EFL Teachers' Perspective of Teaching Large Online Classes: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

This study aimed to explore Saudi tertiary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' perspective on teaching large online classes (LOCs) and investigate how they cope with the challenges associated with teaching. At the tertiary level, large class sizes have been the norm because of the restricted availability of teaching personnel and enormous student enrollments. A qualitative approach was used to collect data to achieve the aims of this study. Six EFL faculty members at Taif University English Language Centre were interviewed. The findings revealed that, notwithstanding the benefits of teaching LOCs, instructors encountered challenges due to a lack of student engagement, participation, motivation, technological issues, evaluating students and providing meaningful feedback, and classroom management. In addition, they suggested various ways to overcome these challenges.