Abstract:
Online learning has become a significant component of the education system across the world during
the Covid-19 pandemic. The shift of learning modes from face-to-face learning to online learning
affected the foreign language learners of Sri Lanka making it a challenge for them. The paper mainly
focuses on the effectiveness of online learning on foreign language learning and mainly discusses the
efficiency of the students of German as a foreign language at the University of Kelaniya in the period
of online learning during the corona pandemic. It compares the performance of the students in
language learning between the periods of face- to- face learning and online learning and further
discusses the improvements and issues faced by the students during the online sessions. The sample
group consisted of 30 undergraduates of German as a Foreign Language at the University of
Kelaniya, who followed the four-year Honors Degree program in German for the Bachelor of Arts
Special Degree. To collect the quantitative data, the oral presentations and written assignments of the
students during the face-to-face and online sessions were evaluated and compared. The qualitative
data were collected through observations during the online sessions. It was concluded that although
there were some technical issues faced by the students during the online sessions, the online learning
was more effective in foreign language learning than face-to face learning and helped to improve the
foreign language skills of the students to a greater extent in the challenging period of Covid-19.
Keywords: Online Learning; Face- To- Face learning; Corona Pandemic; Foreign Language
Teaching; German as a Foreign Language
