Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Teaching and Learning

First Advisor's Name

Ryan W. Pontier

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Mido Chang

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Agatha S. Caraballo

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Andrea Adelman

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

online, asynchronous, intensive English, ESL, mixed methods, explanatory sequential, teacher perceptions, iterative thematic inquiry, community of inquiry

Date of Defense

3-21-2025

Abstract

Fully-online asynchronous education and intensive English programs are both common and established subfields of education in the United States today, and independently, they have each existed for many years. However, there is a dearth of fully-online asynchronous intensive English programs in the United States, as well as research within and about this convergence. There is also little information about the perceptions of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers towards fully-online asynchronous education and their willingness to develop and teach within these programs. In today’s changing educational landscape, learning how teachers perceive of this modality and what elements might make them feel more confident in teaching in the fully-online asynchronous modality is essential.

This explanatory sequential mixed methods investigation used the Community of Inquiry (Garrison et al., 1999) as a conceptual framework, but reconceptualized it to focus solely on the teachers’ educational experiences. Phase 1 gathered anonymous survey data nationally about prevailing perceptions among teachers in the industry; this data was analyzed for correlation. Subsequently, a qualitative study using individual and focus group interviews was conducted, seeking to understand how the perceptions of teachers in an established academic intensive English language program housed at a large research university in the Southeastern United States impacted their willingness to implement a fully-online asynchronous intensive English program and how they might feel more confident in doing so.

The study found that ESL teachers have a negative bias and general misunderstanding of the fully-online asynchronous modality. This could be due to many factors, including inexperience, lack of training, and emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 school closures. Qualitative results showed that teachers are more willing to teach online if they feel that they have a strong understanding of the modality’s nuances, as well as confidence built through appropriate training and support.

Future research should investigate teachers at other institutions to attempt to establish more general trends. Additionally, exploring student demand for the modality in specific demographics nationwide can help institutions determine whether this substantive endeavor is practical, appropriate, and necessary for their use case.

Identifier

FIDC101425

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7411-9803

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