The research described in this section was performed at
the distant university of Shanghai Jiao Tong university whose
students to a large percentage consist of vocational learners.
The research question investigated was how to increase
active participation of the students in oral communication
courses for English as a second language. In the traditional
Chinese education system, knowledge transmission from the
teacher to the learner is valued higher than active participation
of the learner in the classroom [43]. Therefore, even
adult learners do not feel comfortable practicing in front of
fellow learners. Additionally, being vocational learners, the
students did often not nd the time to practice outside the
classroom hours.