LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 20:9 September 2020
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

Celebrate India!
Unity in Diversity!!

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001




BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!


REFERENCE MATERIALS

BACK ISSUES


  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.
  • Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.
  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2020
M. S. Thirumalai

Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
11249 Oregon Circle
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA


Custom Search

Online Learning and Its Effects on English Language Skills among Higher Education Students Amid the Covid-19 Lockdown

Sunita Louisa Purushotham, M.Phil., Ph.D. Scholar and Dr. Ch. Swathi


Abstract

The first quarter of 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic brought a closure to all schools, colleges and universities all around the world. It flipped the traditional learning process. All higher educational institutions have no option but to make use of online learning, the only way out to continue with the academic activities.This paper examines whether the students are satisfied with the sudden plunge into online learning of English language skills. Objectives of the study were, to know the perceptions of the students from the responses given: by the male and female students, by examining their location, by finding out the students economic background,towards learning by the teachers IT background, and by comparing their previous exam scores. The study was conducted in an Engineering college in Visakhapatnam City and respondents were I/IV B.Tech., students. The descriptive Survey method was used. The population of the study was 300 students and 130 (43%) as sample, was selected by the probability sampling technique. Frequency and percentage used for analysing the data. The major findings of the study: Relating to learning process, teaching process, and understanding of the concepts in online system in COVID-19 pandemic were recorded.

Keywords: COVID-19, Lockdown, Online learning, English Language Skills, Higher Education

1.0 Introduction

The world today is going through a changed and fearful time brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The UNESCO Director General said, “Never before have we witnessed educational disruption on such a large scale.This Corona Virus is similar to SARS as it can be fatal as it can be easily transmitted. The academic calendar has been disrupted globally and school, colleges and universities had to be closed and students had to return to their homes to isolate and quarantine with their families” (UNESCO, 2020). Examinations have been mostly cancelled and the continuation of the coming semesters is still in disarray.Educators and leaders around the world are grappling with the uncertainty of the future semesters. So, the decisions made on account of the COVID-19 lockdown for higher education must be accurate and reasonable, as it forever makes an indelible mark in history.

Students, being the most vulnerable, all educational institutions were closed around the world since the end of March 2020 and UNESCO (2020) reported that 91% of the enrolled learners have been affected around the world. Academic leaders are promoting online education as a way out to this crisis. (UNESCO, 2020). The World Bank is actively working with the Ministries of Education in several countries to utilize educational technologies and provide remote learning opportunities to students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though many top universities around the world have been gradually moving in the past decade from the traditional face to face classes to online programs the sudden and unprecedented closure of campuses across India and other parts of the world has enhanced the digital delivery of learning. Along with this, there were the teething problems for both the teachers and learners despite the recent advancements in the use of technology. Educational institutes all over the world, even in the developing countries, embraced the sudden shift to online learning with sophistication and effectiveness (Murphy, 2020). As it is reported by UNESCO (2020), more than a billion learners in 165 countries are affected by the lockdown.


This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Sunita

Sunita Louisa Purushotham, M.Phil., Ph.D. Scholar
sunilou@yahoo.com
Phone No: 7397063081

Dr. Ch. Swathi
Assistant Professor
Department of English, SGS
GITAM (Deemed to be University)
Visakhapatnam – 530045
swathirishva6@gmail.com
Phone No.: 9346752982

Custom Search


  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
    as an attachment
    to your e-mail to
    languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.