The Development of Massive Open Online Courseware for Cross Cultural Management Curriculum in Working Context of Vocational Colleges Students and Workers of Eastern Economic Corridor

Abstract

This research aims to synthesize the problems and needs of vocational colleges and the business sector and develop a massive open online course (MOOC) about cross-cultural management in a working context for vocational college students and workers in EEC. This research is in the scope of research and development. It is a process of studying problems and needs for knowledge of foreign languages and cross-cultural communication in the work context, using data from pilot research. This points to the problems and needs of groups of vocational colleges and multinational companies. The content of the course, cross-cultural communication, is created following the instruction principle. After each lesson, trial students are required to take a test on an online platform called BUU MOOC sandbox. Then, a semi-structured interview and a focus group discussion are conducted to gather their opinions on the instruction. The findings show that several problems exist in vocational education institutions regarding foreign language instruction and cross-cultural communication in a working context. There is a lack of skilled personnel proficient in foreign languages and cross-cultural communication in cross-cultural companies. Trying out the online lesson with a group of volunteers reveals the volunteers’ high satisfaction level. The opinion study reveals that foreign language and cross-cultural communication in a working context are necessary for work and living as a 21^st-century world citizen.