Abstract

The emergence of the Covid-19 global pandemic was followed by restrictions on social contact and interaction. Online remote learning was implemented all levels of school and universities in Saudi Arabia. In tertiary education, where Arabic is taught as a second language (ASL) with extensive interaction between the teacher and students, remote learning has specific advantages and disadvantages. This study aimed to investigate the success of remote learning, its influence upon learners’ attitudes, and its potential difficulties in implementation. Quantitative research was conducted on a sample of 236 students who had combined experiences of offline and online study during 2020 in their second semester at the Arabic Language Institute for Non-Native Speakers’. An online survey was administered consisting of three domains: students’ satisfaction with remote learning, obstacles faced, and students’ perceptions towards evaluation; students’ responses were measured using a Likert scale. The results demonstrated that there was hesitation about student satisfaction, as the result was moderate in general. Moreover, the study revealed difficulties included internet connection issues, the access and availability of remote learning, insufficiency in personal expression, and difficulties with technological devices. The results also showed that the students were dissatisfied regarding to the evaluation and assessment methods used in remote learning.

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