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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

The Perspectives of Online English Language Teaching and Learning during the Pandemic

Shamimah binti Haja Mohideen

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i10/11458

Open access

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced classrooms to shift from face-to -face to fully online learning. This requires a great adjustment for teachers and students. There have been comparisons between the two modes and discussions on which one being “better” and face-to-face is generally preferred by both teachers and learners. Before deciding to choose one over the other, we need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both from the experience of teachers and learners. Therefore, a study was conducted on 71 students taking English courses and about 20 English teachers from Sultan Azlan Shah University. The study found that online classes are more advantageous in convenience, flexibility, availability of teaching and learning resources, economy of time and cost. The responses given by most of the students also show that the switch to online mode has not affected their learning. They were able to absorb their lessons and acquire the skills taught just as well. However, responses from teachers, be they from surveys or qualitative inquiries, found that online classes have limitations in interaction, collaboration, communication and learner discipline among others. Therefore it is necessary to find ways to make learner discipline, interaction, collaboration and communication effective to fully develop the potential of online learning success. It can be concluded that blended learning would be the most ideal since it is a loss to choose one mode over the other. Blended learning has already been implemented in several universities in Malaysia and the rest of the universities can consider following suit.

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In-Text Citation: (Mohideen, 2021)
To Cite this Article: Mohideen, S. binti H. (2021). The Perspectives of Online English Language Teaching and Learning during the Pandemic. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(10), 903 – 921.