Abstract:

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the curricular goals and course objectives had to be reconsidered and adapted to the new conditions. Before the outbreak of the first wave of the pandemic, many institutions did not have sufficient experience in implementing online teaching and learning methods. This was eventually reflected in the quality of education, as well as in the students’ opinions on online learning. But what about the second wave of the pandemic that broke out during the winter semester of 2020? Both teachers and students already had relevant experience of distance education, therefore, it could be supposed that the perceptions have changed since then and the situation is viewed from another perspective.

The article deals, on the one hand, with tourism students’ views on distance learning in general during the winter semester of the academic year 2020/2021 using the Moodle-based e-learning and the Jitsi Meet video conferencing system of the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia. Besides, it also presents some results of mapping students’ opinions in the context of fostering intercultural and language competencies in the English language. In the field of distance education in general, it deals with the development of selected skills including digital literacy, communication skills or interpersonal skills, and it also examines the possible future perspectives of distance learning. In terms of intercultural and language skills, it sheds the light on the undergraduates’ views on the efficiency of the teaching process via the distance learning systems in question.

The results showed that students considered the online lessons developing intercultural and communicative competences in the winter semester using the given platforms more effective in comparison to the first wave of the pandemic. Yet, although the majority of the tourism undergraduates would like to have selected courses rather in an online form in the future, a considerable number of the respondents expressed that lessons fostering communicative competences in the English language and intercultural skills should certainly not belong to these subjects. As argued, the class environment is much more effective and appropriate than any online platform.

Keywords:

Distance learning, higher education, intercultural skills, language skills, English language for specific purposes, tourism undergraduates.