ARE EFL LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TO ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT RELATED TO THE ACTUAL TEST PERFORMANCE?

Abstract

The history of teaching has frequently underscored the significance of classroom environment on the outcomes of learning. With the introduction of mandatory distance learning in university settings during the pandemic, the issue of online learning efficiency became more resonant than ever in educators’ minds. The current study aimed at analyzing the connection between Serbian English-major students’ attitudes towards online learning environment and their actual performance on a knowledge test. A total of 52 students took part in the specifically designed questionnaire and the examination following an online course in English Phonetics. The results pointed to a strong positive and statistically significant correlation between students’ attitudes and scores on the knowledge test. This led to a conclusion that a learning environment might strongly affect not only students’ motivation and engagement, but the very outcomes of learning as well. The findings have important pedagogical implications, especially when it comes to English language teaching, considering the fact that relatively simple alterations to the existing learning environments could yield positive results in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention.