Non-Traditional Language Learners: Exploring The Factors Affecting Engagement In Online Learning At A University Level In Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The most significant disruption to education systems in living memory was caused by the covid pandemic (Hussein et al., 2020). E-learning before the Covid pandemic has become an attractive approach to students with different characteristics as non-traditional learners. They study alongside full or part-time work, have family commitments, or are older learners. Studies report diverse findings about the motivation and engagement of this student body (Alshebou, 2019; Arjomandi et al., 2018; Gately et al., 2017, Novotný et al., 2019 Rothes et al., 2017; Sánchez- Gelabert et al.,2020). Due to a scarcity of non-traditional students’ motivation studies (Rothes et al., 2017) and engagement studies (Rabourn et al., 2018), this qualitative case study aims to understand non-traditional language learners’ motivation and engagement in online learning during uncertain times, Covid pandemic. Researchers have acknowledged the connection between motivation and engagement (Finn & Zimmer, 2012; Skinner& Pitzer, 2012) and declare that learners' motivation affects the quality of their engagement (Lawson & Lawson, 2013; Lawson & Masyn, 2015). As a result, this study aims to fill gaps and employ a motivational framework that has not been used in L2 studies: Maehr's (1984) Personal Investment Theory (PIT) to pave the way to understanding participants' motivation (goals and self) and exploring how language learners engage following Redmond et al. (2018) engagement model in online learning. The participants were six female students who studied foundation level at a Saudi university and adopted a blended pedagogical approach. Due to the worldwide shift to online learning, those learners in this academic year were unique in being the only learners who experienced solo online learning at the university. Data sources include surveys, engagement self- report, interviews, observation, and blackboard analytics.

The findings reflected that the lockdown situation tended to exacerbate a number of the existing inequalities apparent in OL which affected learners’ learning motivation and engagement experience. The motivation framework supports understanding the learners' goals and sense of self. The findings showed that the participants had multiple goals while learning in the research context. In addition, many contextual factors impacted their self-views. The analysis of the non- traditional five engagement dimensions for the engagement model stressed the interplay of these dimensions (cognitive, behavioural, emotional, social, and collaborative) in language learners' experiences in online learning. At the cognitive level, online learning affected students' comprehension and enhanced learners' self-regulation skills. The approach also impacted participants at the behavioural level regarding their participation, focus and careful listening, persistence, and self-working on activities. Mixed emotions were evident in the participants' emotional engagement during their online learning experiences. To communicate effectively in the online learning environments, the participants created a social community that enables them to engage socially with classmates and collaborate to support one another's learning. This helped them have a sense of belonging in the online community. The findings showed contextual factors influencing non-traditional language learners in online learning in this specific context. While self- efficacy was the central theme in the internal factors, the teacher was the critical factor in the institutional factors that affected student engagement in online learning.