ABSTRACT
As online courses in US higher education continue to grow exponentially (Allen & Seaman, 2013), students from different parts of the world can study online while remaining physically and socially within their own countries and cultures. The present study was an attempt to investigate the effect of audio feedback, specifically asynchronous embedded audio feedback, in asynchronous online discussions. The target population of this study consisted of the students who were nonnative speakers of English enrolled in an asynchronous online course delivered in English who remained in their own countries. Asynchronous embedded audio feedback and text-based feedback provided for nonnative speakers of English in an online environment has demonstrated effectiveness to promote higher-order thinking by nonnative speakers of English. Text-Based Feedback and Audio Feedback can promote higher-order thinking among students who are nonnative speakers of English when they participate in asynchronous online discussions. However, the findings varied by instructors' language backgrounds and the participants' levels of language proficiency.
