exploring the influence of the covid-19 pandemic on efl learning process

Learning english as a foreign language is a challenge for students. the covid-19 pandemic caused all the educational institutions to close in order to keep the social distancing. in this situation, online learning was the best solution for continuing education. most of the students and teachers were highly accustomed to traditional classes. the unexpected transition to online learning was a serious challenge for the learning community because of the unprecedented circumstances and the lack of preparedness of teachers and students towards shifting to this mode of learning. they didn’t think of virtual classes replacing their regular classes. the online classes made some of the subjects including mathematics and language courses more difficult than they were in regular classes. the present study aimed to investigate the influence of online education on efl learning process during the covid-19 pandemic. both positive and negative attitudes towards online learning were identified. the first part of this paper presents the challenges of online learning. the main problems that influenced online efl learning during covid-19 are related to “technical” (network problems, lacking high-quality learning devices, unstable internet connection and interruptions, online exams conducting, accessing classes, the possibility of power cut during online classes and online exams) “academic” (the lack of digital skills in using some platforms, teachers’ inability to guide or properly explain the lessons, infrastructure deficit), “communication” (lack of efficiency in knowledge transfer, lack of direct interaction between students and teachers, lack of understanding and being understood by others, lack of knowing others) “physical and mental” (severe headache, strain, irritation in the eyes, lack of concentration, students’ fear of losing marks) challenges. the second part discusses advantages of online learning including the opportunity to have “access to a large amount of global information and knowledge”, “access to online material”, “ability to stay at home”, “ability to record the sessions” “ability to study at work” and “retrieve information”. the negative attitudes towards online learning can be traced back to the lack of preparedness of students and teachers. it also implies that significant works are needed to improve online learning process.