The possible consequences of teacher-student interaction during the online instruction and its effects on student's perception, attention and language development in the english class

Abstract

In the educational field, it is known that some aspects are required to achieve learning. Mostpeople agree that interaction is essential whileothers do not consider it as a relevant aspect. However, interactionis the centerof interest in the current research. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic changes were perceived in different areas of human routines. The greatest change was the lockdown thatforcedpeople to stay hometo prevent the plaguefrom spreading. Due to this importantmodification, the educational system was affected, and schools and educational institutionshad to close down and adopt online instruction as the only school process toconnect students and teachers. Though online instruction is not completely newsince it has been employed before, it took great relevance during the sanitarycrisis. This particular form of instruction wasconvenient for those who could notattend face-to-face classes, and also for the extensive technological resources that can be found on the internet. However, online instructionpresents an important disadvantage: the lack of interaction between teachers and studentsand among students.This particular factor plays a crucial role in the students’ learning process, specifically in the learning of a foreign language for Chilean students. Nevertheless, the lack of teacher-student interaction due to Covid-19 restrictions producednegative effects on the students’ attention, perception and development of the language involved in the learning process. Keywords: teacher-student interaction, online instruction, learning process, attention, perception, foreign language development.