Facilitating EFL Students' Active Learning Through Digital Portfolio Development

Abstract

A number of studies suggest that active learning enables learners to actively participate in the learning process, effectively assimilate their lessons, and gradually enjoy the learning process (Attaran & Moghaddam, 2014; Bonwell & Eison, 1991; D’Silva, 2010; Freeman et al., 2014; Koohang, 2009; Ryan & Martens, 1989; Tedesco-Schneck, 2013; Theobald et al., 2020). Developing a digital portfolio facilitates active learning among EFL students as it empowers them to plan their academic activities, reflect on their academic progress, and deepen their understanding of their lessons. This empirical study was conducted at Center for Preparatory Studies (CPS), Sultan Qaboos University during the Spring Semester of Academic Year 2022-2023. It gathered quantitative data through the Questionnaire for Portfolio Development; whereas it elicited qualitative data through focus group discussion sessions. The quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26; whereas, the qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results revealed that the respondents have mixed feelings towards portfolio development. The majority of the respondents believe that developing their portfolio facilitates their active learning in various ways. Both the quantitative and qualitative data reveal that developing a portfolio facilitates active learning among the learners and that there is no significant difference in the respondents’ attitude towards portfolio development when grouped according to their course. EFL students have mixed feelings towards portfolio development. Despite their ambivalence towards portfolio development, they understand the significance of developing their portfolio. EFL students generally have a positive attitude towards all the three components of their portfolio (academic planner, vocab log and reflection task) as they consider each component helpful in developing their language skills and allow them to learn actively.