Adapt the activities (with students’ agreement/opinions) ● Assist students thoroughly during preparations for the assignments B B/Co E/Co S *B: behaviour, C: cognitive, S: social, E: emotional, Co: collaborative 62 APPENDIX C: Engagement techniques employed during class Responses No Statement I… Never (1) Rarely (2) Sometime s (3) Often (4) Always (5) % % % % % Mean Mode SD Type 11 Ask students to turn on camera/audio while studying 4.76 14.29 26.19 21.43 33.33 3.64 1.23 B 12 Ask students to take notes during studying 2.38 11.9 19.05 38.1 28.57 3.79 1.07 B 13 Allow students to work individually, in pairs and in groups 0 4.76 28.57 66.67 4.62 0.58 Co 14 Ask students to use non-verbal icons when having questions, show agreement or indicate if they want the teacher to speed up, slow down or take a break 4.76 7.14 33.33 33.33 21.43 3.6 1.06 B 15 Allow students to freely contribute to the lessons by expressing their opinions 4.76 2.38 28.57 64.29 4.52 0.77 C 16 Ask students to give comments on friends’ answers or performance 2.38 4.76 35.71 57.14 4.48 0.71 C/Co 63 17 Ask students to clarify their answers 0 4.76 42.86 52.38 4.48 0.59 C 18 Be minimally active in discussions, instead let students take the lead 7.14 33.33 38.1 21.43 3.74 0.89 B 19 Be present in each break-out zoom for supervision during group/pair discussions 2.38 19.05 45.24 33.33 4.1 0.79 S 20 Combine other online tools like google forms, google docs to complete exercises in groups/ pairs/ individually 7.14 16.67 35.71 40.48 4.1 0.93 B/Co 21 Conduct ongoing and descriptive assessment 2.38 2.38 14.29 38.1 42.86 4.17 0.93 B 22 Design tests towards more interactive and active learning environments like virtual games 2.38 19.05 30.95 30.95 16.67 3.4 1.06 E 23 Encourage students to ask questions privately/publicly 2.38 7.14 33.33 57.14 4.45 0.74 C 24 Use break-out rooms to create opportunities for students to use language to interact with peers 9.52 9.52 26.19 54.76 4.26 0.99 B/Co 64 25 Use various features in synchronous sessions to interact with students 11.9 19.05 47.62 21.43 3.79 0.92 S 26 Provide tasks relevant to their learning styles 7.14 16.67 59.52 16.67 3.86 0.78 E 27 Provide a supportive learning environment 0 9.52 33.33 57.14 4.48 0.67 S 28 Refer to students by name during the lessons 2.38 30.95 66.67 4.62 0.62 S 29 Other(s) – participants’ answers: ● ● ● ● Other(s) – via observations: Ask students to repeat or summarize what the teacher or their peer has just said Ask students to give opinions on what their peers have just said Have some students to act as teaching assistants/ modelling the interaction Ask students to write their own answer for each question using padlet/private message ● Let a student (monitor) co-host with me so students controlled/facilitated their own learning (given that they were proficient enough) ● ● ● ● Ask random students to answer any questions Ask guided questions during discussions Fine money if students ask to repeat the questions Introduce the activities/ use annotation with the material (on the share screen) to help students follow the lesson B C B B B/Co B/C B/S E B/S *B: behaviour, C: cognitive, S: social, E: emotional, Co: collaborative 65 APPENDIX D: Engagement techniques employed post-class No Statement I… Responses Never (1) Rarely (2) Sometime s (3) Often (4) Always (5) % % % % % Mean Mode SD Type 30 Allow students to reflect on the meaning of what is being learnt 0 30.95 45.24 23.81 3.93 0.75 C 31 Allow students to help their friends via tutoring or group/pair learning to consolidate what they have learnt 7.14 35.71 28.57 28.57 3.79 0.95 Co/B 32 Provide feedback for students about their learning, growth, misconceptions, errors using various modalities (e.g., text, audio, video, and visuals) 0 19.05 52.38 28.57 4.10 0.69 B/E 33 Have private chats with students about their problems (which are observed in online classes or mentioned in their reflection) 2.38 14.29 28.57 38.1 16.67 3.52 1.02 S 34 Other(s) – participants’ answers: ● Create a glossary of the theme that has just been learnt on google sheet and ask the whole class to contribute theme-related lexical items to the sheet 66 B/Co Other(s) – via observation: ● Notice their interaction and providing guidance or more rapport in the next lesson ● Design a quiz or mini-assignment to check if students pay attention during class or not B/C ● Ask students to produce a talk on lesson-related topics using the learnt vocabulary B S *B: behaviour, C: cognitive, S: social, E: emotional, Co: collaborative 67 APPENDIX E: Observation form Name of the teacher: Subject: Class: Date: Techniques employed to engage students At the beginning During the lesson At the end Further questions for lecturers What is the level of the students? Were students required to anything to prepare the upcoming class? Were students able to ask you freely about the content, the group/individual assignment, etc before the class? Did you assist students in completing the tasks? Are students required to any further assignments after class? 68 APPENDIX F: Consent form and Questionnaire LECTURERS’ USE OF TECHNIQUES IN ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE CLASSES Dear all lecturers at , My name is Nguyen Thi Huyen Mi, a student from class QH2017.E1 It is my pleasure to send to you this questionnaire aiming to answer the question: What are the typical engagement techniques employed by lecturers in online classes? This questionnaire is a part of my graduation thesis The results of this research will help generalise the engagement techniques employed by the participants in online environments, contributing to the understanding of both in-service and pre-service teachers If you agree to participate in this research project, please read the following terms of your participation in this study and sign at the end of this consent form: I have been given sufficient information about this research project The purpose of my participation in this research has been explained to me clearly My participation is voluntary There is no explicit or implicit coercion whatsoever to participate I have the right not to answer any of the questions I have been given the explicit guarantees that, if I wish so, the researcher will not identify me by name or function in any reports using data obtained from this questionnaire, and that my confidentiality as a participant in this study will remain secure In all cases, subsequent uses of data will be subject to standard data use policies at _ Participant's Signature Date _ Researcher's Signature Date 69 PART A: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION Major: _ Years of experience: _ Email address: _ Do you want to receive the results of this research? A Yes B No PART B: RESEARCH QUESTION Put a ✔ into the box that is correct in your situation I tried to deploy different techniques to engage students in online classes ! Yes ! No Techniques employed by lecturers to enhance students' engagement in online environments = Never = Rarely = Sometimes = Often = Always This scale is designed to investigate engagement techniques employed by lecturers in online classrooms All items are based on a framework proposed by Redmond et al (2018) dividing online engagement into social (learning community with others), cognitive (ability to be critical), behavioural (self-regulation and development), collaborative (work with friends, lecturers and institutions) and emotional (emotional reaction) Circle the answer correct in your situation No I Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always Pre-class Ask students to read materials before classes Ask students to answer guided questions about the content of next lessons 70 No I Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always Create a forum for students to contact the instructor Design materials/activities related to real-world settings (e.g., presentations, reports) 5 Investigate students’ needs, interests, goals to design PowerPoint, exercises Provide students with easilyaccessible materials Provide further reading for students to self-study and explore topics in more depth Send/post regular announcements or email reminders Post grading rubrics for all assignments to discuss and modify if needed 10 Others: _ While-class 11 Ask students to turn on video/audio while studying 12 Ask students to take notes during studying 13 Allow students to work individually, in pairs and in groups 14 Ask students to use nonverbal icons when having questions, show agreement or indicate if they want the teacher to speed up, slow down or take a break 71 No I Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always 15 Allow students to freely contribute to the lessons by expressing their opinions 16 Ask students to give comments on friends’ answer or performance 17 Ask students to clarify their answers 18 Be minimally active in discussions, instead let students take the lead 19 Be present in each break-out zoom for supervision during group/pair discussions 20 Combine other online tools like google forms, google docs to complete exercises in groups/ pairs/ individually 21 Conduct ongoing and descriptive assessment 22 Design tests towards more interactive and active learning environments like virtual games 23 Encourage students to ask questions privately/publicly 24 Use break-out rooms to create opportunities for students to use language and interact with peers 25 Use various features in synchronous sessions to interact with students (e.g., polls, emoticons, whiteboard and text) 72 No I Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always 26 Provide tasks relevant to their learning styles 27 Provide a supportive learning environment 28 Refer to students by name during the lessons 29 Others: _ Post-class 30 Allow students to reflect on the meaning of what is being learnt 31 Allow students to help their friends via tutoring or group/pair learning to consolidate what they have learnt 32 Provide feedback for students about their learning, growth, misconceptions, errors using various modalities (e.g., text, audio, video, and visuals) 33 Have private chats with students about their problems (which are observed in online classes or mentioned in their reflection) 34 Others: _ - THE END - 73 ... NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CÁC PHƯƠNG PHÁP THU HÚT SINH VIÊN TRONG GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH TRỰC TUYẾN Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.S Nguyễn Tuấn Anh Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thị Huyền... HÀ NỘI – 2021 LECTURERS’ USE OF TECHNIQUES IN ENHANCING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE EFL CLASSES Submitted by Nguyễn Thị Huyền Mi Course: QH2017.F1.E1 Signature of Approval ... Summary of engagement techniques in online classes? ??… … 47 List of figures Figure Five levels of engagement by Phillip Schlecty (2002)…… Figure Three factors supporting online student engagement