Socio-cultural perspective for online learning during COVID-19: EFL male and female visually impaired students’ lens

It has been relatively limited research regarding online learning using socio-cultural perspective within the under-represented EFL context. This study explores male and female visually impaired students’ perspectives on adopting to online learning and challenges faced in online learning viewed from a socio-cultural perspective. Qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and questionnaires were employed to draw three different visually impaired students from three private universities in Makassar, Indonesia. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the interview data, while the likert scale was used for the questionnaire. The result of the study showed that both male and female students can interact effectively with teachers, peers, and learning technologies. In terms of satisfaction, both male and female visually impaired students believe that their teacher's use of multiple digital platforms fits their specific needs. Despite the fact that the presentation of material is less structured and the primary obstacles encountered by visually impaired students are internet network connectivity and the allocation of more time for learning, online learning is perceived to be effective and provides students with a sense of comfort. The study examined in detail the perceptions of male and female visually impaired EFL students, future plans, and the likelihood of fostering socio-cultural perspective in the online learning environment. Since this study did not rely heavily on the digital platforms utilized during online learning, recommendations were given for future researches to investigate the sorts of technologies and their efficacy in adopting these socio-cultural perspective in various EFL settings.Keywords: Online Learning Experiences, COVID-19, Visually Impaired Students, Socio-Cultural Perspective