A Ten-Year Bibliometric Analysis of E-Learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Context

Abstract

This bibliometric study offers a comprehensive overview of e-learning research landscape in English as a foreign language (EFL) context, including the publication trend, country contributions and collaboration, productive authors and journals, and key topics of interest. Through a thorough review of 602 documents extracted from the Scopus database from 2013-2022 using VOSviewer, Excel, and Tableau, the study reveals a significant increase in e-learning publications since 2020, with China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia emerging as the leading contributors and collaborators. The study further identifies the most productive authors and journals and highlights six key topics, including the effectiveness of e-learning, learners’ perceptions, mobile learning, e-education during COVID-19, Chinese EFL teachers, and teacher education. The study provides innovative insights for EFL practitioners, researchers, and policymakers, and contributes to the general knowledge about the hotspots and frontiers of literature in the e-learning landscape of the EFL context.