Created in collaboration with the University of Oregon, “Shaping the Way We Teach English” attracted the largest number of non-US based participants, and the highest completion rate for Coursera which has enrolled more than 11 million students since it launched in 2012.

Over 23,800 learners joined the MOOC from 185 different countries, over 15,300 of which were from emerging economies including Mexico, Russia and Brazil.

Coursera reported in January 2014, that a total of 190 countries have been represented by participants on all of its courses.

The high volume of enrolments reflect the growing demand for online professional development in the ELT field. UK-based MOOC platform Futurelearn last year reported similar peaks in demand for its ELT course run by the British Council.

According to the US State Department, two subsequent courses that began this year continue to attract a high volume of students.

“Shaping the Way We Teach English was generally created for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and those studying to become EFL teachers,” a spokesperson told The PIE News.

“Based on an ongoing survey of the participants in the first phase this year, as of January 15, most of the participants are full-time employees with either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree between the ages of 25 and 34.”

The map below shows the Top 20 countries from which the MOOC’s participants come:

MOOC participation according to continent:

Statistics: US State Department Official

 “Shaping the Way We Teach English” is a free course, and participants receive a certificate upon completion.

The initiative is an extention of other programmes set up by the State Department in order to facilitate discussions around the topic of MOOCs, and other free online courses.

The largest of these is MOOC Camps, which are held at specific locations including US embassies and consulates around the world.

They are led by alumni who have previously been involved with US government exchange programmes and allow students to learn about study opportunities in the US through EducationUSA advisers.