Problems of Online Study of Political Science Students towards ESP Courses in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in a Northern University

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the problems of online study of undergraduate Political Science students enrolled in English for Specific Purposes courses during the COVID-19 pandemic in the second semester of the academic year 2021. The data was collected by random sampling from 204 third-year students from four classes. The instrument used to collect data was a questionnaire. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The results of the study revealed that the problem in teaching and learning activities was found at the highest level (3.64), followed by problems from the students (3.08), the problems to apply the knowledge in daily life (2.49), and the problems towards lecturers (2.30). However, an analysis of open-ended questions of students who commented on online learning problems found that on-site classes were more efficient than the online ones. Thus, the problems mentioned earlier show that executive administrators, lecturers, educators as well as those involved in all educational levels, have to improve the online study to be more efficient and the most beneficial for students.