Students’ Attitude Towards Online English Language learning during COVID-19 Outbreak in the North Asia: a Case Study of North-Eastern Federal University

Abstract

This article aimed to identify the attitudes of undergraduate students towards online English language learning in the North-Eastern Federal University, Russia. The questionnaire was conducted using Google form. The sample included 303 undergraduate EFL students. The research subjects are the students of Institute of Engineering and Technology, Institute of Mathematics and Information Sciences and Automobile and Road College. The research tools were questionnaire and Chi-square test. The data were interpreted in terms of three parameters: by gender, by place of residence and by academic achievement. By gender 180 respondents were male, while 123 were female. The number of rural students is 125 students, whereas urban students make up 178. The majority of students (65,7 %) are B grade students, 16,2 % of students are A grade students, 18,2 % of students are С grade students. The results of the study revealed that students have a favourable attitude to online learning. In particular, female students were statistically detected to have a more complimentary attitude to online learning than male students. In contrast, the statistics did not discover the preference of online learning by the place of residence. As it was also shown that academic performance did not affect the preference of online learning. The challenges faced by students are slow Internet connection, non-comprehension of learning material, lack of effort and interest, and lack of personal space. In addition, this study revealed the unpreparedness of university network infrastructure and its technological capacity for conducting online classes. The study discovered that students prefer an equal mix of online and face-to-face instruction.