Monitoring Engagement in the Foreign Language Classroom: Learners’ Perspectives

Abstract

Over the last three years, we have engaged in the development of a web-based mobile application called Classmoto that uses the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) to measure cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement in near real-time, with minimal disruption to the teaching and learning experience. The current study implemented Classmoto in an intact university language class in a Japanese university for an entire semester. We focused on learners’ experiences of using the app for two purposes: (1) to determine its face validity, and (2) to identify any constraints on and benefits from its practical application in an authentic pedagogic context, from the learners’ perspective. The results show that the instrument was able to measure the three sub-domains of engagement, as designed. In addition, participants praised the ESM for (a) giving them an opportunity for self-reflection, and (b) enabling the instructor to react to the students’ feedback instantaneously, with no negative feedback reported.