Category: LRNT 622

I am going to repost my research question:

“How might the transition to online learning impact post-secondary ESL students?”

and Sub Questions so that my framework ideas make more sense.

1)What barriers and challenges do ESL students face in the transition to online learning?
I want to focus on anxiety around studying in a foreign language and participating in online discussions ( I am more interested in the synchronous video, but should probably look at text-based communication as well?). There are two frameworks that could be useful here.
– Constructivism and social learning. I found an interesting book by Pritchard & Woollard (2013) that looks at online learning through this framework. There are also plenty of research papers on it.
– Psychoanalytic theory. I want to understand anxiety better.  Mathew (2018) specifically explores anxiety in online learning through the lens of psychoanalytic theory in his book “Fragile learning: The influence of anxiety”. It looks promising and very interesting. Psychoanalysis is somewhat removed from the study of online education but I still wonder if I can find more papers about it. I am still in the brainstorming phase.

2)What is the role of cultural differences in online learning?
I wonder if I can start looking at cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2011) first and then explore which ones might play a role in online learning.  The model contains six dimensions of national cultures: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint. (p.8).

3)What strategies might be used to address the barriers and challenges that ESL students face in the transition to online learning?
I am not sure what framework to look at here. I might even drop this sub-question if I don’t find anything concrete.
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I am now realizing that none of my suggested frameworks address the main research question directly. They are mostly useful for subquestions. That probably means that I either need to connect all my frameworks (and subquestions) together in order to answer the main question OR I need to narrow down my main research question.  To be honest, I am not that interested in any other barriers and challenges of ESL students besides language anxiety (in an online learning environment). But if I narrow down my research question to that, I might run into the problem of not having enough literature on this topic…

References

Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014

Mathew, D. (2018). Fragile learning: The influence of anxiety. Routledge.

Pritchard, A., & Woollard, J. (2013). Psychology for the classroom: Constructivism and social learning. Routledge.

It is difficult for me to imagine that in the process of doing this research project, I will discover something of significant importance. To some, it might look like a lack of faith on my part, to others like a pragmatic and rather realistic assessment of my situation. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
Let’s imagine, I produce a quality paper. So what? Mid-program I have made a decision to steer clear of the education system because I do not believe we are suitable for each other. Therefore, it is unlikely for this paper to become a stepping stone towards something greater. This brings me to another important question. Who cares? It is unlikely that many people will because I am not an instructor now and I will not be a part of the education system after I graduate. I will return to counselling. If I end up working for a non-profit, perhaps, a program manager or a co-worker might be curious. If I end up working for myself, my clients are unlikely to see my paper or even benefit from it. That’s why I don’t see much of a sense in disseminating it.
What is the point of doing this research project then? For others, it might turn out to be none at all and I am fine with that. I will be doing it for myself, for the skills acquired in the process and for a sense of accomplishment at the end.