Social Impact of Digital English Language Learning Environments

Introduction

On March 12^th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and which was first identified in Wuhan, China, had reached the level of a global pandemic. Less than one week later, on March 18th, 2020, UNESCO reported that an estimated 107 nations had closed all schools due to the pandemic. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most higher education institutions had to switch to online or emergency remote teaching and learning for the rest of the year, and the question that the schools, students and parents asked: would the students still have the necessary skills to succeed? Additionally, would the online learning pass the efficiency and strength tests of being effective or not? (Hassan, 2021). In all cases and once the school closures are thought of educators always look for ways to continue the education process. According to Abuhammad (2020), the closures due to the pandemic affected approximately 862 million students in educational institutions, which represents almost half of the school-age population worldwide. The first tool that came into consideration for instructors in higher education institutions is online learning and emergency remote teaching (Hassan, 2021).

In terms of classifications, Finkelstein (2006) argues that online learning can be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous technology allows for “live” interaction between the instructor and the students while asynchronous online courses mean that students can access the materials at any time, however deadlines should still be observed by both instructors and students. The terms “online teaching and learning” and “emergency remote teaching” have both been used in the context of the pandemic. Online learning is both a social and a cognitive process not merely a matter of information transmission via remote information technologies (Conole, 2021). Arkorful and Abaidoo (2015) argue that online learning as the use of educational technologies to enable access to learning and teaching material online. On the other hand, emergency remote teaching (ERT) is a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate mode due to crisis circumstances (Hodges et al., 2020). It involves the use of fully remote teaching solutions for instruction and education that would otherwise be delivered face-to-face or as blended courses.

According to Czerniewicz (2020), the implementation of online learning at universities in this time of pandemic was on a scale never seen before in which there was a shift from on-site instruction to online conducted by higher education institutions globally. It has been estimated that 80% of students worldwide have switched to online learning in order to continue their studies in schools, colleges and universities during the pandemic (Mondol & Mohiuddin, 2020). According to Clinton (2020), the changes imposed by COVID-19, such as physical distancing, self-isolation, school closures, and in some cases, termination of community-based services, all have the potential to weaken the systems of support necessary for children to develop and flourish. Bordoloi et al.- (2021) add that, with the boom in online technologies and an increasing use of internet and social media for imparting education in the 21st century, a new social constructivism has been established so that teachers can reach out to learners who in turn can directly interact with their instructors and share their ideas and thoughts with their peers.