EFL Instructors and Learners' Perceptions towards Utilization of Online Applications at Palestine Ahliya University and Hebron University

Abstract

After the spread of the Pandemic COVID-19, all educational institutions worldwide shifted to online learning utilizing varied online applications to hold virtual meetings instead of face-to-face ones. Therefore, Palestinian universities used different applications synchronously and asynchronously to manage this sudden and unexpected switch from completely face-to-face mode to an online one. The study aims to investigate the extent to which the online applications utilized in Palestine Ahliya University and Hebron University met the agreed-upon benchmarks of online mode. It also aimed at investigating EFL instructors' and learners' perceptions of online education and the challenges that both of them may face. The sample of the study consisted of 139 students (27 males & 112 females), and 32 instructors (19 males & 13 females) from both universities. Regarding the harmony between participants' responses and the online agreed-upon benchmarks, results showed that all instructors' responses scored high degrees of agreement while the students' ones scored medium degrees. EFL learners' and instructors' perceptions towards the utilization of some web applications scored medium degrees though some of the questionnaire items scored high degrees. No statistically significant differences were traced due to all variables except for the variable 'Student Support Benchmark' in favor of the instructors who are aged from 40-50. There are also statistically significant differences between the means of instructors' responses in the domain 'Student Support' in favor of Palestine Ahliya University while other domains show no statistically significant differences between both universities. Some conclusions and recommendations were concluded at the end of the study.