Unveiling obstacles in virtual English education: echoes from Vietnamese learners

Le Thanh Thao; Le Xuan Mai; Pham Trut Thuy

doi:10.28918/erudita.v3i2.1173

Authors

Le Thanh Thao Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam
Le Xuan Mai Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam
Pham Trut Thuy Nam Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.28918/erudita.v3i2.1173

Keywords:

EFL students, Instructional challenges, Online learning

Abstract

After the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning in Vietnam has been paid more attention to. Consequently, this current qualitative study was conducted to investigate problems in English online classes in the Vietnamese context. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from six EFL students learning in a tertiary institution in the Southwest of Vietnam. The current study found some challenges the students often faced when learning online, categorized by three groups, namely teacher-related challenges, student-related challenges, and teacher-and-student living condition-related challenges. Regarding teacher-related challenges, teachers’ lack of abilities to use ICT tools and their attitudes towards teaching online negatively affected the EFL students’ online learning. Regarding student-related challenges, students’ resistance to the transmission from face-to-face learning to online learning and their low motivation played the role of barriers to their performance in online learning. For the final dimension, teacher-and-student condition-related challenges, insufficient teaching and learning devices, low internet connection, or noise did not allow the students to maximize their learning progress.

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