Exploring The Relations Between Learners’ Engagement,Autonomy,Motivation,and Academic Performance In An English Language MOOC

Learner engagement has received an increased research interest in Second Language Acquisition(SLA).Previous research has predominantly focused on offline classroom contexts,but learner engagement in online contexts such as the contexts of language Massive Open Online Courses(LMOOCs)remains under-explored.The widely reported challenges facing LMOOCs require more empirical attention on learner engagement in LMOOC contexts.This study was conducted on a College English MOOC with the purposes of examining learner engagement and its relationships with autonomy,motivation,and academic performance in the LMOOC.This study consisted of two phases.In the first phase,a learning analytics approach was used to collect 3673 learners’ tracking data from the learning management system of the LMOOC platform.The data included three types of activities used as indicators of online engagement(videos watched,posts written,and assignments submitted),course completion,and academic performance indicated by learners’ scores on the final examination.The results indicated:(1)there were significant differences in learners’ online engagement between completers and noncompleters;(2)learners’ videos watched and assignments submitted significantly predicted completion rates but posts written did not predict completion rates;and(3)the three activity indicators of online engagement significantly predicted academic performance.In the second phase,a self-report approach by means of a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the mediating roles of three dimensions of engagement(behavioral,cognitive,and emotional engagement)in the relationships between autonomy and academic performance and between motivation and performance.A total of 115 learners of the focal LMOOC responded to the questionnaire.The findings showed:(1)only cognitive engagement among the three dimensions of engagement significantly predicted academic performance;(2)autonomy and motivation did not predict academic performance;and(3)cognitive engagement significantly mediated the relationships between autonomy and academic performance and between motivation and academic performance.Through the combination of the learning analytics approach and self-report approach,this study has contributed a fuller understanding of learner engagement in LMOOC contexts.Implications for LMOOC instructors and future research on learner engagement in LMOOCs have also been addressed.