Abstract
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional education system has been moved to alternative online solutions worldwide. This research aims to uncover the experiences of Saudi secondary school students regarding using electronic dictionaries as an assistive language learning tool with online learning platforms (Madrasati). Mixed methods research(quantitative and qualitative) were employed to understand students’ experiences, knowledge, expectations, and thoughts about the electronic dictionaries they used during the COVID-19 crisis and the sudden and unplanned movement to online teaching tools in their language learning and practices. A total of 145 male students enrolled in a secondary school in the Ar Rass educational directorate were asked to fill out the questionnaire, and 25 of them were chosen to participate in the semi-structured interviews. The findings show that majority of the participants dislike the available dictionary provided by the Saudi platform, Madrasati. They stated that they either favored using free dictionaries available in their phones’ app stores or referring to online dictionaries. They consulted their dictionaries mainly to check the meaning of the new words. They used their dictionary while reading more than any other skill. The data reveal that the majority of the students neither asked their teachers about the unknown words nor their friends. They also thought that the pandemic crisis changed their style of learning. Data also revealed some disadvantages, difficulties, and concerns of using electronic dictionaries during the virtual classes through Madarsati.
Details
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KEYWORDS
COVID-19, EFL learners, Electronic dictionaries, Online learning, Madrasti Platform
