1. Exploring the affordances of
Massive Open Online Courses
on Second Languages
Elena Martín Monje, Elena Bárcena &Timothy Read
SO-CALL-ME Research Project, ATLAS Research Group
UNED, Spain

2. Table of contents
• Introduction
• The MOOC model
• “Professional English”: A pioneer MOOC on ESP
(English for Specific Purposes)
• Conclusions
• References

3. Introduction
Formal
education
Informal
education
Non-
formal
education
MOOCs

4. The MOOC model
• New culture of sharing: OCW, OER, OEP.
• MOOCs: G. Siemens & S.Downes.
• Connectivism (Siemens, 2005):
– Content offered through a variety of channels.
– Learners creating networks.
– Construction of meaning through interaction.
• MOOC students: pro-active protagonists of their own
learning.
• Social, collaborative learning: audio-visuals + text, karma-
based forums.
• Voluntary educational experience, attractive for non-
standard students.

5. The MOOC model: Second Languages
• Teacher-student & peer-to-peer
communication are means and end.
• Unbalanced teacher/student ratio (e.g.
1/5,000 in “Professional English”).
• Social (P2P) feedback becomes crucial.
• Substantial change in roles.
• Complexity of Language Learning:
Not much open production and
interaction.
• Challenge: Implementation of
written/oral production and interaction
in MOOCs.
Course coordinator &
curators
Facilitators
Monitors (students
with highest karma)
Rest of students

6. “Professional English”: A pioneer MOOC on ESP
“Professional English” in “Professional English” in

7. “Professional English”: A pioneer MOOC on ESP
“Professional English” in
Asynchronous oral practice with social
feedback
“Professional English” in
Combination of synchronous and
asynchronous oral practice

8. Conclusions
• Key contributions of MOOC “Professional English”
– Enhancement of socio-cultural competence (in written
forums, oral interaction & P2P feedback).
– Coverage of full range of communicative linguistic
competences.
– Adaptability of MOOC format to language learning.
– Innovative proposal for synchronous & asynchronous
oral communication.

9. References
• Council of Europe (2001). The European Framework of Reference for Languages:
Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age.
International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(10), 3-9.
Retrieved December 17 2012, from http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/jan_05.pdf

10. emartin@flog.uned.es
THANK YOU!