Article Summary Format

Article Title:
EFL Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Virtual Classrooms in Enhancing
Communication Skills
Authors:
Yousif A. Alshumaimeri & Abeer M. Alhumud
Reference
(Alshumaimeri, Y. A., & Alhumud, A. M. (2021). EFL Students' Perceptions of the
Effectiveness of Virtual Classrooms in Enhancing Communication Skills. English Language
Teaching, 14(11), 80-96.
Link:

Overview
The purpose of this study was to investigate how students felt that virtual classes improved
their communication abilities. This study was carried out in the first semester of the school
year 2020–2021, when COVID–19 limitations required online instruction. The study
employed a mixed methods approach, collecting data using both qualitative and
quantitative instruments.
Research Questions:
Q#1: What common problems do students face in oral English communication?
Q#2: What are students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of virtual classes in enhancing
their English communication skills?
Q#3: Are virtual classes effective in enhancing EFL students’ communication skills?
Data Collection
43 female English majors from the Faculty of Education at a Saudi Arabian institution
participated in the study. A questionnaire and observations were utilised as the two data
gathering tools. The results of the survey revealed that the biggest obstacles to students'
ability to communicate in English were a lack of confidence, fear of making mistakes, and a
limited vocabulary. The survey also showed that students' perceptions regarding the value
of online instruction in improving their oral communication abilities were favourable.
Results
According to the observational data, virtual classrooms can significantly improve students'
communication abilities. Participants thought that practising their communication skills in
virtual classrooms offers a convenient and comfortable setting. Also, during online classes,
students reported feeling more motivated, interested, and confident while conversing with
professors and classmates. These findings could persuade language teachers to use online
courses to help their students communicate more effectively.
Recommendations
Language teachers should include communicative activities that are appropriate for virtual
classrooms in their classes since these environments are conducive to students practising their
communication abilities. Students should use virtual classrooms as a practise tool as they offer a
variety of possibilities for them to develop their communication abilities. Teachers need to
understand the value of probing inquiries to help students express themselves and improve their
communication abilities. Language teachers can utilise this as a tool to increase students'
communication skills because virtual classrooms have no time or location restrictions.
Relevance
Participants thought that practising their communication skills in virtual classrooms offers a
convenient and comfortable setting. Also, students felt that their interpersonal
communication was hampered by the lack of face-to-face engagement. Communication
among students might be hampered by technical issues.
Future research
Future research may concentrate on how instructors see the same problems. Future
research could use various tools, such interviews. To find out how virtual lessons affect
other EFL abilities, a research might be done. Researchers are also urged to modify this
study to include more students, students with diverse educational backgrounds, or students
from different geographic places in order to increase the study's generalizability.