CARLA CRUZ & GLORIA THOMSON

Virtual or face to face

classes:
Ecuadorian university students’
perceptions during the pandemic
By Julia Sevy-Biloon

Introduction
HOW WE NEED TO REEVALUATE AND REFORMAT HOW
CLASSES ARE TAUGHT AND DELIVERED
Perception: Most people who have similar experiences can all have different
perceptions of this new context.
Distance learning, e-learning, and face-to-face learning: It's important to have in
mind that the different types of learning require different types of methods and use of
technologies.
Pandemic problems and solutions from the world in the area of education:
Different parts of the world share the same experiences regarding this new educational
context regarding problems with the connection, the necessity to innovate in teaching
strategies

Method
THE RESEARCH PTOPOSES THE QUESTION HOW
STUDENTS PERCEIVED CHANGES IN EFL CLASSES AT
A UNIVERSITY LEVEL DURING THE PANDEMIC.

This is to find out why some students prefer online learning, while others are still
struggling to improve and feel comfortable taking classes in this mode.
It is a qualitative research following a phenomenological approach. This means it is
based on how students' educational lives and perspectives changed.
The research is based in an online questionnaire. The questions asked about students
learning preferences, perceived positive and negative effects of E-learning, factors
which affected their ability to learn in a positive or negative way.

Findings
30% of students prefer virtual learning and 70% prefer face-to-face lessons.
The students that preferred face to face lessons gave the following reasons:
Less outside distraction
more motivated to improve
more opportunities for authentic learning
Better interaction between students and teachers
no internet problems
The reasons to prefer the e-learning mode were:
More time with family
More comfortable participating in class because they have less anxiety
Has more time to do homework and other tasks
Feels safer to stay home because of the pandemic
Saves money

Discussion
The research began with twenty class observations of intermediate English language classes online over the course of one
semester to gather information about factors that can show how well virtual classes are functioning, such as how students
participate in class, general types of questions they had, and difficulties students had while attending these classes.

60-90% of the students did not turn on their video cameras for the entire class, while only 50% of the students actively
participated in a class by sharing answers and asking questions. This 60-90% mentions that they are worried for their appereance
and feels uncomfortable, they are working, or taking care of someone while they are in an online class.

The majority of the students prefer a face to face context. They state that it is easier to concentrate in a real class, and they have
more time to do other things.
The rest of the students stated that they prefer an online context as they live far away form university and do not have to
commute, and they feel more confident behind the screen.

Conclusion
THIS NEW REALITY HAS BROUGHT CHANGES IN THE
WAY STUDENTS LEARN AND TEACHERS TEACH

The research found that students have different opinions about learning face-to-face
verse e-learning, where both of them have their benefits and complications. It also
explores how technology can affect learning and teaching, how influences the
teacher's abilities to teach effectively. And how useless can technology be if the
participants don't have good internet access, which is quite demotivating.