Unveiling obstacles in virtual English education: echoes from Vietnamese learners

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

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.

Keywords:

EFL students, Instructional challenges, Online learning

References

Ahmad, S. Z. (2016). The flipped classroom model to develop Egyptian EFL students’ listening comprehension. English Language Teaching, 9(9), 166-178. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v9n9p166

Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2007). Online nation: Five years of growth in online learning. The Slon Consortium.

Basri, F. (2023). Factors influencing learner autonomy and autonomy support in a faculty of education. Teaching in Higher Education, 28(2), 270-285. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1798921

Burnes, B. (2015). Understanding resistance to change–building on Coch and French. Journal of Change Management, 15(2), 92-116. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2014.969755

Chun, D., Kern, R., & Smith, B. (2016). Technology in language use, language teaching, and language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 100, 64-80. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12302

Cunningham, K., Wolbert, R., Graziano, A., & Slocum, J. (2005). Acceptance and change: The dialectic of recovery. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 29(2), 146–148. https://doi.org/10.2975/29.2005.146.148

Curzon-Hobson, A. (2002). A pedagogy of trust in higher learning. Teaching in Higher Education, 7(3), 265-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510220144770

Dang, X. T. (2011, October). Factors influencing teachers’ use of ICT in language teaching: A case study of Hanoi University, Vietnam. Proceedings of International Conference “ICT for Language Learning” 4th edition, Simonelli Editore, 20th-21st October. https://conference.pixel-online.net/conferences/ICT4LL2011/VP_SLA51.php

Drever, E. (1995). Using semi-structured interviews in small-scale research. Scottish Council for Research in Education.

Garschagen, M., Diez, J. R., Nhan, D. K., & Kraas, F. (2012). Socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta: between the prospects for progress and the realms of reality. In F. Renaud & C. Kuenzer (Eds.), The Mekong Delta system (pp. 83-132). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3962-8_4

Hijazi, D., & AlNatour, A. (2021). Online learning challenges affecting students of English in an EFL context during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Education and Practice, 9(2), 379-395. http://dx.doi.org/10.18488/journal.61.2021.92.379.395

Huy, H. T. (2019). An analysis of demand for rural market information in the Mekong Delta. Journal of Economic Development, 05-08.

Iqbal, A., Shafiq, F., & Khalid, M. N. (2021). A study of problems faced by parents’ during online learning and their managing strategies. Statistics, Computing and Interdisciplinary Research, 3(2), 71-82. https://doi.org/10.52700/scir.v3i2.51

Kyei-Blankson, L., Ntuli, E., & Donnelly, H. (2019). Establishing the importance of interaction and presence to student learning in online environments. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 30(4), 539-560.

Nashruddin, N., Alam, F. A., & Tanasy, N. (2020). Perceptions of teacher and students on the use of e-mail as a medium in distance learning. Berumpun: International Journal of Social, Politics, and Humanities, 3(2), 182-194. https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/161956/

Nugroho, A., Ilmiani, D., & Rekha, A. (2021). EFL teachers’ challenges and insights of online teaching amidst global pandemic. Metathesis: Journal of English Language, Literature, and Teaching, 4(3), 277-291. http://dx.doi.org/10.31002/metathesis.v4i3.3195

Peeraer, J., & Van Petegem, P. (2010, May). Factors influencing integration of ICT in higher education in Vietnam. In Global Learn (pp. 916-924). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Putri, D. S. (2015). The analysis of teacher talk and the characteristic of classroom interaction in English as a foreign language classroom. Journal of English and Education, 3(2), 16-27.

Rempel, J. K., Holmes, J. G., & Zanna, M. P. (1985). Trust in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(1), 95-112. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.49.1.95

Sandholtz, J. H., Ringstaff, C., & Dwyer, D. C. (1997). Teaching with technology: Creating student-centered classrooms. Teachers College Press.

Sinaga, R. R. F., & Pustika, R. (2021). Exploring students’ attitude towards English online learning using Moodle during COVID-19 pandemic at SMK Yadika Bandarlampung. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.33365/jeltl.v2i1.850

Tao, J., & Gao, X. (2022). Teaching and learning languages online: Challenges and responses. System, 107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102819

Teo, L. T. M. Z., Abd Gani, N. I., & Ummah, M. H. (2022). Listening difficulties and strategies in preparing for IELTS listening test using online learning: A case study of intensive English learners. TEKNOSASTIK: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 20(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.33365/ts.v20i1.1367

Van Doremalen, N., et. al. (2020). Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARSCoV-1. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(16), 1564–1567. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2004973

Van, L. K., Dang, T. A., Pham, D. B. T., Vo, T. T. N., & Pham, V. P. H. (2021). The effectiveness of using technology in learning English. AsiaCALL Online Journal, 12(2), 24-40.

Vonderwell, S. (2004). Online learning: Student role and readiness. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 3(3), 38–42. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1101894

Wahab, S., & Iskandar, M. (2020). Teacher’s performance to maintain students’ learning enthusiasm in the online learning condition. JELITA: Journal of English Language and Literature, 1(2), 34-44. https://jurnal.stkipmb.ac.id/index.php/jelita/article/view/63

Widayanti, N. K. A., & Suarnajaya, I. W. (2021). Students challenges in learning English online classes. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Undiksha, 9(1), 77-84. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpbi.v9i1.34465

Zhong, Y. (2008). A study of autonomy English learning on the internet. English Language Teaching, 1(2), 147-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v1n2p147

Downloads

Published

2023-11-29

Article Statistics

170 Views
105 Downloads

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Unveiling obstacles in virtual English education: echoes from Vietnamese learners. (2023). Erudita: Journal of English Language Teaching, 3(2), 119-131. https://doi.org/10.28918/erudita.v3i2.1173