The Effectiveness of Asynchronous Activities in Degree English Courses: A case study in the Faculty of Engineering, Design, and Information Technology

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated providing additional teaching and learning support for students in virtual learning environments (VLEs). A new type of support was designed to provide learning activities on VLEs that students can complete asynchronously online outside of teaching hours. Two degree-level English language courses in the Faculty of Engineering, Design, and Information Technology (EDICT) at Bahrain Polytechnic, namely EL6001 English for EDICT 3 and EL6002 English for EDICT 4, included asynchronous activities as part of students’ weekly learning experiences during semester one of the academic year 2022–2023. Asynchronous activities included a range of discussion posts, listening quizzes, speaking recordings, writing essays and reports, responding to forums, and interactive H5P activities. This paper will assess the efficacy of weekly asynchronous activities in improving students' learning experiences. It will also investigate the appropriateness and need for continuous improvement and make recommendations for future research and better implementation. The results of the study have shown Bahraini students’ positive perspective learning asynchronously with a number of preferences related to attendance and grades which have not been found in similar research studies.