An Investigation of Student Satisfaction in an Online Language Learning Course

Introduction

Online learning continues to grow in popularity. However, the effectiveness of online learning has been questioned, especially by educational institutions where there are inadequate organizational capacities to accommodate online learning and the use of educational technologies. There have been a number of studies on student satisfaction and engagement in online learning which are defined as the level of pleasure in participating in and fulfilling the learning experience in an online learning program (Dziuban, Moskal, Johnson, & Evans, 2017; Parsad & Lewis, 2008). Student satisfaction is dependent to one’s interaction with peers, instructors, and content; as well as technology, course design, and implementation. In an online course, student satisfaction also depends on the learner, particularly his/her ability to navigate the course components, search for information, and succeed in learning autonomy (Kuo, Walker, Schroder, & Belland, 2014; Triquet, Peeters, & Lombaerts, 2017).

In language teaching and learning, computer assisted language learning (CALL), which was introduced in the early 1980s, offered students the opportunity to learn languages in any context with computer technologies (Azizinezhad & Hashemi, 2013). Studies on English foreign language (EFL) learners’ and instructors’ attitudes toward CALL revealed an association between its use and user satisfaction (Hsu, 2017; Yükselir, 2016). This was mainly due to positive perceptions on language improvement and usability.

In Vietnam, the context of this study, a few online English language learning programs have been offered by both public and private organizations. TOPICA, an educational technology group, is delivering the TOPICA NATIVE platform for speaking practice through augmented reality (https://topicanative.edu.vn/). It applies practice-interaction-assessment-lecture-evaluation (PIALE) as an underlying methodology to support individual learners in their online speaking practice.

This empirical study aims to investigate student satisfaction in an online language learning course. Specifically, our study explores key predictors that influence student satisfaction. It also aims to examine the relationship among three types of interaction (learner-content, learner-learner, and learner-instructor), Internet self-efficacy and self-regulation, and whether gender and prior online language learning experience affect student satisfaction with the course.