The Efficiency of Online Assignments as an Asynchronous e-Learning Tool

Abstract

The online learning experience that accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic has been diverse. Both
teachers and students have had to discover new online learning methods and tools in order to cope
with the new phase. Some teachers relied on virtual meetings and synchronous instruction, whereas
others either solely relied on asynchronous instruction through e-assignments or combined the
latter to other methods like synchronous e-meetings. While the integration of synchronous tools in
distance instruction seems to be more relevant, asynchronous assignments may have an important
potential in e-learning given that not all students can access the course at the same time. Indeed,
one of the advantages of asynchronous e-assignments is learning anytime, anywhere. For this, the
in-hand paper seeks to focus on online assignments and their efficiency to university EFL students.
Our purpose is to discover how students view these assignments, and whether they are efficient in
learning according to them. We also wish to investigate whether students prefer synchronous
online meetings or asynchronous learning tools like e-assignments. In this regard, the sample is
made up of fifth-year EFL students at ENSB. By and large, the main findings of this study
demonstrate that the majority of EFL students consider asynchronous e-assignments as an efficient
e-learning tool.