"An Online Collaborative Learning Program to Develop Spoken Communicative Competence and Self-Efficacy among College of Tourism & Hotels Students at Alexandria University"

                           كلية التربية

        إدارة: البحوث والنشر العلمي ( المجلة العلمية)

                       =======

"An Online Collaborative Learning Program to Develop Spoken Communicative Competence and Self-Efficacy among College of Tourism & Hotels Students at Alexandria University"

By

Hamdy Mohammed Abd Elaziz Ali

Senior English Language Instructor, College of Tourism & Hotels,

Alexandria University

Dr. Hanan Ahmed Abd Elhafez                Dr. Salwa Mohammed Elsayed

   Prof. EFL Curriculum and Instruction                                Professor Emeritus of EFL     

                                                                                               Curriculum and Instruction                   Faculty of Education, Assiut University                    Faculty of Education, Assiut University

hamdyaziz19@gmail.com      

}     المجلد الثامن والثلاثون– العدد الحادي عشر– جزء ثاني-نوفمبر 2022م {

http://www.aun.edu.eg/faculty_education/arabic

Abstract:

This study investigated the effectiveness of using an online collaborative learning program on developing spoken communicative competence and self-efficacy among tourism and hotels students at Alexandria University. The sample of the study consisted of 21 first year students from the college of tourism and hotels, Alexandria University. The study used the one group quasi-experimental research design with its pre-post testing procedures. The study tools included a spoken communicative competence test with its two parts: the knowledge-based test and the performance-based test as well as an English speaking self-efficacy scale. The study was administered during the second term of the academic year 2021/2022. The study results showed that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the study participants in the pre and post administration of the spoken communicative competence test and the English speaking self-efficacy scale in favor of the post administration, which indicates the effectiveness and significance of the online collaborative learning program in developing tourism students' spoken communicative competence and English speaking self-efficacy. The researcher finally recommends that more online collaborative programs should be designed to suit English language learners at different educational stages. 

Keywords : online collaborative learning, spoken communicative competence,   self-efficacy.

مستخلص البحث:

هدف البحث الحالي إلى استقصاء فاعلية استخدام برنامج للتعلم التشاركي الإلكتروني في تنمية القدرة التواصلية الشفهية والكفاءة الذاتية لدى طلاب كلية السياحة والفنادق بجامعة الإسكندرية. وضمت مجموعة البحث 21 مشاركا من طلاب وطالبات الفرقة الأولي بكلية السياحة والفنادق بجامعة الإسكندرية محل عمل الباحث. وقد استخدم البحث الحالي المنهج التجريبي دي التصميم شبه التجريبي القائم على المجموعة الواحدة وقام الباحث بإعداد اختبار قبلي وبعدي لقياس القدرة التواصلية الشفهية لمجموعة البحث كما قام بتصميم مقياس الكفاءة الذاتية في تحدث اللغة الإنجليزية وقام بتطبيقه قبليا وبعديا. وقد توصلت الدراسة الحالية إلى أن هناك فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية  بين متوسطات درجات طلاب الفرقة الأولى بكلية السياحة والفنادق في القدرة التواصلية الشفهية وفي مقياس الكفاءة الذاتية بين التطبيقين القبلي والبعدي لصالح التطبيق البعدي وهدا يدل على فاعلية وأهمية برنامج التعلم التشاركي في تنمية مستوى القدرة التواصلية الشفهية والكفاءة الذاتية لدي الطلاب المشاركين في البحث. وقد أوصى الباحث بضرورة تصميم برامج مختلفة للتعلم التشاركي تلائم متعلمي اللغة الإنجليزية في المراحل التعليمية المختلفة.

الكلمات المفتاحية: التعلم التشاركي الإلكتروني، القدرة التواصلية الشفهية، الكفاءة الذاتية.

Introduction:

     Due to the modern advances in technology and the widespread notions of globalization, the view of English as a foreign language has changed from a classroom language into a communication language. In other words, we now learn English not to just use it in the classroom or get a high grade in it as a school subject, but rather to be able to communicate in English with different people in different contexts.

     Any language learner who is able to use the language communicatively or fluently possesses “communicative competence”.  Due to the extreme significance of this ability, it gave rise to “the communicative approach” in learning and teaching English as a foreign language. Many language curricula and courses were solely based on such approach in an attempt to develop the communicative competence of English as a foreign language (EFL) Learners. Multiple resources are being devoted worldwide to help foreign language teaching to respond to the communicative needs of learners in an increasingly global society.

     Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) or the Communicative Approach (CA) is an approach that stresses interaction as the means and goal of language learning. It started in early 1980s, and has been confirmed by educators all over the world (Li & Song, 2007). The main focus of CLT is to enhance EFL learners’ communicative competence which focuses on the learners’ ability to use the target language (L2) appropriately in a given social context. Lightbown & Spada (1999), Power (2003) and Heip( 2007) indicate that communicative competence is concerned with the learner’s ability to use the target language efficiently to express what they mean and successfully achieve communication in real-life situations. To do so, language learners need to acquire not only the linguistic aspects of the target language (L2) but also to acquire its pragmatic features (how to use L2 appropriately in different contexts).

     What led to the first appearance of communicative competence was the noticeable failure of foreign language learners to use the L2 grammar and vocabulary they learn in class to communicate freely in real- life situations. Savignon (1972) was discouraged by the repeated failure of her students to use the L2 grammar and vocabulary they had rehearsed in class when given opportunities for any form of spontaneous interaction whether inside or outside the classroom. She found that the time devoted to practice L2 in spontaneous communication, despite all grammatical and pronunciation errors that possibly happen within it, was necessary for the development of her students’ communicative ability. Hymes (1972), a sociolinguist concerned with language use in social interaction, asserts that Language learners or speakers need to know not only the grammatical structures of the language but also norms of usage and appropriateness in any given social situation.    

     Some models have been proposed to give a detailed description of the term ‘communicative competence’ within the CLT approach. Canale, cited by Juan (2002), suggested a model of communicative competence which included four components:

1. Linguistic competence: words and rules; knowing how to use the syntax and vocabulary of a language.
2. Discourse competence: cohesion and coherence of the language being used.
3. Pragmatic competence: the appropriateness of the language to the situation in which it is used.
4. Strategic competence: appropriate use of communicative strategies in a given situation.

     Due to the important role communicative competence plays in the language learning and acquisition process, linguists and educators have been always preoccupied with learning strategies and methods that help in the development of EFL learners’ communicative competence. One of these strategies is Online Collaborative Learning (OCL). It may help learners improve their ability to practice the language through online group forums and bulletin boards. OCL activities aim at making learners more interactive and participative in the learning process. Regardless of learners’ language proficiency levels, they seem to learn better through group or collaborative work as they can exchange opinions and thoughts and become less worried when they work in groups (Delucchi,2006).

     Collaborative learning provides a good alternative for teachers as it helps them to convert their classrooms from teacher-centered to learner-centered, which is an ideal situation for the development of learners’ communicative competence. Teachers who use collaborative learning strategies focus on indulging their students into the learning process and practicing language skills instead of focusing on pouring information into their students’ heads through direct teaching. Through OCL activities, teachers have the opportunity to observe their students’ learning styles, learning difficulties and points of weakness and strength. In the past few years, collaborative learning has achieved a lot of educational benefits; students seem to learn better when they talk and work together. Besides, the collaborative situation is ideal for developing students’ thinking skills and provides learners with great opportunities to practice and apply what they learned (Tampubolon, 2018).

     The principles of collaborative learning are based on the Social Constructivist Theory (Vygotsky, 1978) which stresses the role of social interaction in making learning take place. Vygotsky’s social constructivism is based on a number of specific assumptions regarding knowledge and learning:

1-   Knowledge is a product of human interaction. This will be achieved in the study through the different OCL activities in which the students will participate forming a ‘community of practice’.

2-   Knowledge is culturally and socially constructed, which is influenced by the group and its environment. Through the OCL activities, students will be able to construct knowledge through the sharing of their different cultural and social backgrounds and experiences.

3-   Learning is a social activity; it does not only take place within an individual. Learners in this study will not learn in isolation from each other. Rather, they will actively participate with each other and with their instructor in the different OCL activities.

4-   Meaningful learning is more valuable than correct answers. Negotiations, group discussions, and the active participation in OCL activities are what render learning a meaningful process.

     It is also worth mentioning that learners’ self-efficacy has a strong relevance to their ability to participate in any learning activities that aim at enhancing their spoken communicative competence. Self-efficacy is a psychological component that directly affects individuals’ ability to do some work or achieve a certain task. It was developed from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (Kitikanan, 2017). Self-efficacy is strongly connected with achievement and performance; it usually urges learners to work more seriously to achieve their goals. Individuals with high levels of self-efficacy are more able to participate in learning and have positive thoughts about themselves. Those individuals perform better in difficult tasks and can solve problems they encounter. This illustrates the significance of self-efficacy in developing learners’ spoken communicative competence as it helps learners to face their negative thoughts and decrease their tension and fear of making mistakes while practicing the language with others, and they usually look at the educational situation as a challenge they are able to get over. When learners have a higher level of self-efficacy, they consider educational situations as challenges that must be mastered rather than as threats that must be avoided (Tan, 2013,).

     As a result, self-efficacy can make learners more indulged in practicing the English language in collaborative activities instead of refusing to participate in those activities or practicing the language in them with a lot of hesitation and tension that may hinder any attempts exerted to develop their spoken communicative competence. Some research studies such as those of AlJaser (2017), Robertson (2012), and Mattson (2011) have shown that collaborative learning has a positive impact on students’ self-efficacy and how this is reflected on their academic achievement and its role in fostering different learning skills.

Context of the Problem:

     Through his work as an English language instructor at the college of tourism and hotels at Alexandria University for more than 13 years, the researcher noticed a remarkable weakness in his students’ ability to  communicatively or appropriately use the English language while practicing the language in different speaking classroom activities despite their high general proficiency level in the English language. The researcher thought that this weakness might be attributed to the students’ inability to use aspects of spoken competence other than linguistic competence such as pragmatic competence, strategic competence and discourse competence. The researcher also thought that this weakness might be due to low levels of students’ self-efficacy. That is to say, students experience ,feelings of fear, and tension when using the target language with others as they become afraid of making mistakes. The researcher also noticed that most of students had low scores in the speaking section of the final test compared to their scores in the writing section of the same test. The researcher analyzed the scores of 40 students from the first year in the second term of the academic year 2017/2018 and the results were as follows:

First: The scores of the written test (grand total: 70 marks)

Second: The scores of the spoken test (grand total: 30 marks)

     The above tables clearly show that the scores of the spoken test are much lower than those of the written test. Regarding the oral test, about 42% of the students (17 students) got less than a third of the test total marks, about 52% of the students (21 students) got less than half of the test total marks. This is considered a frightening indicator for tourism and hotels students; the speaking skill is of vital importance for those students as they are prepared to work after graduation as tour guides, travel agents, hotel receptionists, etc., which requires them to be highly fluent in speaking the English language as they will use the language with tourists or English native-speakers. Speaking the language in such contexts requires mastery of the different aspects of communicative competence in order to achieve the desired purpose of communication.

     To document the problem, the researcher conducted a semi-structured interview (see appendix) with all the college English instructors whether they teach English as a first language or as a second language. All the teachers confirmed that they found difficulty in getting students to participate in classroom speaking activities. When asked about the type of these difficulties, some teachers indicated that their students lacked confidence to use the language with others (low levels of self-efficacy) while other teachers referred to specific difficulties that hinder their students' active participation in speaking activities such as lack of knowledge of the correct vocabulary, the correct grammatical rules, or the inability to use any verbal or nonverbal strategies to compensate for any breakdowns they encounter in communication.

     The researcher also administered a general self-efficacy scale                           (see appendix) with 36 students from the first year to know the level of their self-efficacy. The results were as follows:

     The above table clearly shows that more than 55% of the students had low levels of self-efficacy which may hinder their ability to participate in any speaking learning activities that aim at improving their spoken communicative competence.

     Based on the previous discussion, the research problem can be stated as follows:

“Alexandria University tourism and hotels students have some noticeable weakness in their spoken communicative competence. This weakness may be attributed to the fact that these students are not able to use certain aspects of communicative competence such as pragmatic competence, discourse competence or strategic competence. It might also be attributed to the students’ low levels of self-efficacy that may hinder them from participating in any speaking learning activities that aim at enhancing their spoken communicative competence”. The researcher will try to develop the students’ spoken communicative competence and increase their level of self-efficacy through the use of an online collaborative learning program.

Objectives of the Study:

The present study aimed at:

a)    Identifying the effect of an online collaborative learning program on developing first year students’ spoken communicative competence.

b)   Identifying the effect of an online collaborative learning program on developing first year students’ self-efficacy.

Questions of the study:

The present study aimed at answering two main questions:

a)    What is the effect of an online collaborative learning program on first year students’ spoken communicative competence?

b)   What is the effect of an online collaborative learning program on first year students’ self-efficacy?

Hypotheses of the Study:

The following directional hypotheses were derived from the study questions:

H1: There would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the study group in the pre and post administration of the spoken communicative competence test in favor of the post administration.

H2: There would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the study group in the pre and post administration of the English speaking self-efficacy scale in favor of the post administration.

Significance of the study:

The significance of the current study is represented in the following points:

a)    The findings of the current study may encourage EFL instructors, especially at the university level, to apply online collaborative learning to develop their students’ spoken communicative competence and raise their level of self-efficacy.

b)   The current study may offer tests to be used by EFL instructors to assess their students in each of the four spoken communicative competences: linguistic competence, pragmatic competence, discourse competence and strategic competence.

c)    The current study may provide EFL instructors with a refined scale for assessing their students’ speaking self-efficacy.

Delimitations of the study:

The current research study is limited to the following:

1-   Place limitation: college of tourism and hotels, Alexandria University.

2-   Time Limitation: The research study was administered during the second term of the academic year 2021/2022.

3-   Human limitation: a group of 18 first year students from the college of tourism & hotels, Alexandria University.

Research Design:

Since the present research study is educational, the quasi-experimental design will be chosen as the method for data collection and analysis. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007) illustrate that there are three main subcategories within the quasi-experimental design: the pre-test post-test one group, the pre-test post-test non-equivalent group, and the one group time series designs.

     The quasi-experimental design of the present study will be the one group pre-test post-test design that can be represented by the following formula:

O1------------------X--------------------O2

     In this design, O1 stands for the pre-test scores, O2 stands for the post-test scores, and X refers to the effect of the intervention (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2007).

     Mertens (2010) explains that the one group pre-test post-test design is justified in cases where the researcher is attempting to change attitude or knowledge that cannot be changed without introducing an experimental treatment. This type of design can help in controlling some external variables that might affect the pre-post differences since the design frame includes only one group and one instructor.

Participants

     The study was conducted on a group of twenty one first year students from the college of tourism and hotels, Alexandria University. The students participated voluntarily in the study program. Their written approval to participate in the online collaborative learning program is included in appendix no.1. 

Variables

The independent variable: the use of the online collaborative learning program

The dependent variables:

1. 1^st year tourism students' spoken communicative competence
2. 1^st  year tourism students' self-efficacy

Research Instruments

The following tools (designed by the researcher) were used to carry out the experiment of the present study:

1. The online collaborative learning program (prepared by the researcher):

     The program was designed for a group of first year students from the college of tourism and hotels at Alexandria University. It is theoretically based on the social constructivist theory that stresses the role of social collaboration in learning and knowledge construction, and aims at helping the study participants to develop their English spoken communicative competence and self-efficacy.

1. The spoken communicative competence test (prepared by the researcher):

     The test was designed and used as a tool to assess 1^st year students' spoken communicative competence in terms of its four sub-competences:

-       Linguistic competence:  the rules of the language.

-       Discourse competence: the cohesion and coherence of spoken texts.

-       Pragmatic competence: the appropriate use of the language for different purposes in different contexts.

-       Strategic competence: strategies to manage communication breakdowns.

     The test consists of two parts: part A is a knowledge-based spoken communicative competence test that includes 8 questions (7 MCQs and one close-test). The time allocated for answering this part of the test is three hours and the total score is 100 marks. Part B is a performance-based spoken communicative competence test where the study subjects are given the opportunity to give an oral presentation of about 5-7 minutes on one of three topics, and the total score of this part of the test is 56 marks. The researcher prepared the answers key for grading part A, and a rubric for rating part B.

1. The English speaking self-efficacy scale (prepared by the researcher):

     This scale was designed and used as a tool to measure 1^st year students' English speaking self-efficacy before and after the implementation of the study interventional program.

The scale consisted of seven main dimensions:

-       Speaking and oral discussions in class

-       Participation in oral discussions

-       Confidence in my abilities

-       Anxiety in classroom discussions

-       My feelings about classroom participation

-       The effect of my self-beliefs on speaking performance

-       Future plans to improve my speaking performance

The study procedures:

     To achieve the objectives of the present study, the following procedures were carried out by the researcher:

1-             Assessing students' needs regarding spoken communicative competence and oral performance by administering two questionnaires; one for students and the other for the college instructors/professors (See Appendix 3).

2-             Developing the framework of the online collaborative learning program.

3-             Ensuring the validity of the framework by the jury members.

4-             Constructing the online collaborative learning program.

5-             Ensuring the validity of the program by the jury members.

6-             Constructing the study research tools represented in the spoken communicative competence test (the knowledge-based part and the performance-based part) and the English speaking self-efficacy scale.

7-             Judging the research tools by the jury members to establish their content validity, and making the necessary changes to these tools based on the suggestions and recommendations of the jury members.

8-             Conducting the pilot study which started one month before the end of the first term of the academic year 2021/202 to establish the reliability of the study research tools.

9-             Registering the study participants on the Microsoft Teams website by the Technology Unit (TU) of the college of tourism and hotels, Alexandria University.

10-         Pretesting of the study group

11-         Applying the online collaborative learning program

12-         Administering the post test and scale to evaluate the effect of the study interventional program

13-         Treating the results statistically.

14-         Discussing the study results

15-         Drawing conclusions and making recommendations for further research.

Statistical analysis:

     The data collected by the researcher were statistically analyzed by using the SPSS program. The following formulas were used:

-       Alpha Cronbach formula.

-       Cohen's Kappa inter-rater reliability formula

-       Means of scores and standard deviations.

-       Parametric t-test.

-       The effect size equation to measure the effect of the study program.

Results:

(1). Results regarding the effect of the online collaborative learning program on the development of 1^st year tourism students' spoken communicative competence.

     To answer the first research question that dealt with the effect of the study program on the subjects' spoken communicative competence, the researcher suggested the following hypothesis:

H1: there would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the study group in the pre and post administration of the spoken communicative competence test in favor of the post administration.

    To test this hypothesis, the subjects' scores on the post administration of the spoken communicative competence test were calculated. Since the spoken communicative competence test is a composite of two tests (the knowledge-based test whose score is 100, and the performance-based test whose score is 56), the researcher will start by calculating the mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the two tests separately, then the test as a whole. Table (5) displays the mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the post administration of part A of the spoken communicative competence test (The knowledge-based test).

Table (5)

The mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the post-administration of the knowledge-based communicative test (part A)

Test score: 100

The following table displays the comparison between the subjects' scores on in the pre-post administration of the knowledge- based Communicative test (Part A).

Table (6)

The t-value, standard deviations and means of the subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of part A of the spoken communicative competence test (the knowledge-based test).

     Results in table (8) show that there is a statistically significant difference (at 0.05) in the mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-administration (48.47) and post administration (70.14) of part A of the spoken communicative competence test (the knowledge-based test), in favor of the post administration as indicated in figure 1.

Figure (1)

The mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of the knowledge-based communicative test (part A).

     The researcher has also conducted the same statistical procedure on the performance-based part of the spoken communicative competence test (part B), and the results were as follows.

Table (7)

The t-value, standard deviations and mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of the performance-based communicative test (part B). 

Total score: 56

     Results in table (9) show that there is a statistically significant difference (at 0.05) between the mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre administration (33.80) and post administration (47.47) of part B of the spoken communicative competence test (the performance-based test), in favor of the post administration as indicated in figure 2.

Figure (2)

The mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of the performance-based communicative test (part B).

     The research then applied the same statistical procedure on the whole spoken communicative competence test in order to reach an answer for the first study question.

Table (8)

The mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the post administration of the spoken communicative competence test (Part A+ part B)

     The researcher compared the study subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of the spoken communicative competence test by using parametric t-test. The results are presented in the following table.

Table (9)

The t-test, standard deviations, and mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of the spoken communicative competence test (part A+ part B)

Test total score: 156

     Results in the above table indicate that there is a statistically significant difference (at 0.05) in the mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre administration (82.28) and post administration (117.61) of the spoken communicative competence test (part A + part B), in favor of the post administration as indicated in figure 4. Thus the first research hypothesis in the study is verified. 

Figure (3)

The mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-post spoken communicative competence test

To investigate the effect size of the online collaborative learning program on the subjects' spoken communicative competence, the Eta squared effect size equation was applied, and the results are presented in the following table:

Table (10)

The effect size of the online collaborative program on the subjects' spoken communicative competence

     Results in the above table show that the program was effective in developing 1^st year tourism students' spoken communicative competence, which answers the first research question. The effect size value of the online collaborative program is 0.981, a high value indicating the continuity of the program in its impact on the study subjects.

(2) Results regarding the effect of the online collaborative learning program on the development of 1^st year tourism students' English speaking self-efficacy.

     To answer the second research question that dealt with the effect of the study program on the subjects' English speaking self-efficacy, the researcher suggested the following hypothesis:

H2: there would be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the study group in the pre and post administration of the English speaking self-efficacy scale in favor of the post administration.

     To test the second hypothesis, the research compared the mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of the English speaking self-efficacy scale as presented in the table below:

Table (11)

The t-value, mean scores and standard deviations of the study subjects on the pre-post administration of the English speaking self-efficacy scale.

     Results of the above table indicate that there is a statistically significant difference (at 0.05) in the mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre administration (48.80) and post administration (86.14) of the English speaking self-efficacy scale, in favor of the post administration as indicated in figure 5. Thus the second research hypothesis in the study is verified. 

Figure (4)

The mean ranks of the subjects' scores on the pre-post administration of the English speaking self-efficacy scale

     To investigate the effect size of the online collaborative learning program on the subjects' English speaking self-efficacy, the Eta squared effect size equation was applied, and the results are presented in the following table:

Table (12)

The effect size of the online collaborative program on the subjects' English speaking self-efficacy

     Results in the above table show that the program was effective in developing 1^st year tourism students' English speaking self-efficacy, which answers the second research question. The effect size value of the online collaborative program was 0.905, a high value indicating the continuity of the program in its impact on the study subjects' self-efficacy.

Pedagogical implications:

The following implications might be drawn from the present study:

1-   Explicit online instruction of the construct of spoken communicative competence accompanied by online practice and live discussions on its different components yield encouraging outcomes regarding its development.

2-   Online collaborative language learning gives the students the opportunity to practice the target language in a stress-free face-saving environment, which develops their self-efficacy and oral proficiency as well.

3-   Learner autonomy in maximized in online collaborative learning environments that are more learner-centered than traditional face to face language classroom.

Recommendations:

         Based on the study results, the researcher gives the following recommendations:

1-   Designing different online collaborative learning programs that suit different language learners at different educational stages to develop their spoken communicative competence.

2-   Extending the administration period of the study program to a full academic year if possible so as to give the students the opportunity for an ample practice of each single component of spoken communicative competence.

3-   Training language instructors to employ online collaborative learning in their instruction due to the many useful outcomes it may yield regarding the development of their students' self-confidence in practicing the target language, which improves their speaking skill and oral proficiency in general.

4-   Encouraging ESP course designers to include crucial components of spoken communicative competence for tourism students (such as pragmatic competence and strategic competence) in their ESP courses due to the significant role these sub-competences play in helping students interact more communicatively in the target language, which definitely improves their employability.

5-   Designing training programs or workshops to develop the spoken communicative competence of ESP instructors to become more qualified to teach and train their students on this important skill.

6-   Training language instructors on creating friendly less stressful learning environments as such environments are ideal for developing students' self-efficacy and self-confidence and accordingly developing their spoken communicative competence.

Suggestions for further research:

      In the light of the study results, the researcher suggests the following areas for further research:

1-   Conducting research studies that investigate the effect of other independent variables on the development of EFL/ESP spoken communicative competence.

2-   Conducting a comparative study that investigates the effect of online explicit instruction vs. face-to-face instruction of spoken communicative competence on the development of this important skill for tourism students.

3-   Conducting research that studies the effect of online collaboration on specific components of communicative competence (such as pragmatic competence or strategic competence).

4-   Further studies can be carried out to see the effects of certain online programs that target a specific component of communicative competence (e.g. an online program in pragmatic competence) on ESP students' development of spoken communicative competence or oral proficiency.

5-   Further research may be conducted on the effect of online collaboration in ESP instruction.

6-   Conducting research that compares the effect of two or more online programs (e.g. an online pragmatic competence program vs. an online strategic competence program) on the development of ESP students' spoken communicative competence.

7-   Conducting syllabus analysis studies investigating the existence of components of spoken communicative competence in existing ESP courses and providing remedial suggestions. 

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