In this era of rapid incorporation of educational technology in all levels of institutions, online learning has been an important venue where students have access to educational resources regardless of their geographical locations (Moore & Kearsley, 2011). Online courses today have been a common experience for students enrolled in large universities in the United States. Within this trend, an increasing number of international students studying in U.S. universities enroll in online classes while they are pursuing advanced degrees on campus. However, for international students whose first language (L1) is not English, online classes offer them limited chances to communicate with peers and instructors in multiple ways. With an equity stance, the study discussed in this article investigates the online learning experiences of international graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in TESOL. I argue that it is a disservice to future English language teaching (ELT) professionals when they are socialized in an inauthentic online learning environment. This disservice results in an opportunity lost for students when they deserve modeling and mediation for their professional growth in a classroom context.

Theoretical Underpinning

Sociocultural theories of learning posit that human cognition is mediated by socially constructed mechanisms and that optimal learning happens in socially engaged spaces known as the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978). Teacher learning, then, is mediated by a series of activities in classrooms and schools carefully planned in teacher education programs. Graduate programs in TESOL, therefore, are an important mediating space for international students who aspire to become ELT practitioners and leaders in the world. In such programs, students become familiarized with the discourse of ELT, shape and reshape their beliefs in teaching, and transform their understandings of themselves as teachers (Johnson & Golombek, 2003). In this mediating space, teacher educators play an important role as the facilitator who constructs opportunities for social interaction that externalizes student thinking, engagement in reflection, and recontextualization of students’ understanding of teaching (Johnson & Golombek, 2003).

Current Research

The research questions are as follows:

1. How do international students whose L1 is not English perceive the lost opportunities to learn in an online learning environment?

2. Why are they not getting equal opportunities, compared to face-to-face environments and compared to English-proficient peers?

3. How can the instructors of online classes that have international students whose L1 is not English provide optimal learning opportunities to these students for their professional learning?

To answer these questions, I identified six international students in a large public university in the southeastern United States. All six students are native speakers of languages other than English, and all of them are graduate students pursuing a master of education degree in TESOL. All six students have enrolled in at least one online course during their studies. I conducted two interviews with each participant. The first interview focused on the experience of online learning and its relation to learning TESOL-related content knowledge, and the second interview focused on equity issues and opportunity gaps that online learning has created. I also collected and analyzed student work in online discussion forums and their interaction with peers and instructors.

Findings

Three themes emerged from the data as these international graduate students in TESOL recounted their experiences in online learning environments. First, students’ interaction with peers and instructors in online environments focuses more on form rather than genuine conversations. Student 1 stated:

Unlike face-to-face interaction that can inspire us, online interactions are often mandated by the professor. We sometimes respond after a long time. When we are required to do the response, the interaction don’t count as genuine interaction. Once the required number of responses are posted, nobody will come back to the discussions later. This is not how I want to teach when I graduate. (Student 1, Interview 1)

Student 2 compares online interaction with face-to-face interaction by saying that

Online post is a procedure that follows the teacher’s requirements. In a classroom, the learning is dynamic, because when you hear others talk, you are refining the idea in your head. Your thinking is changing. It even improves my language expressions. Unlike the more time to think, I need to respond immediately. (Student 2, Interview 2)

Second, instructors of online classes may lack the awareness that international students may have challenges navigating online environments and negotiating the cultural norms of online interaction. Instructors of graduate students often assumed that students are familiar with technological interfaces and cultural expectations. That is not always the case with international students; Student 3 shares her strategies when she had hesitations about how to approach online posting:

Sometimes writing a response to a post is like writing an email. Sometimes I’m not sure. How long should it be? How should I start? Should I start with praising someone before saying something? I usually observe how native speakers start and organize their response. So definitely there are cultural aspects in online discussions. (Student 3, Interview 2)

Such strategies demonstrate international students’ flexibility and cultural awareness in navigating unfamiliar learning environments.

Third, students are “forced” (Student 6, Interview 2) to take online classes although they are on-campus full-time students, which takes away their opportunities to engage in face-to-face interaction with peers and professors. Several students viewed the online learning platform as merely a warehouse where the professor uploads materials and the students download them. “Interaction is minimal,” Student 5 said.

Discussion

International students aspiring to become TESOL professionals pursue professional learning in graduate programs in the United States in increasing numbers. They enter graduate TESOL programs from kaleidoscopic cultural backgrounds. This study shows that students are at a disadvantage when they have varying levels of familiarity with the discourse of teacher education programs, technological interfaces, and the cultural expectations in U.S. higher education.

To address the themes emerging from the findings, first, TESOL programs that offer online courses may embed face-to-face sessions for those who are on campus to create both formal and informal spaces for authentic interaction and to address emergent questions from international students. Second, instructors could give transparency to implicit cultural expectations and have face-to-face meetings at the beginning and middle of the course. For example, teacher educators teaching such courses could model the effective use of technology and be intentional in building the personal touch that often goes underappreciated in a purely online setting. If every instructor is not fully familiar with issues of cross-cultural communication, which could be the case when students elect non-TESOL-specific courses, professional development could be offered. Third, online learning environments have the potential to provide personal and engaging learning experiences if, for example, additional forums for creating a sense of community and belonging were set up periodically for students to share their emotions, stories, and life events outside the coursework.

References

Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (2003). “Seeing” teacher learning. TESOL Quarterly, 37, 729–737.

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2011). Distance education: A systems view of online learning. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.