The Iraqi EFL University Learners' Post Corona Ability

Abstract

In early 2020, a sudden pandemic known later as Covid19 spread all over the world. The immediate action of education authorities in the world was taken after a short break period to shift the learning system from conventional face-to-face learning to virtual learning. This paper investigated The Iraqi EFL Learners' Post Corona Ability. Thus, the following questions are the focus of the study's investigation: 1) To what extent is the effect of online education on Iraqi EFL learners' ability similar to that of blended and post corona education? 2) What are the scores of subjects of EFL in the Iraqi department English in Iraq, which are mostly affected by online education? This study intends to 1) Identifying the differences between the effect of online education and blended education and face-face education on EFL learners' scores. 2) Identifying the subjects of EFL taught in department English of Iraq, which are mostly affected by the three types of education cited above yielding good / bad scores. This study analyzes data from over 200 Iraqi EFL students in the Department of English at the University of Thi-Qar, focusing on the impact of the corona virus on their ability to learn online and face-to-face. The data is collected from examinations from 2019-2023, comparing the scores of students in their first and fourth stages. It is concluded that, In the year of the online teaching and the sample of the study 2019-2020, all students pass the exams for every subject taught online. This is because an instructor cannot closely monitor a student's understanding of a subject while they are learning it online. due to the teacher's inability to personally observe the students during a test. The students, if faced with difficulties might work dishonestly, might use dictionaries or Google searches, or they might collaborate with someone. There are no differences between the results of language, linguistics, literature, educational and non-departmental courses in the online teaching.  Years of online learning caused the students to lose their capacity for memorization. This loss has a significant impact on memory, thinking, and language development. In online teaching the loss of critical foreign language teaching abilities including speaking, reading, writing, and listening has resulted from online learning. In the face-to-face teaching (paper and pencil exams), there is variation in the students' standard and considerable of the students failed in this exam. When the students switched back to face-to-face instruction, after online instructions they attained only moderate achievement. There are significant differences among the Iraqi EFL students' scores in online education and face-to-face education.