EFL Students' Perceptions and Practices Regarding Online Language Learning

Abstract

Virtual teaching and learning have become a hot topic in the Covid-19 pandemic. This chapter will present an investigation of learners' perceptions and practices of learning online. The current research was conducted with 161 EFL students at Dong Thap University, Vietnam. Questionnaires and observations were set to collect data. The findings showed that most students indicated benefits of online learning, such as saving time and money, protecting their health from Coronavirus, and being a suitable way of learning during lockdown time. However, in practice, they felt stress in long online classes. They could not fix technological problems as well as understand rules, technology culture, and attitudes when learning online. Furthermore, freshmen met several difficulties in learning English major online rather than seniors. Participants also showed their wishes and suggestions to improve virtual language teaching and learning platforms in the distant future.