Arab Educational Information Network

This exploratory study was conducted at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. It aimed to evaluate the e-learning model and its effectiveness in learning French as a Foreign Language during the COVID-19 pandemic from a student's perspective. The effectiveness of e-learning was measured through students’ perceived satisfaction and the learning outcomes. The study adopted a quantitative approach that employed online survey-based data collection instruments administered to undergraduate students of French at the University of Bahrain. The findings showed that despite the emergency online teaching, students highly perceived satisfaction with the e-learning experience: they were satisfied with e-learning interactions, despite their preference toward traditional learning; they expressed a strong sense of e-learning community as well as an improved level of self-efficacy with the Blackboard, for which they expressed a positive attitude toward its effectiveness and usefulness. The findings also showed that students’ performance was not negatively affected by the e-learning, which appeared to be as effective as traditional learning during COVID-19. Most students highly perceived language skills progress in their reading comprehension, speaking, and listening skills thanks to the online content. However, students did not perceive e-learning as enhancing their writing skills. The study recommends that further research should consider other foreign language e-learning contexts to gain further insight on its effectiveness for foreign language learning and teaching during COVID-19. (Published abstract)