Thai Undergraduate and Graduate Students’ Satisfaction with Synchronous Online English Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced educational institutions across the globe to adopt and adapt to emergency remote teaching (ERT) at an unprecedented rate. This transition to synchronous online English learning had similar impacts on English Language teaching and learning in Thai higher education. This paper focuses on Thai undergraduate and graduate students’ satisfaction with their synchronous online English learning regarding three aspects, namely technical, class-engagement, and instructional issues. It reports students’ responses to an online survey questionnaire consisting of a set of 25 five-point Likert scale items. The data were collected from 72 undergraduate and 65 graduate students studying online English skill development courses at a public university in Thailand. The results showed that although both groups of students were satisfied with the three aspects to a high level, significant differences were found between the two groups in their overall satisfaction towards this type of learning and between the aspects of technical and class-engagement. Thus, it is believed that this study will give insights into the lessons learnt from the forced ERT caused by COVID-19. If English teachers are to deal with emergencies again, such as another pandemic in the future, then it is important for them to recognize their students’ unique learning needs and adapt their online teaching practice to the expectations of their students to ensure continuous motivation to learn English effectively while studying remotely.