International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

Investigating Online Presence in The French Online Classroom

Open access

Seng Hui Zanne, Nurul Amirah Khairul Amali, Noor Hanim Rahmat, Mohd Hanafiah Abu Bakar, Norliza Che Mustafa

Pages 51-64 Received: 09 Jan, 2022 Revised: 11 Feb, 2022 Published Online: 13 Mar, 2022

http://dx.doi.org/10.46886/IJARBSS/v12-i3/13242
Foreign language teaching and learning have shifted from traditional physical classrooms to online classrooms. Online learning becomes a prominent learning medium and even a necessity during the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the lack of students’ engagement challenges the implementation of online learning. Thus, this quantitative study investigates online engagement in foreign language classrooms, especially in the French online classroom. A survey consisting of 22 items using 5-Likert scales has been given to learners studying French as a foreign language in a Malaysian public university. The theory of online learning by Anderson (2008) and online engagement by Martin and Bolliger (2018) were used as the conceptual framework of this study. The survey contains four sections: demographic profile, learner-to-learner interaction, learner-to-instructor interaction, and learner-to-content interaction. The data have been collected from 151 respondents in social discipline and social sciences discipline. Findings showed that the instructors’ teaching style involves the active participation of learners from the perception of learners. In addition, learners think peer support is important in motivating them to learn foreign languages. They prefer to collaborate with the chosen peer in learning activities. Last but not least, learners perceive that learning activities and the overview of learning content can improve language learning. The findings of this study shed light on the understanding of online engagement in French online classes from the learners’ perspective. It may further contribute to the effect of learning activities on online engagement in foreign language learning.
Al-rahmi, W. M., Othman, M. S., & Mi Yusuf, L. (2015). The Effectiveness of Using E-Learning in Malaysian Higher Education: A Case Study Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(5), 625-637.
https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s2p625
Alabay, S. (2021). Students’ views on learning French online with Microsoft Teams® during Covid-19 pandemic. African Educational Research Journal, 9(2), 333-338. https://doi.org/10.30918/AERJ.92.21.053
Anderson, T. (2008). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Canada: Marquis Book Printing. Retrieved from
https://www.aupress.ca/app/uploads/120146_99Z_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf
Chen, E., Kaczmarek, K., & Ohyama, H. (2020). Student perceptions of distance learning strategies during COVID?19. Journal of dental education, 85(S1), 1190-1191. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12339
Chenoweth, N. A., & Murday, K. (2003). Measuring student learning in an online French course. CALICO Journal, 20(2), 285-314. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24149500
Crawford, J., Butler-Henderson, K., Rudolph, J., Malkawi, B., Glowatz, M., Burton, R., Magni, P., & Lam, S. (2020). COVID-19: 20 Countries’ Higher Education Intra-Period Digital Pedagogy Responses. Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 3(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2020.3.1.7
Cruaud, C. (2016). The playful frame: gamification in a French-as-a-foreign-language class. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 12(4), 330-343. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2016.1213268
Harsch, C., Mu?ller-Karabil, A., & Buchminskaia, E. (2021). Addressing the challenges of interaction in online language courses. System, 103, Article 102673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102673
Hassan, R. (2015). An Analysis of the Mastery of French Vowel Sounds by the Malay Students. Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, 15(3), 99-120.
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9086/1/8896-27914-1-PB.pdf
Lau, C. Y., & Shaikh, J. M. (2012). The impacts of personal qualities on online learning readiness at Curtin Sarawak Malaysia (CSM). Educational Research and Reviews, 7(20), 430-444. https://doi.org/10.5897/err09.229
Luan, L., Hong, J. C., Cao, M., Dong, Y., & Hou, X. (2020). Exploring the role of online EFL learners’ perceived social support in their learning engagement: a structural equation model. Interactive Learning Environments. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1855211
Maican, M.-A., & Cocorada?, E. (2021). Online foreign language learning in higher education and its correlates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 13(2), 781. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020781
Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment. Online Learning, 22(1), 205-222. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v22i1.1092
Matter, J. (1989). Some Fundamental Problems in Understanding French as a Foreign Language. In H. W. Dechert & M. Raupach (Eds.), Interlingual Processes (pp. 105-119). Tu?bingen : G. Narr.
Mercado, A.S. (2003). Beginning French for the Utterly Confused. McGraw-Hill.
Moeller, A. J., & Catalano, T. (2015). Foreign Language Teaching and Learning. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition (pp. 327-332). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.92082-8
MOHE, The Ministry of Higher Education. (2007). The National Higher Education Strategic Plan Beyond 2020. Malaysia: The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia Press.
Pham, T. N., & Nguyen, G. H. (2021). An Investigation of Student Satisfaction in an Online Language Learning Course. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies (IJWLTT), 16(5), 121-136. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJWLTT.20210901.oa7
Rais, M., Karim, A., & Hashim, Y. (2004). The Experience of the E-Learning Implementation at the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia. Malaysian Online Journal of Instructional Technology, 1(1), 50-59. http://library.oum.edu.my/oumlib/node/4323
Rienties, B., Lewis, T., McFarlane, R., Nguyen, Q., & Toetenel, L. (2018). Analytics in online and offline language learning environments: the role of learning design to understand student online engagement. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 31(3), 273-293. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2017.1401548
Shahabadi, M. M., & Uplane, M. (2015). Synchronous and Asynchronous e-learning Styles and Academic Performance of e-learners. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 176, 129-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.453
Singh, V., & Thurman, A. (2019). How Many Ways Can We Define Online Learning? A Systematic Literature Review of Definitions of Online Learning (1988-2018). American Journal of Distance Education, 33(4), 289-306.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2019.1663082
Study Committee for the Future Direction of the Language Education in Malaysia. (2010). Future direction of language education in Malaysia.
https://www.moe.gov.my/menumedia/media-cetak/penerbitan/rujukan-akademik/1423-future-direction-of-languange-in-malaysia/file
Sukimin, I. S., Rahmat, N. H., Mok, S. S., Arepin, M., Zainal Abidin, N. S., & Haron, H. (2021). An Investigation of Mediational Process in Social Learning during Online Language Learning. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 11(5), 240-249. http://doi.dx/ 0.18488/journal.1.2021.115.240.249
Taib, N. A. M., Rahmat, N. H., Ismail, S., Hussin, H. O. (2021). Teacher presence as mediator in online learning: The case for French as a foreign language. European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 5(5), 129-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejfl.v5i5.3934
Wai, C. C., & Seng, E. L. K. (2015). Measuring the effectiveness of blended learning environment: A case study in Malaysia. Education and Information Technologies, 20(3), 429-443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-013-9293-5
Mohtar, W. I., & Awang, F. F. (2013). Teaching French using French as the classroom language in the NDUM [Paper presentation]. Malaysia International Conference on Foreign Languages (MICFL) 2013, Malacca, Malaysia.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304238660.
Zboun, J. S., & Farrah, M. (2021). Students’ perspectives of online language learning during corona pandemic: Benefits and challenges. Indonesian EFL Journal, 7(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.25134/ieflj.v7i1.3986
In-Text Citation: (Zanne et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Zanne, S. H., Amali, N. A. K., Rahmat, N. H., Bakar, M. H. A., & Mustafa, N. C. (2022). Investigating Online Presence in The French Online Classroom. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(3), 51–64.