Hayat Ali

 How online education has impacted on the way students learn Introduction Studying has always been a reasonably solitary activity. You can’t easily read a book jointly with someone else. However, the process of understanding is partly social because we chat to each other about what we have learned to help consolidate it in our minds. With the increasing amount of isolation forced onto students as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, learning is going to become a great deal more difficult. The global decision to close the educational institutes was rational to keep social distancing to stop its spread. Some countries switched to online learning immediately because they were already prepared for online learning. In Saudi Arabia, all the universities used the Blackboard tool for distance education and taught some elective and general courses. COVID-19 Outbreak COVID-19 is reducing the opportunity of learning education on universities campus. Many universities have already shutdown face-to-face lectures and tutorials in favor of online delivery. Harvard, Cornell, MIT, Oxford have all been sending students home. Many universities around the world have already scrapped summer exams in favor of assignments that can be delivered via the internet from the student’s home. Student Centered Within an online discussion, the individual student responds to the course material (lectures and course books, for example) and to comments from other students. Students usually respond to those topics within the broader conversation that most clearly speak to their individual concerns. These situations result in smaller conversations taking place simultaneously within the group. While students should read all of their classmates’ contributions, they actively engage in only those parts of the dialog most relevant to their own interests. In this way, students control their own learning experience and tailor the class discussions to meet their own specific needs. Ideally, students make their own individual contributions to the course while at the same time taking away a unique mix of relevant information. Level Playing Field In the online environment, learners have a certain measure of anonymity. Discriminating factors such as age, dress, physical appearance, disabilities, race, and gender are largely absent. Instead, the focus of attention is clearly on the content of the discussion and the individual’s ability to respond and contribute thoughtfully and intelligently to the material at hand.  Structure of online classes Recorded classes uploaded at the university website/YouTube/any other application was the most preferred (54.4%) class format by whereas 27.04% of the respondents preferred live classes that can be recorded, 17.92% opined in favor of live classes and 0.65% preferred only reading materials. Majority of the respondents preferring recorded classes and live classes that can be recorded since it gives them a flexibility in learning. Regarding the nature of reading materials majority of the respondents (84%) preferred video content supplemented with reading materials. More than half (53%) of the respondents preferred the instructor to teach using PowerPoint presentations The Students While an online method of education can be a highly effective alternative medium of education for the mature, self-disciplined student, it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners. Online asynchronous education gives students control over their learning experience and allows for flexibility of study schedules for nontraditional students; however, this places a greater responsibility on the student. In order to successfully participate in an online program, students must be well organized, self-motivated, and possess a high degree of time management skills in order to keep up with the pace of the course. For these reasons, online education is not appropriate for younger students (i.e. elementary or secondary school age) and other students who are dependent learners and have difficulty assuming responsibilities required by the online paradigm Conclusion and Future Recommendations The study aims to explore and investigate online learning challenges and problems during COVID-19 encountered EFL learners. The synchronized e-learning was the panacea at the time of the pandemic. However, it negatively influenced the learners’ performance and learning outcomes. The study found out those learners encountered difficulties in accessing the Blackboard platform. About 30% of learners missed the classes and other tasks using Blackboard, and they shifted to alternative applications during online learning. The study reveals that the major challenges encountered by EFL learners in online learning were technical issues. Some learners faced internet connectivity problems, accessing classes, and downloading courses’ materials problems. Online exams could not be opened on learners’ mobile phones. Regarding language communication issues, learners could not effectively interact with teachers during virtual classes of English language skills, as revealed in learners’ responses to open-ended questions. EFL learners’ satisfaction with online learning is low; less than 50% are satisfied with online learning, whereas 14% of learners are not satisfied with online learning, and 43 % of learners are not fully supporting continuing online education if there is no crisis. It is recommended that further research should be undertaken to understand the teachers’ views and experiences towards online English language teaching during the pandemic.