A Visualization Analysis of Using Moodle Within English Language Teaching and Learning via CiteSpace

Moodle, which stands for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, has been used to facilitate teaching and learning for more than twenty years. This study investigated the research on the application of Moodle for the purpose of teaching and learning English on a global scale. In general, the number of papers published each year increased significantly over the past fifteen years, despite a few fluctuations. Ukraine emerged as the most productive country and the Technical University of Košice contributed the largest number of papers. European and Asian scholars have played the most essential roles in the research. Yea-Ru Tsai, Arif Bakla, and Marta Gluchmanova stood out as the most prolific writers. However, complex collaborative networks of authors or institutes were not common, indicating the necessity to strengthen cooperation between authors and between organizations. Research in this area can be divided into three main themes: integrating digital technologies into Moodle-supported English teaching and learning, teachers' activities and professional development, and students' learning process. How the use of Moodle in English language teaching affects students' language learning and cognitive development has always been the most important research hotspot. Furthermore, it suggests that future research focus on the interdisciplinary study between this field and cognitive science so that students' cognitive development and language-skills development in the Moodle-supported English language teaching and learning could be further explored. Researchers could also study how to synchronize the use of Moodle and other educational technologies to better facilitate the teaching and learning of English.