While some university students are enjoying learning from home with lesser of a hassle, some find themselves gradually losing the motivation to study.
The pandemic has altered the study method for most Malaysian students, where those studying locally are required to halt physical lessons and stay home for online learning and studying. Nowadays, most examinations are also conducted online or replaced by assignments and coursework.
As of today (13 June 2021), there are 5,304 total new Covid-19 cases recorded in Malaysia, with 917 cases that need the help of the ICU medical equipment. As a university student myself, I truly understand the need for online learning at the moment, as we are under a lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that learning from home is sometimes quite demotivating.
WORLD OF BUZZ has recently spoken to several university students from different institutions and courses to understand what they feel when studying or learning from home. Without surprise, most of them feel like they are slowly losing motivation, their mental health is also affected negatively.
Heavier Workload Compared to Physical Learning
Wayne, a software engineering student shared that his motivation to study has decreased due to the lack of companionship as well as poor internet connection. “These will result in frustration thus further reducing our motivation to study,” he said.
He also added that the workload during online studies has increased. “The workload felt a lot more compared to physical learning since the course structure is slightly different,” he added. He also mentioned that his frustration due to the lack of companionship led to a poorer mental state.
Another university student from the global economics course named Rachel shared similar insights. “My mental state has become worse, as I feel like there are a lot of things to do, and I am very pressured,” she said. To her, learning from home has not increased nor decreased her motivation to study, because she feels it is mandatory to study regardless of the modes of learning.
Deteriorated Mental Health
When asked about the students’ mental well-being, finance student Vincent said that his mental state has been heavily damaged due to learning from home for a long period of time. “I can no longer meet my friends in person, I cannot meet new friends and I am not disciplined while learning online,” he said.
He also added that the quality of online classes are much lower than that of physical classes, where two-way communication can hardly be achieved. Due to the deteriorated mental state, Vincent’s academic performance has also worsened.
Winnie, a university student from the broadcasting course also agreed that learning from home makes her feel demotivated. “I think the main reason is because of the environment, when at home, there are a lot of distractions that stop you from concentrating in class,” she said.
Due to learning from home, Winnie’s mental state has slumped. “Perhaps because of being at home every day, my biological clock becomes very unstable, and this has also caused me to learn less efficiently,” she added.
On The Bright Side
However, some of them also find joy while learning from home. Although law student Brendan has experienced mental breakdowns, he still feels that online learning is a much better learning mode. “I somehow feel happier and more focused,” he said. Because all lectures are recorded online, he can easily do revision by rewatching them, and all learning materials are also provided without the need to copy down manually.
“The difficult part is the open book test because our school has heightened the difficulty of the exam,” he added. Other than that, both Brendan and Rachel also feel more financially relieved because they are able to save up the cost of transportation.
As for Rachel, being able to listen to the lecture recordings anytime is a plus point of learning from home. Her academic results have improved despite some of the obstacles faced.
All in all, it is no doubt that learning from home can cause students to lose the motivation to study. Nevertheless, with the current rocketing Covid-19 cases in the country, university students may have to wait for a little while more to fully return to the face-to-face learning mode.
Please stay home during the MCO, adhere to the government’s SOPs, and register for the Covid-19 vaccination if you haven’t. With all Malaysians’ cooperation, we hold a glimpse of hope to bring the country back to Covid-free days as soon as possible.
Also Read: WOB Tries: I Got The AstraZeneca Vaccine & I’m Still Alive!
