Abstract:

Our world and civilization are constantly evolving. Communities across the world are regularly forced to grapple with this constant state of change and the hardships that can sometimes come with it. Mankind has had its skills and abilities challenged across all facets of human life. The educational sphere, specifically that of higher education, is no exception. The year 2020 brought with it one of the most difficult challenges that mankind has had to face in recent decades. University students, faculty, and staff alike have had to demonstrate their ability to be flexible and adapt to a completely new way of life that was built around the global pandemic. One of the most marked changes across the educational field during this time was the worldwide introduction of remote learning. This new trend has given researchers the task of understanding the principles of remote education, along with its advantages and disadvantages. The goal of this project is to develop a better understanding of the distance learning phenomenon, and more specifically, to gain insight into the complexities of learning a foreign language in a completely virtual environment. The authors` goal is to analyze the experience that both educators and students have had while having to function in an online-only environment. The authors aim to uncover and highlight the benefits and the drawbacks that come with the process of teaching and learning English in a strictly virtual environment.

A survey was conducted among the students of Penza Universities (Penza, Russia) to gain insight into the ways in which students and educators were impacted by the markedly increased interest in virtual learning that occurred during the 2020 lockdown. The analysis of the data collected reveals that the majority of students have had a satisfactory experience with distance learning. The respondents noted that it presented students and teachers with the opportunity to utilize various Internet resources during the lesson, this type of training greatly simplifies the process of watching educational videos and partaking in listening tasks. For most respondents, the biggest advantage of online learning is the ability to work at their own pace and to cut down on time spent traveling to and from campus. The conclusion is drawn that learning English remotely has great potential for further development and can become one of the most convenient methods of studying the discipline.

The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the pros and cons that this method of learning presents. It is imperative that the feedback given by the students be taken into consideration as it is essential for improving the system of remote learning in higher education.

Keywords:

Online, students, educators, a foreign language, method, higher education.