Research-based projects and reflective journals to promote student engagement in a remote online English Linguistics course for Professional Business Communication

The Covid-19 pandemic spurred research on the strategies and tools used in remote online teaching to support student engagement. The present study aims to contribute to this research strand by illustrating how two tools that were implemented for this purpose, i.e. research-based projects and reflective journals, were integrated in a remote online English Linguistics course for Professional Business Communication during the pandemic. A content analysis of students’ perceptions was conducted through the N-Vivo software programme and feedback on the course was examined. Results indicated that projects and journals positively impacted on students’ skills, knowledge and attitudes by enhancing interest and reducing the sense of isolation resulting from the lockdowns. It is therefore suggested that research-based projects and journals potentially support student engagement in learning settings which may negatively affect engagement, such as remote online courses.