Language Anxiety in Compulsory Online Instruction: A Quantitative Analysis of First Year University ESL Learners in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

Amidst worldwide Covid-19 quarantine protocols enacted to ensure health and safety, Saudi universities rapidly abandoned face-to-face instruction in lieu of online instruction, causing a majority of English language learners to adapt to learning English in a digital environment. This study aims to explore the impact of language anxiety in first-year Saudi university English learners within remote learning. Using snowball recruitment measures, a 22 question Likert scale survey was delivered to 100 participants across universities within Saudi Arabia. The survey measured language anxiety through online structure, self-confidence, and the use of new technology platforms. Findings from this study illustrated that ESL learners, though overwhelmed by the complexity of online English learning environments, show positive attitudes towards using online platforms for learning. However, results indicate that participants of this study are still not comfortable speaking English in class despite the online format. Thus, students tend to prefer having time to prepare English verbal responses.