The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes around the world, especially in the education field where classes were shifted to only distance learning. This radical transformation could have affected students’ level of engagement and motivation; therefore, it might also have had some influence on their performance. This study correlates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ perceptions of their level of engagement and motivation in virtual environments with factors
such as schedule, gender, and the discipline area they are studying. A two-part-survey was used. The first part includes
demographic information and the second one 22 close-ended questions. It was completed by 703 EFL students in the
Language Department of the University of Cuenca, Ecuador. The results revealed an important level of engagement in
these students. Students’ goals and reasons for learning the language need to be considered as an opportunity to
provide their teachers with some information to enhance students’ language competence, generate strategies for
language learning, and promote significant learning experiences. Research is recommended to discover teachers’ views
and opinions on different aspects involved in online classes and use this information to design and implement more
active, engaging, and effective lessons. These specific findings can be used to improve and implement effective
methodologies that can lead to better practices, not only for EFL teachers, but also for EFL students.
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