Like, Comment and Share: Understanding Language Learning Experience of Gifted Students through Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Platform

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) gained prominence as an alternative teaching and learning platform for many educators embarking on developing university courses online. In Malaysia, the initiative at lower secondary school was quite recent and not many teachers were willing to invest the time and effort to develop the MOOC courses. This study examined the secondary school gifted students’ experience in learning a language subject using a new online course in a MOOC platform. All students from the lower secondary levels of a gifted education institution enrolled in the English subject MOOC and their engagements and experiences were recorded in their journal and classroom discussions. Their text and verbal responses were analysed and reported to better understand the various issues and challenges that they had encountered. Students accredited certain positive aspects of MOOC and they found it to be useful, flexible and engaging. More than 80 per cent relished the social meeting elements such as like, comment and share. The contents and activities helped them learn and practise the English language. The study outcomes disclosed the use of MOOC as a social learning platform that offers engaging learning. The online teaching and learning process could benefit from the social media features found in MOOC which are motivating to the gifted students. For educators, this platform offers useful alternatives and strategies to develop their teaching contents online and utilise it as an enrichment programme in the gifted and talented education institution.