Students' Views Studying in Arabic Preparatory Class on Distance Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Overview & Synopsis

Countries have taken some urgent decisions in order not to experience an irreparable loss in the field of education due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the world as of the end of 2019. In this process, the distance education decision was among the measures taken for the students to get through the education period with the least damage and without loss of time. Distance education tools, which were previously used at a limited level in many areas, have become widespread and used at all levels of education processes. In Turkey, distance education tools were used in all stages of education in this process and universities had to expand this education tool that they were familiar with. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-2021 academic year was carried out almost entirely with distance education tools. Due to the decision taken by the Higher Education Council (CoHE) and universities during the pandemic process, there were also students who had to take their foreign language learning with distance education tools. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the situation faced by students who had to take one year preparatory education through online programs before starting the Arabic Language Education undergraduate program. In this process, open-ended questions were asked with a semi-structured interview form to the students who continued their education. The answers given by the students to the questions posed were evaluated with descriptive analysis. While there are students who find distance education positive due to situations such as listening to lessons in a comfortable environment at home, being with the family, there are those who evaluate this process negatively due to situations such as the ineffectiveness of the lessons, the internet shortage, and the inability to take the exams in a reliable environment. Students stated that they generally see this education process negatively and that they don't want to learn a foreign language with distance education tools if an option is offered.