Students’ Perception of English Language Learning in Virtual Discussion Boards

This study investigated students’ perception of English Language Learning in virtual discussion boards (VDBs). A 5-likert scale questionnaire of 5 sections was piloted to 108 students in a private university. Results showed that VDBs were convenient tools for learning English and for promoting students’ critical thinking skills. The general trend of results for all sections was towards the agreement with average mean for Sect. 1 “convenience of VDBs” (3.52) and the other 4 sections, namely interaction of instructors and students (mean = 3.14), English language learning (mean = 3.74), critical thinking (mean = 3.70) and topics of discussions (mean = 3.71). Pearson statistical measure showed positive significant correlation between Sect. 1 “convenience of VDBs” and all other sections at p-value 0.01 which confirms that VDBs are effective tools for learning. It is recommended that instructors use topics relevant to course syllabus and employ new strategies in VDBs to engage learners and make them value peer interactions.