Students' Attitudes and Perceptions towards Learning EAP Courses during Emergency Remote Teaching: Insights and Implications

Inna Smirnov-Okanin; Roman Michaelan; Sonia C. Munteanu; Sanda Păduretu

doi:10.18778/1731-7533.22.1.04

Authors

Inna Smirnov-Okanin Kaye Academic College, Israel https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6049-9913
Roman Michaelan Shamoon College of Engineering, Israel
Sonia C. Munteanu Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Sanda Păduretu Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1731-7533.22.1.04

Keywords:

emergency remote teaching (ERT), attitudes, engagement

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic in the middle of the spring 2020 semester, many high education institutions were forced to move from face-to-face (FTF) teaching to remote instruction. The purpose of this study is to investigate students' attitudes and perceptions towards their learning of English for academic purposes mandatory courses and their engagement in learning these courses in comparison to FTF learning. The subjects of the research consisted of 712 students from two engineering higher education institutions (one from Romania and one from Israel) and one general higher education institution from Israel. Data were collected using a 5-point Likert-type survey. The results indicated that students had a positive attitude towards the remote learning of English and perceived it as having a positive effect on their learning experience and engagement. The results of the research can help educators in terms of adopting appropriate decisions regarding online teaching as a routine mode of learning (not in the emergency) and to make appropriate modifications and adaptations to the EAP courses. Thus, a better understanding of how this transition impacts students' attitudes toward learning could have important implications for instructional design, curriculum development, and teacher training.

Author Biographies

Inna Smirnov-Okanin, Kaye Academic College, Israel

Inna Smirnov-Okanin, PhD, is a full-time lecturer in the English in Kaye Academic College of Education and Sapir Academic College, Israel. Among her fields of expertise are project/problem-based learning, internationalization of the curriculum, teaching English as an international language, methodology of teaching English and inclusive education.

Roman Michaelan, Shamoon College of Engineering, Israel

Roman Michaelan holds a PhD in the field of English Medium of Instruction (EMI) from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Romania. He is a lecturer at Shamoon College of Engineering (SCE). His main research interests are EMI and language teaching.

Sonia C. Munteanu, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sonia C. Munteanu, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where she teaches English for specific purposes, intercultural communication, and Romanian as a foreign language. Her main research interests are language teaching and learning, applied linguistics, English Medium Education, intercultural communication, and internationalization of higher education.

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