Enhancing EFL teacher participation in an asynchronous online forum: Integrating the Delphi technique with emancipatory participatory action research
Keywords:
English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Delphi technique, emancipatory participatory action research, participation, online forumAbstract
This paper reports on an emancipatory participatory action research (EPAR) project with four Japanese EFL teachers who invited me to establish, initiate, and co-moderate an asynchronous online forum to sustain teacher development disrupted by COVID-19. Despite valuing visible engagement, forum contributions remained limited. Using participatory research principles, the initiative sought to identify barriers to visible involvement and co-develop pathways toward awareness, empowerment, and renewed engagement. Innovatively, an adapted Delphi technique was integrated within EPAR to enable iterative, anonymous reflection across three cycles of participant observation. This novel synthesis uniquely addressed power imbalances as a means to foster equitable voice sharing and collective dialogue. The findings showed emergent shifts toward critical consciousness among a few participants, suggesting redistribution of communicative power enhances participation. The study offers practical support for online teacher communities and extends EPAR’s application in EFL contexts
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