Distance Learning and Learner Readiness: Combining Pedagogies for Enculturating Language Learners to Online Education

More than a decade after the first introduction of online e-learning platforms, distance education has turned into a defining component of the educational contexts across different grade levels and disciplines including second and foreign language teaching/learning. Grounded on the social constructivist theories of learning, online and distance education presumes more active roles for learners by placing them at the centre of the process of learning. Considering the determining role of learner readiness in the effectiveness of online learning attempts, exploring relevant strategies that can prepare learners (ie enculturate them) for online education appears to be imperative for technology-enhanced learning research and computer-assisted language learning research. To contribute to this research base, in the present article, I report on a study which was conducted on two groups of engineering students who attended online real-time technical English courses at a public university of technology. One group was randomly assigned as the control group and the other as the experimental group. Although the students in the control group experienced language learning in an online real-time setting in which a teacher-centred pedagogical approach was applied, their final exam mean score was generally lower compared to that of the students in the experimental group who were enculturated to online learning through combined pedagogies. The observed difference can be attributed to the efficacy of the selected treatment. The obtained results can be specifically productive for curriculum designers and materials developers.