logo

Articles

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2025): TEL in English language teaching, learning and assessment

Digital collaboration tools to support and enhance student belonging: A UK EAP perspective

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.74d11257
Submitted
13 August 2026
Published
15-08-2026

Abstract

This study investigates, through the application of surveys and semi-structured interviews, how English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructors in United Kingdom (UK) universities utilise a range of digital collaboration tools, such as virtual classrooms, platforms, forums and apps to enhance collaboration and engagement and ultimately engender a sense of belonging among linguistically and culturally diverse EAP student cohorts. The findings demonstrate how EAP teachers currently integrate these tools into their practice to meet specific academic and linguistic needs. A brief set of general recommendations for teachers is then offered to further enhance student belonging through the flexible integration of technology into everyday practice, focussing on the need for more training, the effective exploitation of existing technologies and brave experimentation with new technologies. This research not only advances the discourse on digital pedagogy within EAP but also provides actionable insights for educators in a wide range of fields who seek to create inclusive learning environments using institutionally mandated digital tools or those of their own choosing.

References

  1. Allison, N., & Hudson, J. (2020). Integrating and Sustaining Directed and Self-Directed Learning Through MS Teams and OneNote: Using Microsoft Teams and OneNote to Facilitate Communication, Assignments, and Portfolio Management. BALEAP TEL SIG Webinar. Publisher. Retrieved from https://www.baleap.org/event/ms-teams-and-onenote-integrating-supported-and-independent-learning. 03 Jun 2020
  2. Baxter, J. A. (2012). Who am I and what keeps me going? Profiling the distance learning student in higher education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13(4), 107–129.
  3. Bertacco, L. (2020). Student engagement: Fostering a sense of belonging. English Australia Journal, 36(1), 54–59.
  4. Biggs, J. (2003). Constructive alignment in university teaching. HERDSA Review of Higher Education Vol. 1. https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/Constructive_Alignment36087.pdf
  5. Bower, M., Kenney, J., Dalgarno, B., Lee, M. J. W., & Kennedy, G. E. (2014). Patterns and principles for blended synchronous learning: Engaging remote and face-to-face learners in rich-media real-time collaborative activities. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.1697
  6. Darabi, A. and Jin, L. (2013). Improving the quality of online discussion: the effects of strategies designed based on cognitive load theory principles’. Distance Education, 34(1), 21–36.
  7. Dashtestani, R. (2019). English for academic purposes instructors’ use and acceptance of technology in EAP courses. Call-Ej, 20(1), 115–134.
  8. Dhillon, S., & Murray, N. (2021). An investigation of EAP teachers’ views and experiences of E-learning technology. Education in Science: The Bulletin of the Association for Science Education, 11(2), 54.
  9. Eckert, P., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (1992). Think Practically and Look Locally: Language and Gender as Community-Based Practice. Annual Review of Anthropology, 21, 461–490.
  10. Freeman, T. M., Anderman, L. H., & Jensen, J. M. (2007). Sense of Belonging in College Freshmen at the Classroom and Campus Levels. Journal of Experimental Education, 75(3), 203–220.
  11. Hamp-Lyons, L. (2011). English for Academic Purposes. In Handbook of Research on Second Language Learning and Teaching (pp. 89–105). Unknown.
  12. Handley, K., et al. (2006). Within and beyond communities of practice: Making sense of learning through participation, identity, and practice. The Journal of Management Studies, 43(3), 641–653.
  13. Hoadley, C.M. & Kilner, P.G. (2005) Using technology to transform communities of practice into knowledge-building communities. SIGGROUP Bull., 25(1), pp. 31–40.
  14. Hudson, J. (2023). The digital turn in EAP: Teachers’ perspectives on transitioning to blended or hybrid teaching post-Covid-19. Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.c7cb7ac5
  15. Kirschner, P. & Lai, K. (2007). Online communities of practice in education. Technology Pedagogy and Education, 16(2), 127–131.
  16. Kohnke, L., & Zou, D. (2021). Reflecting on existing English for Academic Purposes practices: Lessons for the post-COVID classroom. Sustainability: Science Practice and Policy, 13(20), 11520.
  17. Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press.
  18. Lawrence, G., Ahmed, F., Cole, C., & Johnston, K. P. (2020). Not More Technology but More Effective Technology: Examining the State of Technology Integration in EAP Programmes. RELC Journal, 51(1), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220907199
  19. Leigh, T. (2015). Social Networking for EAP students. ISEJ, 3(2), Autumn/Winter 2015.
  20. Li, F. (2018). Can Using a Discussion-board Enhance Writing Practice for EAP/ESL Students? Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8(5), 467–474.
  21. Love, M. (2020). How EFL teacher trainees in a TESOL graduate program integrate tools and platforms into teaching EAP. Teaching English with Technology, 20(5), 38–64.
  22. Love, M. (2020). How EFL teacher trainees in a TESOL graduate program integrate tools and platforms into teaching EAP. Teaching English with Technology, 20(5), 38–64.
  23. Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  24. Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
  25. Peacock, S., & Cowan, J. (2019). Promoting a Sense of Belonging in Online Learning Communities of Inquiry. Olje-og Gassvirksomhet/Oil and Gas Activity Statistisk Sentralbyraa, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i2.1488
  26. Saldana, J. (2021). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Limited.
  27. Smith, S. U., Hayes, S., & Shea, P. (2017). A Critical Review of the Use of Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP) Theoretical Framework in Online and Blended Learning Research, 2000-2014. Olje-og Gassvirksomhet/Oil and Gas Activity Statistisk Sentralbyraa, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v21i1.963
  28. Thompson, A. A. (2022). Using a Class WhatsApp Group with EAP Students: Sense of Community, Benefits, and Challenges (S. Kumar, Ed.). University of Florida. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/using-class-whatsappTM-group-with-eap-students/docview/2679724595/se-2
  29. Vasilopoulos, E. (2022). The intersections of student engagement and academic integrity in the emergency remote “English for Academic Purposes” assemblage. Page, 24(1).
  30. Walsh, R. (2017). Turning the smartphone into an EAP classroom learning device through Kahoot!. 126-127. Abstract from EUROCALL 2017, Southampton, United Kingdom. http://www.eurocall2017.uk/abstracts/
  31. Wang, S., & Vásquez, C. (2012). Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning: What Does the Research Tell Us? CALICO Journal, 29(3), 412–430.
  32. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Learning in Doing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  33. Wenger-Trayner, E. and Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015). An introduction to communities of practice: a brief overview of the concept and its uses. Available from authors at https://www.wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice.
  34. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  35. Young, S., & Bruce, M. (2011). Classroom Community and Student Engagement in Online Courses. [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b1985785ffb9cf1e536796b5b6d43a45de9f4697 (Accessed: 13 October 2023).