Promoting Students’ Autonomy in Online Classes: A Study on First-Year Non-English Major Students at Thuongmai University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54855/acoj.221323Keywords:
online classes, Thuongmai University, students’ autonomy, strategiesAbstract
Vietnam's higher education has experienced considerable changes due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. When schools are closed, online classes become the inevitable mode of teaching, and Information Technology shows its indispensable role. In response to significant challenges, not only do teachers have to upgrade themselves with new teaching forms and techniques, but students also need to adapt to a new remote learning environment. Classes occur outside the classroom and only via a computer screen, which means many difficulties faced by the teachers in giving good lectures and promoting students' active learning. Different tactics have been used to deal with these problems, bringing both positive and negative results. This study is aimed to investigate strategies that English teachers at Thuongmai University have been employing to improve students' autonomy in their online courses and the results they have achieved. To collect data for the study, five English teachers and fifty first-year non-English major students at Thuongmai University are invited as participants, while questionnaires and interviews are used as the main data collection tools. The research findings reveal that a wide range of IT tools have been employed in English online classes, and they show a great help in promoting students' autonomy. Among the listed IT tools, Padlet and Quizizz are the most preferred.
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