Saudi EFL University Instructors’ Perceptions of Online Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the EFL university instructors’ perceptions of online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 32; 87.5% of them were females while 12.5% were males. They belonged to many higher educational institutions in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using an online questionnaire. This questionnaire included four parts which were (1) the participants’ demographic information, (2) the advantages of online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, (3) the disadvantages of online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally (4) the effectiveness of online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that most of the participants had a more dominant positive attitude regarding online learning activities although some of them claimed that there were some negative aspects that should be taken into consideration. Online education is fundamentally characterized by its flexibility, being chargeless, and enabling EFL instructors to think creatively and improve their performance. However, the lack of regulating sinful activities such as cheating, lack of face-to-face social interaction, and poor accessibility to the internet connection were essentially the three significant disadvantages of online education that most of the participants agreed on. Based on the findings obtained, this study provided some recommendations as well as suggestions for further research.