Reflections on the virtual teaching of foreign languages in the framework of universities
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Abstract
Introduction: This research article examines a group of university students´ perceptions of the virtual learning of foreign languages during the pandemic. Among the aspects it deals with, it is worth mentioning the quality of the learning processes, the role of the teacher, the activities in the classes, the resources employed, the assessment of the students, and the motivation and autonomy of the students.
Method: A survey was conducted to gather the data. The questionnaire was answered by 465 university students who study modern languages. Then, a quantitative analysis was made of the results.
Results: The results show that about a third of the students do not believe that virtual education is an effective way to learn languages. Nearly a half of them think that distance education is demotivating and requires a significant autonomy. They also believe that it affects the oral comprehension of and ability to speak a foreign language and prefer to undertake the activities on an individual basis. For a little more than half of the respondents, distance education offers more varied and useful resources. Finally, they believe that the summative evaluation employed in virtual teaching is less demanding.
Conclusions: The article concludes that face-to-face education is fundamental in the teaching of foreign languages and that distance education may serve to support or complement it but should not entirely replace it.