Competency Frameworks and MOOC Design: A Framework for Language Teacher Education

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  • Salma Driouach ORCIDHumanities and Education Research Lab (HERL), École Normale Supérieure (ENS), Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan, Morocco
  • Ahmed IbrahimiHumanities and Education Research Lab (HERL), École Normale Supérieure (ENS), Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan, Morocco
  • Bouchra Chougrani ORCIDHumanities and Education Research Lab (HERL), École Normale Supérieure (ENS), Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tetouan, Morocco
PDF (backup copy)Official version on IMISTDOI
Journal
Confluence Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (e-ISSN 3085-5411)
Issue
Vol. 2 No. 3 (2026)
Section
Articles
Pages
190-210
Published
22 July 2026
DOI
https://doi.org/10.34874/PRSM.cjms-vol2iss3.8451
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Copyright (c) 2026 Salma Driouach, Ahmed Ibrahimi, Bouchra Chougrani

Abstract

This article examines the structural tension between professional competency frameworks and the pedagogical architecture of MOOCs in the specific context of language teacher education. Drawing on a comparative document analysis of major competency frameworks (CEFR Companion Volume, DigCompEdu, EAQUALS, and national FLE frameworks) and critical scholarship on MOOC design, the study employs a six-dimensional analytical grid to identify systematic points of convergence, tension, and structural incompatibility between the two corpora. The frameworks were selected on the basis of their institutional recognition, their relevance to language teacher education, and their broad uptake in the field; the MOOC literature was selected through a targeted review of empirical and conceptual studies addressing large-scale digital learning in professional and teacher education contexts. The analysis reveals that the complexity and situated nature of professional competencies in language teaching exceed what fully massive online environments can support in their standard configuration. The article proposes a theoretical and methodological contribution in the form of a four-step conceptual alignment mechanism that differentiates between competencies teachable at scale and those requiring situated practice, guided interaction, and authentic assessment. This mechanism, applied to the language teacher education context, articulates how existing principles of competency based education and instructional design can be systematically combined to determine the conditions under which MOOCs may contribute to competency development. The article argues that alignment is conditional and requires redesign, hybridization, and a competency-oriented logic that extends beyond the MOOC itself.

Keywords

Competency FrameworksMOOCsTeachers TrainingCompetency-based EducationInstructional DesignHybrid Learning

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