EFL STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF ONLINE LEARNING EXPERIENCE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Educational institutions around the world have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning activities that were originally carried out face-to-face have now shifted to online learning. This sudden change in the learning system creates various perceptions, especially among students. This study aims to determine the perceptions of EFL students about online learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study involved eighty students who used online learning from the English Education study program at the University of Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. Hamka, Indonesia. A mixed methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) was used in this study. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data while interviews were used to collect qualitative data. In analyzing the data, the researcher used Microsoft Excel and SPSS. The results of this study indicate that most students give a negative perception of the online learning experience. Students feel that online learning is not an effective learning method. In addition, online learning also has several challenges such as too many assignments, lack of lecturers' ability to carry out online learning, reduced student concentration, and internet connection problems.