Open Educational Resources and Open Language Learning for Taiwanese Adult Learners

The Internet offers easy access to open resources, especially for educational use. However, the quality of open resources has been constantly criticized (Wiley & Gurrell, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) open educational resources (OERs) and to make recommendations for designing ESL OER websites that supported open language learning. Both the ESL learning (i.e. motivation, learning styles, and learning beliefs) and technical (i.e., the usability of websites in consideration of the three essential components: information, interaction, and interface) aspects were investigated in this study. The study findings showed that the following elements were important in both ESL learning and technical aspects: prior experience, ESL learning characteristics, and ESL learning beliefs. Based on these findings, recommendations for ESL OER web design and implications for open language learning are elaborated.