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A Grounded Theory Exploration of Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs): Understanding Students’ Viewpoints

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  • Robert Li-Wei Hsu

    (Graduate Program of Hospitality Management, School of Hospitality Management, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Kaohsiung City 81271, Taiwan)

Abstract

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been called the biggest innovation in education in 200 years for their unique attribute of being open and free to any individual with Internet access; however, their high dropout rate has led many people to be concerned or dubious about their effectiveness and applicability. The applicability of MOOCs in English for specific purposes (ESP) courses (in this case, hospitality English) needs more empirical evidence; the present study intends to help fill this gap and extend our current understanding of this issue. This study followed a grounded theory methodology to develop a theoretical model based on a constant dialogue between collected data and the literature. The results suggest that most participants had positive perceptions of language MOOCs (LMOOCs) in general, but some doubted their applicability. Most participants said they would continue to use LMOOCs for learning, depending on the attributes of specific courses. Based on the extracted data, a conceptual model for the applicability of LMOOCs is proposed.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Li-Wei Hsu, 2021. "A Grounded Theory Exploration of Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs): Understanding Students’ Viewpoints," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2577-:d:507527
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anthony Onwuegbuzie & Nancy Leech, 2007. "A Call for Qualitative Power Analyses," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 105-121, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hengbin Yan, 2025. "Trends in Empirical Research in English for Specific Purposes: A Systematic Review of SSCI-Indexed Journal Articles (2014–2023)," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(1), pages 21582440251, March.
    2. Tong Zhou & Wei Zhang, 2022. "Effectiveness Study on Online or Blended Language Learning Based on Student Achievement: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-29, June.
    3. Sohail Akhtar & Manahil Mohammed Alfuraydan & Yasir Hayat Mughal & Kesavan Sreekantan Nair, 2025. "Adoption of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for Health Informatics and Administration Sustainability Education in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-26, April.

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