Cross Cultural Study of Foreign Language Teaching& Learning in the Challenging Times of Covid-19: A Global Perspective

Abstract

The emergence of Covid-19 caused unfortunate changes in the educational system all over the world. The current research is a comparative analysis of fluctuations in the trends of online teaching and learning in EFL classes in two countries (Pakistan and Italy). This research examines the influence of geographic, socio-demographic and psychological factors in adopting the teaching methodology and strategies which will cater the needs of EFL learners. For this purpose, Harasim’s online collaborative learning theory has been selected which helps in integrating the innovative ideas to develop new methods of teaching in order to facilitate student’s learning. It is a mixed method research as the data was collected through questionnaires and interviews method while the data analysis was done by SPSS software. The research findings reveal that the psychological and social factors along with the cultural background and economic stability have varied effects on the motivational level of the online educational system with cultural differences in both countries contrarily. Moreover, the present study offers constructive insight to develop new teaching strategies in order to improve the learning experience of EFL learners.