Boredom in online English language classes: Mediating variables and coping strategies

Abstract

Although boredom has been the subject of increasing scrutiny in second language (L2) learning recently, very little is known about how this emotion can affect teachers and students involved in Covid-19 prompted online English education. To address this gap, through maximum variation sampling, this qualitative study surveyed the opinions of 34 teachers and 256 students from universities across Iran to find out which class mode (online versus physical classes) and course type (content-based versus skills-based courses) were more boring, and what – if any – coping strategies these individuals used to get over boredom. The majority of teachers and students deemed online classes more boring than traditional, in-person classes. While teachers regarded skills-based and content-based courses as equally boring, most students believed that content-based online courses were more boredom-inducing due to their lecture-type nature. Moreover, whereas the teachers had a variety of useful coping strategies in their toolbox, an alarming number of students reported either not knowing how to deal with boredom or resorting to debilitative strategies, such as playing games or leaving class altogether when boredom reached an unbearable level. The findings are discussed in light of existing evidence from boredom and personality research, and practical suggestions are made.