IMPLEMENTING THE FRAMEWORK OF COMMUNITIES OF INQUIRY IN TEFL

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) is a techno-pedagogical framework that has called significant attention in e-learning and distance education research. It has been implemented in diverse educational fields and disciplines, being foreign language learning one of particular interest for the authors of this paper. Due to the dynamics proposed by the framework, it appears as a practical and relevant option to generate a successful learning experience for ESL/EFL learners. Therefore, we are here suggesting a research project, which aims to find out how the implementation of this pedagogical model works in a virtual Basic English class at the University of Veracruz and why, according to the agents involved.

We will start by providing a brief description of the model, its theoretical foundation, and then, its applications and its potential use in the area of language learning in online environments. Through the analysis of documents (on the selected LMS), semi-structured interviews, observation, logs, survey and tests, constituting this mixed, predominantly qualitative, study, we aim to understand:
1) How does the CoI, implemented in a virtual Basic English class, impact the students’ development of the communicative competence? How much is the latter affected?
1.1) How do the social, cognitive and teaching presences, suggested by the CoI, operate in a virtual Basic English course?
1.2) What is the relationship between these three presences (social, cognitive and teaching) of the CoI and the linguistic, sociolinguistic, pragmatic and strategic dimensions of the communicative competence?
1.3) How do the students perceive the functioning of the CoI model and its respective presences (social, cognitive and teaching) in the virtual Basic English course?