Discovering disciplinary differences: blending data sources to explore the student online behaviors in a University English course

Dennis Foung is a Teaching Fellow at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He holds a doctorate in language education and has been teaching English to different tertiary students in Hong Kong. Having a keen interest in computer-assisted language learning, he coordinated the design and development of various language learning platforms. Other than CALL, his research interest includes learning analytics, motivation, classroom discourse, and teacher behaviors. He is the facilitator of his university’s Community of Practice on Learning Analytics (LA), and encourages the use of LA to evaluate online learning.

Julia Chen is the Director of the Educational Development Centre and formerly Associate Director of the English Language Centre at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and oversaw the development of new English subjects in her university’s Language and Communication Requirement during a massive undergraduate curriculum reform several years ago. She advocated introducing blended learning components in the new English curriculum, and coordinated a thorough review of three of the new subjects last year, including the EAP subject reported in this article. She is a two-time recipient of her University’s President Award for excellent performance and achievement in teaching and in service.