Meranao ESL Students’ Experiences in Online Learning in Time of COVID19 Pandemic

COVID19 pandemic has compelled educational institutions to re-navigate their learning modalities to that of fully online learning, thus, generating a totally new experience for teachers and learners who are novices in the flexible or blended learning. This study, therefore, attempted to explore the students' experiences of online learning in time of COVID19 via in-depth quantitative method. A total of 171 students from secondary, tertiary, to graduate levels engaged in online learning were selected as participants using purposive sampling technique. The researchers-made questionnaire focusing on students' satisfaction and dissatisfaction with online learning, as well as their desired improvement, was distributed online to these students from which responses were collected. Based on the results, the most common environment and methods for participating classes were student homes and mobile phones (touchscreen/android). Students indicated that they are satisfied with the following features of online classes: selecting a quiet place for online learning, quality classes at home, and being with the family at home while doing online learning. In contrast, students are dissatisfied about the internet connectivity, not getting full attention from teachers, and have difficulty in sharing ideas. Areas that need improvement according to the students were closely related to the causes of complaints, such as improving network connectivity, microphone and sound quality, and smooth communication during online classes. These findings imply that students' educational environments are important and the quality of interactions can vary depending on the teachers and technology used. This study recommends that an improved and effective online learning system, maintaining academic achievement similar to traditional classroom teaching can be designed in preparation for any possible future crisis like COVID19.