Learning a language online as a high school student has been challenging. It has been different comparing last year and this year. I asked a student who was online last year for most of the year about their perceptions on learning online in general as a high school student and especially one taking a language course. They said, “It was very challenging, but it was fun because you could do the work on your own schedule. It was also hard socially because I wasn’t able to be with my friends. Depending on the class, the instructions were hard or easy. Some classes had a lot of reading and you had to keep up really well. If the instructions were clear, it was not hard to keep up. It was mostly independent work. For English, we were put in groups on Zoom of all the online learners to have book discussions. I also struggled in chemistry because it was a hard concept without a teacher readily available for questions. Sometimes it was hard to get on Zooms to get instruction. Once in a while, teachers had to schedule time outside of their normal time to get instruction delivered.”
In comparison, I asked a student who had a week-long vacation and was learning online this year and had in-person instruction for a majority of the year this year. Their statement was, “Online learning was easy, it was stuff we do in class step by step. The instructions were clear. I was more focused on what I was working through when I was not in a room with other students. I didn’t feel stressed by the time it took to get work done and I worked at my own pace. Other students might struggle if they aren’t self-starters.” In my opinion, this exemplifies that teachers in today’s learning environment have adapted to make online learning more accessible for students who are working through the class material digitally.