EFL Lecturers' Metadiscourse in Chinese University MOOCs Across Course Types

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Educational Technology
• Higher Education Studies

Background:

• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) became crucial in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Previous research on MOOCs primarily focused on teaching organization and learning processes, neglecting lecturer discourse.
• Lecturer metadiscourse in Chinese university MOOCs remains under-explored, necessitating investigation into its patterns and functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distinctive patterns of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lecturers' metadiscourse in Chinese university MOOCs.
• To analyze the frequency and functions of metadiscourse across different course types.
• To provide insights into EFL lecturer discourse within the MOOC educational context.

Main Methods:

• Corpus-based analysis of a self-built corpus of Chinese university MOOCs.
• Application of the interpersonal model as the theoretical framework.
• Quantitative analysis of metadiscourse frequency and functions using AntConc and SPSS.

Main Results:

• The specific educational context of MOOCs is associated with a low overall frequency of metadiscourse.
• Metadiscourse in MOOCs is predominantly employed to enhance intelligibility, reliability, and interactivity.
• Course types influence metadiscourse usage: procedural knowledge courses prioritize intelligibility and interactivity, while declarative knowledge courses emphasize reliability.

Conclusions:

• EFL lecturers in Chinese university MOOCs use metadiscourse sparingly, focusing on key communicative functions.
• The type of knowledge emphasized in a course (procedural vs. declarative) shapes the strategic use of metadiscourse.
• The findings offer practical implications for improving EFL lecturer communication strategies in online learning environments.