Investigating the Learning Behaviours and the Perceptions of Graduate Students towards the Online Intensive English Programme of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University in Thailand
Keywords:
Online learning, Open University, Learning Behaviours and Perceptions, Intensive English ProgrammeAbstract
The Intensive English Programme at STOU has been an onsite course for years helping students who are required to meet the English proficiency standards for graduation. During the pandemic, the entire course has radically shifted to online platform through MS Teams (for teaching and learning) and Moodle (for evaluating). This paper aims to investigate student’s learning behaviors and perceptions of the online learning process. To carry out this study, the 30 students from 2 groups were observed during the classes and the focus group interview was conducted through MS Teams. After observing students’ behavior in 4 aspects: 1) online learning tools 2) learning motivation 3) Instructor-students and Students-student interactions 4) English content, some students had technical and Internet issues during the course. Some lacked of motivation and interaction with the instructor and other students. As it is an English language subject, some students who are not familiar with the language and some students with advanced English language skills may not pay much attention in class. Therefore, some of them failed to reach an acceptable level of proficiency in 3 English skills at the end of 4-day course. However, in the focus group interview aimed to explore 3 aspects; 1) the use of learning tools 2) lesson content and supplementary materials and 3) instructors' teaching styles. Students stated that there were advantages of online learning in this course--low costs, convenience, and flexibility, they still encountered difficulties in using the learning tools. The lesson content was challenging; nevertheless, the instructor could effectively teach to ensure understanding of the materials. If there are still students facing limitations in terms of learning tools and facilities, which the university needs to consider, this research suggests that hybrid learning might be a suitable approach for ongoing learning effectiveness for students.
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