University EFL Students’ Perceptions on Online Instruction and Self-Regulated Learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This qualitative research critically explored how EFL students perceived online instruction and how they managed their online learning, centering around the processes in online courses and learning activities in which learners are required to become engaged. In-depth interviews with 15 participants were conducted in order to capture their lived experiences in the wake of the emergent, unprecedented learning setting. Findings are as follows: (i) All of them were found to unanimously prefer asynchronous online instruction over synchronous one; (ii) In the use of self-regulated learning strategies, individual differences were found, which led to a high degree of test anxiety on the parts of those who did not use self-regulated learning strategies actively. Instructional implications with respect to these findings were discussed.