Behind the screen: A case study on the perspectives of freshman EFL students and their instructors

Abstract

Owing to the fact that all educational activities have been moved to an online setting due to restrictions to control the spread of the Corona Virus, the realm of education has been subject to unprecedented changes. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the perspectives of freshman English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and their instructors at Anadolu University regarding the Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) practice. Designed as a qualitative case study, this research has employed reflective journals, virtual focus group discussions, and virtual classroom observations as sources of data. A total of 15 participants took part in this research, 11 freshman students and 4 of their instructors. The data have been analyzed through qualitative content analysis, and the research findings have shown that the ERT practice has been a challenging and mostly disadvantageous process for both students and their instructors. Among the disadvantages are technical problems, self-related problems, student and instructor-related problems, live session-related problems, and assignment and exam-related problems. The advantages reported by the participants include self-related advantages, live session-related advantages, and exam-related advantages. Besides, relevant suggestions are put forward by both the instructors and students. The findings have been discussed in accordance with the relevant literature, and various implications have been drawn along with suggestions for future studies.