Language learner engagement, which is receiving increased attention, has predominantly focused on offline classroom contexts, while learner engagement in language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) remains under-explored. This study was conducted on a College English MOOC with the purpose of examining learner engagement and its relations with autonomy and academic performance in the LMOOC. In the first phase, the learning analytics (LA) approach was adopted. This involved collecting tracking data of 3673 learners from the learning management system (LMS) of the LMOOC platform. The data included three types of activities (videos watched, assignments submitted, and posts written) as indicators of learners’ online task engagement and scores on the final examination as a measure of their academic performance. In the second phase, 115 learners of the focal LMOOC responded to a survey that measured autonomy and three dimensions of engagement (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement) typically explored in second language (L2) learning research. The results of the LA approach showed that all three indicators of online task engagement significantly predicted academic performance. The survey results indicated that only cognitive engagement among the three dimensions of engagement significantly predicted academic performance. While autonomy did not predict academic performance, cognitive engagement significantly mediated the relationship between autonomy and academic performance. Implications for LMOOC instructors, designers, and researchers are then addressed.

With English-medium instruction (EMI) as a pedagogical strategy being practiced worldwide in higher education (HE), extensive research has explored stakeholders’ attitudes toward, and perceived benefits and challenges of EMI based on self-report data. However, the actual effectiveness of EMI on students’ subject content and English language learning achievements tested with objective measures has accrued little evidence. This meta-analysis synthesized 44 independent samples (32 in medical disciplines) from 36 studies. The results show that EMI students performed significantly better in both subject content and English learning than students in Chinese-medium courses, but it should be noted that the difference in content learning was found only with students from medical disciplines. Discipline was the only significant factor moderating content learning, while disciplines, research design, and instruction time in English significantly moderated English learning. The findings provide implications for implementing EMI in similar contexts and highlight the importance of rigorous future research to examine the benefits of EMI.

Motivation is considered an important impetus driving and sustaining individuals’ efforts to fulfill their goals. Against the backdrop that university academics worldwide are increasingly expected to produce research output in prestigious journals for both individual and institutional development, it is necessary to understand academics’ research motivation and its relations with research productivity in international and local journals. This study, being descriptive and explanatory in nature, surveyed 309 academics who taught English as a foreign language (TEFL) in China. Results showed that the participants exhibited stronger extrinsic motivation, in the form of external and identified regulations, than intrinsic motivation. However, these two subtypes of extrinsic motivation were significantly negatively associated with academic publishing, whereas intrinsic motivation was the significant positive factor associated with the participants’ publication in international journals. These findings remind both academics and educational managers of the importance of enhancing intrinsic motivation and refining contextual support in improving academics’ research productivity.