Promoting L2 Learner Engagement in Online English Language Classes

This study aims to investigate whether and to what extent students experience (dis)engagement in online language learning. In order to utilize the malleable feature of student engagement, the present study explores the facilitative impacts of a collaborative authentic task on promoting student engagement in online language learning. Participants included 88 high school students. The data was gathered over a four-week period through an engagement questionnaire and focus group interviews. The results suggest that a collaborative real-world relevant task that involves learners' views and opinions and produces output that is useful in real-life is likely to boost learners' online class engagement cognitively, agentically, behaviorally, and emotionally. Moreover, as the flow of instruction involves less structure but more dialogue and self-directedness, the implementation of a collaborative task authentic task notably decreases transactional distance.