MOOC-Based Blended Learning Training for EFL Teachers: A Conceptual Framework for Engagement Strategies, Technology Use, and Students’ Motivation

Abstract

MOOC-based blended learning has become a normalized and quality-oriented direction of higher education reform, yet its effectiveness in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching depends strongly on teachers’ pedagogical design and technology integration. This conceptual paper develops a framework for examining the effectiveness of a MOOC-based blended learning training programme for EFL teachers in the Chinese higher education context. Drawing on Activity Theory and Constructivism, the paper argues that teacher training can reshape the instructional activity system by strengthening teachers’ engagement strategies and purposeful use of technology, which may subsequently support students’ motivation in blended EFL learning. The paper synthesizes recent literature on EFL blended learning, teacher professional development, engagement strategies, technology use, and student motivation, and proposes a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test non-equivalent group design for future empirical testing. The proposed framework includes five hypothesized relationships: the effect of the training programme on teachers’ engagement strategies, teachers’ use of technology, and students’ motivation, as well as the relationships between engagement strategies, technology use, and students’ motivation. This paper contributes to the literature by shifting attention from the general effectiveness of blended learning to the teacher-training mechanism that enables MOOC-based blended learning to become pedagogically meaningful. It also provides practical implications for EFL teacher development, blended curriculum design, and technology-supported language learning in applied university contexts.