EXPLORING EFL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF MICROSOFT TEAMS AS AN ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM DURING COVID-19

Abstract

The strict measures of social distance to curb the outbreak of COVID-19 have resulted in the physically prolonged closure of educational institutions. Accordingly, shifting the whole school system to the virtual learning environment via online learning platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams is one of the most prominently favored solutions among the attempts made by governments to guarantee the continuity of the teaching-learning process. The current study aimed at investigating how EFL students perceive the adoption of Microsoft Teams during COVID-19 as well as proposing some suggestions to improve online learning via this platform. The mixed-method design was adopted to fulfil the purposes of the study. The participants include 151 EFL students at a state university in Vietnam. The questionnaire which was developed based on Technology Acceptance Model and the semi-structured interviews were employed as the data collection instruments. The findings indicated that the EFL students’ perceptions of Microsoft Teams were generally positive. Also, a large number of suggestions were put forward to educational institutions, teachers and students for better adoption of this online platform in the future.