Boredom in online classes in the Iranian EFL context: Sources and solutions

Despite the growing body of research on boredom in traditional, in-person English classes, little is known about how this silent, aversive emotion is experienced by students learning English in online classes prompted by the current COVID-19 health crisis. To fill this gap, the present study explores causes of and solutions to boredom as well as the time of class deemed more/less boring by 208 English major students in Iran. Drawing on maximum variation sampling, the data, collected through a written, open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, were thematically analyzed through MAXQDA (Version 2020) to derive themes relating to the issues under investigation. Findings revealed that (1) teachers' long, monotonous monologues, lack of student participation, logistical problems, and carelessly chosen, repetitive tasks were the main sources of boredom; (2) most of the suggested solutions revolved around making the class livelier through more teacher-student interaction, improving inter-personal relationships, and solving technological problems; and (3) although boredom may be experienced throughout online English classes, even at the outset, it tends to reach its apex towards the end. The findings are discussed in terms of lessons for teachers and teacher educators to improve the experience of online English education during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Automated summary

The study found that main sources of boredom in online English classes included teachers' long, monotonous monologues, lack of student participation, logistical problems, and carelessly chosen, repetitive tasks; suggested solutions mainly focused on making the class livelier through more teacher-student interaction, improving interpersonal relationships, and solving technological problems; although boredom may be experienced throughout online English classes, it tends to reach its peak towards the end.