Investigating EFL Students’ Attitudes towards the Integration of Google Meet Application for Oral Classes

Abstract

The use of learning-based applications has remarkably increased in the Algerian universities since the last couple of years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Google Meet was used as a learning platform to deliver an online oral course in the department of English at Mohamed Seddik Ben Yehia University, Jijel. This study attempted to explore English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ attitudes towards using the Google Meet Application as an alternative to face-to-face oral course. Besides, it evaluated the extent of EFL students’ interaction in this unusual learning atmosphere. Subsequently, it was hypothesised that the good mastery and appropriate use of the Google Meet Application will develop learners’ positive attitudes towards online classes, and therefore, increase interaction amongst them and enhance their language learning achievement. Practically, data was gathered using a qualitative approach. First, a semi-structured interview was conducted with (09) randomly selected first-year EFL students at Mohamed Seddik Ben Yehia University to elicit their learning experiences in using this application. Then, classroom observations were arranged with two first-year groups three and four (3&4) to have insights about the learners’ interaction. The findings revealed that EFL learners at Mohamed Seddik Ben Yahia University held positive attitudes towards using Google Meet Application for their oral course, and proved that it was an adequate learning application that made students no longer isolated, but more interactive though the internet bandwidth and connectivity hurdles. Given the results obtained, it was recommended for EFL departments to provide their teachers with the necessary training and support to generalise the use of Google Meet to other courses that require real-time interaction