Implementing Design Thinking and Peer Instruction in an Online Environment to Develop Tourism Undergraduates’ English Language Skills

Design thinking (DT) and Peer Instruction (PI) are two different and seemingly distant methods. However, both rely on students’ active participation, cooperation and communication with each other. Due to these features, therefore, they have the potential to foster foreign language competences successfully. Nevertheless, what if they were employed in a purely online learning environment? Could they still bring the praised learning outcomes, such as better conceptual understanding, more effective problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills, and increased student engagement and creativity? The present study aims to answer the given question by giving insight into implementing the methods in English for Specific Purposes courses at Constantine, the Philosopher University in Nitra (Slovakia). The action research findings were juxtaposed to the interview and questionnaire results revealing 101 tourism undergraduates’ views. Despite some technical issues and the students’ mixed-language communication, both DT and PI proved to be almost as effective in a purely online environment as in the case of a traditional classroom in terms of developing foreign language competences and problem-solving skills, creative or critical thinking, as well as enhancing teamwork and motivation.