4 Openness in a Crowd- sourced Massive Online Language Community Katerina Zourou and Anthippi Potolia This chapter explores dimensions of openness (and lack of) as experienced by users in two massive online language communities (Busuu and Duolingo). These communities are widely known as social network sites for language learning (SNSLL) where massive numbers of users register to learn a second language (L2). Based on the refl ective diaries of 21 SNSLL users, master’s students at the Hellenic Open University, this study draws its theoretical framework from studies that critically address open, mas- sive online education (Farrow, 2015; Weller, 2014). Pertaining to a content analytical approach, we off er a critical account of dimensions of openness (and closedness) as experienced by participants. As both SNSLL adopt the freemium business model by allowing or prohibiting access to content and to services depending on user status (free account users and Premium ones), we analyse the eff ect of this model on learning and user engage- ment. We focus in particular on the exploitation of open content creation (in the form of peer correction) as a profi t-making mechanism for the SNSLL without a corresponding remuneration for the producers – the downside of crowdsourcing (Howe, 2006) – occurring in these open net- worked sites for language learning. Open Access to Knowledge and Business Intricacies Open education has gained more and more traction in the last decades, with advocates paving the way towards more cost-free learning opportu- nities and educational materials. The term ‘open educational resources’ (OER) was coined at the 2002 UNESCO Forum to indicate digital learn- ing resources ‘that have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions’ (UNESCO, 2012: 1). Apart from focusing on the free accessibility of resources, this defi nition for which we opt in our study, emphasizes the ‘use, adaptation and redistribution’ of resources released 87 88 Part 1: The Microsystem: Developing Knowledge in L2 Instructional Environments under a Creative Commons (or other) license, thus enabling the re-use and repurposing of resources in other learning contexts within a transparent and legal framework (see also Cronin & MacLaren, 2018; Knox, 2013; Wiley, 2014). This understanding of openness (freely accessible resources/ services suitably licensed to enable re-use/repurposing) is fundamental in the analysis which will follow and in the general positioning of collabora- tive knowledge building in digital environments for language education that we explore in this study. Recently, research has started focusing on what happens to resources after they are made openly accessible, giving rise to a conceptual shift from OER, as mere content, to open educational practice (OEP), as con- tent created, adapted and repurposed by users (Conole & Ehlers, 2010). In Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) studies, research on OER/OEP is fairly new yet remarkable with regards to the variety of scholar activity, such as journal special issues and books (Thomas & Evans, 2014; Zourou, 2016), advocacy (Blyth et al., 2015; COERLL, 2012; Kurek & Skowron, 2015) and transnational collaboration projects (LangOER and TELL-OP to name just a few). The development of digital materials for language learning and teaching is one of CALL’s most sub- stantial topics of interest, hence the natural connection with research on creation, sharing and (re-) use of resources in the open. In the next section, we discuss ways in which public and private insti- tutions benefi t from the potential of digital technologies to off er language materials and services online, containing exclusively or partially open resources. This will lead to the examination of the underlying business models of for-profi t organisations in embracing openness and to current trends in digital social participation such as crowdsourcing. We then move to an overview of the two communities under scrutiny (Busuu and Duolingo) and of their use as training opportunities for teachers in lan- guage learning beyond the classroom, before moving into the context of investigation, the research questions and the methodology. The paper ends with a data analysis and a conclusion. ‘Openwashing’ and the freemium model It is quite understandable that the creation, availability and sustain- ability of open resources calls for adequate fi nancial resources. However, confusion arises from the various understandings of the term ‘open’, with several studies critically appraising the adoption of the term, ‘open’ for marketing reasons. Weller, in his seminal book The Battle of Open (2014), provides an insightful picture of the multifaceted phenomenon of open- ness and ways it aff ects the scope and orientation of open education as initially conceptualised. The author shows how diff erent interpretations of the term in some cases contradict each other and are often beset by companies off ering resources which may appear open, while continuing Openness in a Crowd sourced Massive Online Language Community 89 to be proprietary (preventing re-use and repurposing). Along the same lines, Farrow (2015) critically examines how the term, ‘open’ becomes misleading with the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), for the majority of which free access is provided but content remains copyright protected. ‘Open’ content is mostly advertised by institutions off ering fee-based educational services. This is generally known as ‘openwashing.’ The term may have been fi rst adopted in 2009 by Michelle Thorne meaning, ‘to spin a product or company as open, although it is not’ (Pomerantz & Peek, 2016). Watters (2014) explains the motive of openwashing in the following way: ‘industry forces are quick to wrap themselves in language and imag- ery in the hopes it makes them appear more palatable, more friendly, more progressive. More “green,” for example, more “open.”’ Thus, several for- profi t institutions claim to off er open content but in fact rely on copyright- restricted, ‘closed’ content rather than using an open licence. Moving the openwashing principle further and connecting it to profi t- generating activity, open access to content is often used by companies, mostly internet start-ups, as an incentive to get internet users to pay a fee for an upgrade service and/or content. Unlocking open content as a trigger to buy a subscription or an upgraded service (e.g. Premium service) is a business model known as freemium, a combination of the terms, free and premium service. (For an overview of business models applied on internet services and products in education sector, see De Langen, 2013; Osipov et al., 2015). In online language education, the freemium model is mostly applied by start-ups off ering digital (language) resources and courses for a fee. The two communities scrutinised in this chapter, Busuu and Duolingo, are developed and maintained by start-ups, which both adopt the free- mium model. As such, free access and paid content co-exist, with the former serving as an incentive to sign up to the Premium version to gain access to paid language resources and tutorial support. Whereas in our analysis we will analyse user understandings of the freemium model on their learning activity, here we show how the freemium model is implemented technically. This happens namely through notifi ca- tions by email and notifi cations on the community portal. Figure 4.1(a) shows an invitation to subscribe to a Premium account sent to the email address of the free account holder in Busuu. Figure 4.1(b) shows an incen- tive to become a Premium user on the main page of the free account holder. Free access and paid content coexist within the same clusters of con- tent (lessons). As shown in Figure 4.2, content accessible to users with a free account is in blue, and content reserved for Premium users is in yellow. The degree of free/paid content varies among lessons and without a clear explanation as to the diff erent proportions of free and paid content, despite the fact that the unit of comparison is the same (a lesson). After a set of three lessons, the community off ers a Review, namely revision of 90 Part 1: The Microsystem: Developing Knowledge in L2 Instructional Environments Figure 4.1(a) An email notifi cation to subscribe to a Premium account in Busuu Figure 4.1(b) An incentive to buy a Premium account (red banner, ‘50% off Premium. Off er ends soon’) on the main page of a non-Premium user knowledge acquired in the previous lessons. All Reviews are reserved for Premium users only. Finally, incentives to upgrade to a Premium account appear as a hover box over a piece of paid content (Figure 4.3). In CALL, very few studies have explored the implications of the free- mium model for L2 learning in digital language learning environments. Loiseau et al. (2011) claim that ‘Busuu and Livemocha are equipped with an economic model of free admission combining freemium formula and advertising fi nancing. In these models, profi tability is derived above all from the free aspect: freemium requires a basic off er accessible to anyone, Figure 4.2 Examples of free (blue) and paid (yellow) content Openness in a Crowd sourced Massive Online Language Community 91 Figure 4.3 A pop-up window appearing when the user moves over a subscription- only zone leading certain users to subscribe to a more complete paid off er’. In a later study, Zourou and Lamy (2013) have explored the design of social net- working and gamifi cation features of language learning communities and how this aff ects content prioritisation. They off er two examples where being a Premium user disrupts the egalitarian approach often marketed in these communities. The fi rst example comes from Lang-8, a language correction site (inactive since 2016), where users post short ‘journals,’ namely L2 produc- tions, that other users correct for free.