LMOOC (Language Massive Open Online Courses) SIG

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have consolidated in this decade as a pedagogical model with the potential to widen access to Higher Education, and dozens of universities around the world offer free online courses covering from Astrophysics to Philosophy. Foreign Language learning has not been oblivious to this trend, and since 2012 we have had LMOOCs (Language MOOCs) “dedicated Web-based online courses for second languages with unrestricted access and potentially unlimited participation (Bárcena & Martín-Monje, 2014: p.1). Teachers and researchers involved in technology-enhanced language learning have witnessed the growing interest in this field, with over 100 LMOOCs already on offer (as of February 2017), 2 monographic volumes published on the topic (Dixon & Thomas, 2015; Martín-Monje & Bárcena, 2014) and panels devoted to LMOOCs at international conferences such as EuroCALL.

It seems, though, that practice is substantially ahead of research, and we consider that it is the right time to establish a Special Interest Group (SIG) on LMOOCs, in order to provide a forum for discussion, to share the research that is being undertaken and reflect together upon its specificities and areas of development. Some suggested areas could be:

• Internationalization and L2 learning through MOOCs
• Technical and pedagogical issues
• MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) & MOOCs
• Cultural studies and MFL (Modern Foreign Language)
• Integration of LMOOCs in Formal Education
• LMOOCs for social integration and employability
• Task design in LMOOCs
• Teacher and student roles
• Social interaction in LMOOCs
• Learning Analytics and LMOOCs

The SIG’s objectives are

• To gather information on ongoing research and projects developed by members of the SIG, and disseminate it via a dedicated website.
• To share information on courses, seminars, conferences, publications, etc.
• To promote academic discussion related to LMOOCs.
• To organise workshops and symposia for exchanging experiences and ideas.
• To encourage Open Practices, collaboration and possible visits to each other’s institutions with the aim of setting up joint projects.

Expanding horizons: OER for language learning and teaching

In addition to the growing impact of LMOOCs in the field of learning education, the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement has gained momentum as a transformative force in education. Championed by UNESCO and other global organizations, OER promote the free and open sharing of teaching, learning, and research materials, fostering equity, accessibility, and innovation in education.

In recent years, research on OER has highlighted their potential to improve learning outcomes, support personalized education, and enhance teacher agency. Research has explored their role in language education (Wang & Towey, 2017; Beaven, 2018), emphasizing their adaptability for diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. OER repositories now offer a vast range of language learning materials, from interactive multimedia resources to open-access textbooks and entire curricula, allowing educators and learners to customize content to fit specific needs.

OER and LMOOCs share a common foundation—openness, accessibility, and scalability—making them natural allies in digital language education. Integrating OER into LMOOCs and other online learning environments enhances course flexibility, fosters cross-institutional collaboration, and enables the creation of high-quality, culturally relevant resources. Moreover, OER play a key role in multilingual education, intercultural communication, and the development of inclusive pedagogies.

By incorporating OER into our SIG’s scope, we aim to:

• Promote awareness, and best practices in the creation, adaptation, and implementation of OER for language learning.
• Encourage collaboration among educators, researchers, and institutions in developing and sharing open language resources.
• Explore the intersection of OER and LMOOCs, analyzing their impact on language education, learner engagement, and pedagogical effectiveness.
• Support initiatives that leverage OER for multilingual education, social inclusion, and lifelong language learning.

As the landscape of open education continues to evolve, we invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to join us in examining how OER can complement and enhance LMOOCs, fostering a more open, connected, and innovative language learning community.

Beaven, T. (2013). Use and Reuse of OER: professional conversations with language teachers. Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society, 9(1), 59-71.

Wang, T., & Towey, D. (2017, December). Open educational resource (OER) adoption in higher education: Challenges and strategies. In 2017 IEEE 6th international conference on teaching, assessment, and learning for engineering (TALE) (pp. 317-319). IEEE.