The Obstacles Facing Online Classes at the Department of English of the Faculty of Arts, University of Tripoli

Date

2022-12

Type

Conference paper

Conference title

Author(s)

Amna Benzayed

Abstract

The transition to online learning occurred quickly during the Covid-19 (social distancing policy). During this time, the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Tripoli, has switched to online classes. Telegram application was chosen as a teaching tool for delivering courses related to translation studies and English literature. As both students and lectures are unfamiliar with it, the program ran into a number of obstacles. Therefore, the success of teaching and learning remotely based on the existence of a proper environment devoid of any challenges. The aims of this paper are to investigate the barriers that facing the teachers and undergraduate students in the Department of English, and to list possible procedures that might be used by all institutional stakeholders to alleviate these obstacles. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher, relied on both lecturers and undergraduate students as participants, Data were gathered through online discussion group observation, online interaction, Opinion poll (students only), and interviews of both instructors and students. The findings revealed that 12 out of 17 of the staff teachers disapprove the implementation of online classes due to certain obstacles related to the faculty support, infrastructure and majority of the students were not interested nor motivated, which impact on the learning outcomes accordingly. However, they recommended blended learning as a first step towards online classes. Furthermore, the rest of the staff (5 of 17), approved the shift to online learning and the program ran smoothly without any troubles. Additionally, data analysis concerns the students has showed high level of dissatisfaction among the students towards online courses due to some barriers, as poor internet speed and connectivity lack of smart devices, frequent power outages, lack a suitable learning environment and time management. Based on the findings, the author provided some steps to improve online learning implementations. Key words: Obstacles, online learning, undergraduate students, Telegram application