Implementing Distance Learning during COVID-19 in Morocco: Pedagogical Gains, Challenges, and Leaners’ Attitudes

Abstract

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and students in Morocco and elsewhere were forced to move from face-to-face instruction to distance learning. Consequently, a plethora of online platforms, including Google Classroom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, and video communication applications, were used as instructional tools. In light of this, the current study investigates the pedagogical gains of implementing distance learning via Microsoft Teams during the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges participants encountered. It also probes English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ attitudes toward the effectiveness of this mode of instruction. The study population was 28 secondary school students who taught English courses distantly for eight weeks. A post-questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The findings revealed that most participants identified two pedagogical benefits: the ability to learn at home and flexible learning time. As for the challenges, most participants admitted having no or poor network signal, no connectivity in their devices, technical problems related to Microsoft Teams, reduced interaction with their teachers and peers, and poor learning. Besides, the analysis of the 5-point Likert scale survey indicated that while participants were somehow motivated to attend distance learning English courses, they expressed discomfort, they considered face-to-face learning to be more effective than distance learning, and thus they were unsatisfied with the experience and had no intentions of future use. As a result, the study participants displayed negative attitudes toward the implementation of distance learning