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Synchronous Online Learning During COVID-19: Chinese University EFL Students’ Perspectives

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  • Kun Zhang
  • Haoxian Wu

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019 had soon become a pandemic, leading to the lockdown of schools all around the world. To mitigate the negative impacts brought by COVID-19, the educational institutions of all levels have inevitably shifted from face-to-face teaching to online teaching. For English language teaching, fully synchronous online learning has been implemented worldwide, posing a great challenge for both instructors and learners. This study reports on findings of Chinese university English as a foreign language students’ perspectives’ on synchronous online language learning during the pandemic, with a special focus on their encountered difficulties. Drawing on the qualitative interview method, the study investigated 14 EFL learners at a public comprehensive university in a coastal city in southern China. Using thematic analysis, there are four main difficulties identified in the interviews, namely the lack of learning climate, the cultivation of learner autonomy, changes of interaction patterns, and the adaptation to remote assessment. The paper ends with a discussion of findings and implications for English learning and teaching in the “new normal.â€

Suggested Citation

  • Kun Zhang & Haoxian Wu, 2022. "Synchronous Online Learning During COVID-19: Chinese University EFL Students’ Perspectives," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:2:p:21582440221094821
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440221094821
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rustam Shadiev & Mengke Yang, 2020. "Review of Studies on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning and Teaching," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-22, January.
    2. Leejin Choi & Sunjoo Chung, 2021. "Navigating Online Language Teaching in Uncertain Times: Challenges and Strategies of EFL Educators in Creating a Sustainable Technology-Mediated Language Learning Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-14, July.
    3. Bin Zou & Lulu Huang & Wulin Ma & Yuqing Qiu, 2021. "Evaluation of the effectiveness of EFL online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhao Liu, 2023. "Face-to-Face and Online Learning in Higher Education: Academic Achievements and Learners’ Experience in the Chinese SFL Context," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Abdelrahman Abdalla Salih & Lamis Ismail Omar, 2023. "Reflective Glimpses of Culture in EFL Online Classes during COVID-19 Pandemic in Oman," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Dler O. Hasan & Aso M. Aladdin & Azad Arif Hama Amin & Tarik A. Rashid & Yossra H. Ali & Mahmood Al-Bahri & Jafar Majidpour & Ioan Batrancea & Ema Speranta Masca, 2023. "Perspectives on the Impact of E-Learning Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic—The Case of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-18, March.

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