ONLINE EFL LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN SAUDI UNIVERSITIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has changed the norms of the educational systems worldwide, including English language learning. The move from face-to-face classes to online classes has influenced English language learning. The study intends to explore the Online EFL Learning Experience in Saudi Universities during COVID19. It investigates how the online environment adopted by the universities in KSA sustains EFL online classes. The study employed the quantitative research method, as a questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect data. The analysis method was the descriptive statistical analysis. The target population for this study were the students in the undergraduate programs. The findings revealed several positive and practical aspects of the online university environment (the Blackboard) in helping the participants learn English skills. However, despite exuding the efficiency in online teaching, some technical issues were reported, such as losing signal during sessions, communicating with the technical service center, interruption of online sessions, and delay in online texting. The study recommends to improve teachers’’ technical skills and adoption of teaching style suitable to the online environment, in order to enhance their performance and bring innovation in their interaction with students for a more sustainable synchronous teaching sessions.