www.jsser.org 

Journal of Social Studies Education Research 

Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi 

 

2020:11 (3), 270-302 

  

Impact of COVID-19 Emergency Transition to On-line learning on International Students’ 

Perceptions of Educational Process at Russian University 

 

Philipp Novikov1 

 

                                                            Abstract  

The research aims to explore ways of improving adaptability of international first-year university 

students based on the experience of making the transition from face-to-face learning to various 

online platforms during the nationwide pandemic lockdown in Russia in spring 2020. The research 

purpose is to analyze various sociocultural, technical and other challenges faced by international 

students after the one-day seamless transition to remote learning and their impact on the attendance 

record, motivation, academic performance and other quantitative and qualitative data. The research 

topic relevance is determined by the substantial rise in popularity of online learning, which had 

been demonstrating exponential growth even prior to the events of 2020, which further accelerated 

its expansion. The research methods integrate theoretical analysis of the current trends in online 

learning and its evolution as well as the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities analysis. 

Statistical data was collected and processed using the University's digital ecosystem. The research 

data includes the results of the survey consisting of multiple-choice, single-choice and open-end 

questions, interviews with the students as well as the faculty and the background material. The 

research sample includes international first-year students from 12 countries with CEFR levels of 

the Russian language proficiency ranging from A1 to B1. The research findings show that the speed 

of adaptation to online learning depends on various psychological and technological factors as well 

as the students’ learning abilities. The findings lead to the conclusion that despite the efforts of the 

faculty to make this process a seamless one, some factors lie beyond its reach, which makes 

neutralizing the disadvantages of remote teaching time-consuming. The research results 

demonstrate the potential ways of improving online learning for all parties concerned by 

implementing such features as risk management plans, knowledge bases, focusing on making the 

content user-friendly and introducing other various quality-of-life improvements.  
 

 

Key words: Online learning, remote teaching, pandemic lockdown, learning management 

systems, adaptability, COVID-19, international students. 

 

Introduction 

As evidenced by experts in education and by market research results, the popularity of online 

learning has been growing exponentially since the time of its origin in the last decade of the 

twentieth century (Abe, 2020; Kaufmann & Buckner, 2019). The compound annual growth rate of 

                                                 
1 Assoc. Prof., Dr., Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia - RUDN University, philippnovikov@gmail.com 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

271 

 

online learning market is estimated at 36.5%, while its size is expected to reach $230 billion by 

the end of 2020 (Guo & Xiao, 2016).  

The aforementioned dynamics of online learning market natural growth largely correlate with the 

trend of the global Internet access spread. The statistics provided by Internet World Stats show 

that in the period of time from 1995 to 2020 the number of users having access to the Internet 

demonstrated growth from 16 million to 4.5 billion, which accounts for more than 80% of the 

global adult population. Various factors, such as emergence of the World-Wide Web as a user-

friendly and publicly accessible way of organizing the information contributed to this growth. 

Furthermore, it is linked not only to the availability of the Internet connection, but also to its 

quality, improved by the worldwide spread of mobile devices capable of offering stable high-speed 

connections with the bandwidth sufficient for real-time video communication (Kim, 2019).  

While some researchers insist on the disambiguation of the terms online learning, e-learning 

remote learning and distance learning (Moore et al., 2011; Ohlin, 2019; Tadeu et al., 2019), the 

consensus on their semantics has not been reached, the lack of consistency of their use is observed 

in the mass media and the general population. Encyclopedia Britannica suggests the equivalence 

of these terms that are frequently used synonymously by teachers and their students despite some 

semantic difference pointed out by the academics. Corpus of Contemporary American English 

provides the evidence of the term online learning being the most widely used one.  

For the purpose of the uniformity, this research was focused on the umbrella term online learning 

which encompasses various learning and teaching practices. They were conducted through the 

Internet as opposed to the traditional in-person or face-to-face learning. It was done for the reasons 

mentioned in the previous paragraph as well as the following ones:  

1) concept of distance or remote learning is not normally limited to the process involving the 

Internet; however,  it remained the only available option of communication between the students 

and teachers in the situation described in this research;  

2) the overwhelming majority of respondents taking part in the research did not speak either 

English or Russian as a native language, hence both questionnaires in these languages were 

adapted to be understood by the students without any ambiguity. 

Moreover, the present study operates within the framework of emergency transition to on-line 

learning. It has acquired additional stance during the COVID-19 international lockdown 

(Archambault & Borup, 2020; Tarman, 2020). The current international settings of higher 



 

  Novikov 

 

education environment agree on the digital tools potential for the overall communication among 

university audiences, and their sustainable education (Atabekova, 2020; Budiharso & Tarman, 

2020). 

The present research analyzes the experience of a seamless transition to online learning and remote 

instruction performed by RUDN University, also known as Peoples’ Friendship University of 

Russia. The University was established in 1961 with the focus on diversity and inclusiveness, 

offering various degrees for international students with courses available in Russian and English. 

One of its main goals is providing language and cultural training to the first-year international 

students, ensuring that they reach a high level of sociocultural adaptation. It should be mentioned 

that such a trend in general is found in major Russian universities that pay a consistent attention to 

the comprehensive language policy within higher education environment in general, and to the 

first-year students’ perceptions, in particular (Atabekova et al., 2016). 

RUDN University entered the state of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on 23 March 

while some faculty members switched to remote teaching as early as 17 March. The newly adopted 

learning process included various activities divided into three categories (Khan, 2001): 

1) Full synchronous -implementing multiuser real-time video communication organized by the 

faculty and aimed at recreating the traditional classroom experience; 

2) Limited synchronous – encouraging project-oriented groupwork and spontaneous individual 

student-teacher communication using the learning environment provided by the university as well 

as the messaging systems of the students’ choice; 

3) Asynchronous – using the centralized Learning Management System to introduce individual 

assignments as well as guiding the students to use the external resources, communicating via text 

messaging, voicemail and email. 

The uniqueness of the situation under study is characterized by the emergency transition to online 

learning. It required a high speed of changes the educational process that moved online learning 

from optional to compulsory which may be seen as detrimental by some experts in education 

(Burke, 2005). 

Scholars insist that more attention should be given to the understanding of the way in which culture 

impacts online learning (Kang & Chang, 2016). They argue for the need of research on effective 

implementation of measures targeted at providing education during such force majeure events as 

pandemics (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020) and increasing the readiness of students for remote 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

273 

 

education, which has been found to positively predict their satisfaction with the process (Adnan, 

2018). The current focus on online learning solutions and the experience acquired by the 

international healthcare community indicate the possibility of the lockdown measures being 

renewed (Nazareth et al., 2020). The above situation supports the relevance of the current research 

on ground of the relevant literature analysis. 

 

Research Questions 

The goal of the present research is to identify the impact of emergency transition to on-line learning 

on the international students’ perceptions with regard to their learning process within the Russian 

higher education environment. 

To reach the above goal, the following research questions have been addressed: 

1. What is the immediate and mid-term impact of an emergency transition to online learning on 

the performance and adaptability of international students? 

2. What types of issues do the international students encounter and perceive as disruptive during 

their transition to online learning? 

3. What strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities can be identified within emergency 

transition of international students to online learning? 

 

Literature Review 

The analysis of the current trends in academic research on online learning and its history performed 

using Google Scholar and Elsevier digital databases reveals its current popularity while 

emphasizing the importance of conducting a study that takes into consideration the specifics of the 

current situation in the global online learning environment. 

According to the text corpus analysis conducted using Google Books Ngram Viewer, the term 

“online learning” saw a slow rise in the number of mentions in the literature from 1991 to 1995. 

The term further demonstrated a subsequent significant increase in the number of mentions from 

1999 to 2004, which marked its popularization and wide acceptance by academia, encouraged by 

the development of technology (see Figure 1). The graph below was built using Google Ngram 

Viewer with the following parameters:  

Search term: “online learning”; corpus: English (2019); Case-Insensitive; Smoothing of 5.  



 

  Novikov 

 

 

Figure 1. Ngram Analysis of the Term “Online Learning” (Author’s Data) 

 

While the abovementioned dynamics explain the relevance of online learning as a field of research 

in a typical non-emergency environment, taking into consideration the fast-growing trend of its 

natural increase of demand and availability did not suffice for the global readiness for the events 

of early 2020. That was the start of the period when the educational institutions all over the world 

were forced to suspend the face-to-face learning process during the pandemic lockdown.  

The web document analysis performed using Google Trends shows the correlation between the 

start of the global lockdowns affecting educational institutions and the worldwide peak of interest 

in the search term online learning in late March 2020, showing an increase of more than 70% 

within three weeks, which is uncharacteristic of this period of time. The study of the previous years 

(from 2010 to 2019) conducted using the same method demonstrates the typical saw tooth pattern 

of interest which peaks at the beginning of the school year in September and falls gradually until 

the start of the next semester, reaching its bottom in August and December with monthly 

fluctuations not exceeding 20% (see Figure 2). The graph below was built using the following 

parameters:  

Region: Worldwide; Time range: Jun 1, 2010 – Jun 1, 2020; Category: All categories; Search type: 

Web search 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

275 

 

 

Figure 2. Online Learning - Patterns of Search Interest (Author’s Data) 

 

The abovementioned dynamics provide the evidence that the popularity of online learning requires 

specific urgent solutions in the current circumstances. Scholars underline the role of ICT in 

enhancing the sustainability of learning for citizens of all ages and providing new career 

opportunities for researchers (Anikeeva et al., 2019; Soltovets et al., 2020; Strielkowski & 

Chigisheva, 2018; Tarman & Dev, 2018). Coldwell et al. (2008) recommend that the faculty should 

make sure that the digital content they offer can be utilized by all students regardless of their 

cultural background. It has been established that some aspects of international students’ 

adaptability largely depend on their individual adaptability (Hua, 2017) which is positively related 

to cross-cultural adjustment (Etherington, 2019; Liu, 2017). Therefore, the process of transition to 

online learning should be focused on mitigating the risks of maladaptation and avoiding the 

disruption of the learning process during such transition. 

The most often-cited reasons for students preferring online learning courses to face-to-face courses 

include improved logistics and flexibility that allow students to avoid spending time on commuting 

and facilitate communication with their peers and teachers (Paechter & Maier, 2010). Additionally, 

educators list the following advantages: increased availability of information, improved speed of 

its transmission, and a higher degree of media interactivity (Jansen, 2011). However, some of these 

advantages may not be perceived as such by the students. 

The perceived disadvantages of online learning include lower expected academic results, technical 

issues preventing students from achieving consistent results and more reliance upon self-control. 

They contribute to various informal theories explaining the unwillingness of some students to 

engage in online learning activities (O’Neill & Sai, 2014). Academia also emphasizes the 

importance of the competencies required for online learning environments (Baytak et al., 2010; 

Sinacori, 2020) as well as the need to focus on providing the learning content designed for mobile 

devices (Sevillano-García & Vázquez-Cano, 2015). Academia cites various technical and 



 

  Novikov 

 

methodological issues faced by students when learning online as well as the specifics of the 

international students’ adaptability in the non-emergency learning environment.  

The findings obtained as a result of reviewing the current trends in academic research on the 

emergency transition to online learning reveal that no research so far has focused on optimizing 

the experience of international students in the aforementioned situation. Scholars insist that more 

attention should be given to the understanding of the way in which culture impacts online learning 

(Baez Zarabanda, 2019; Kang & Chang, 2016). They argue for the need of research on effective 

implementation of measures targeted at providing education during such force majeure events as 

pandemics (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020) and increasing the readiness of students for remote 

education, which has been found to positively predict their satisfaction with the process (Adnan, 

2018).  

The latest developments in the filed explore the readiness of students to emergency transition to 

on-line learning within the COVID-19 pandemics. However, it refers to students of particular 

specialties or majors, for instance, engineering (Naji et al., 2020), geography (Schultz & DeMers, 

2020), chemistry (Perets et al., 2020). Further, it refers either to education in general (Daniel, 

2020), theory of pedagogy (Crawford et al., 2020), consequences of the securitization of higher 

education for post-pandemic pedagogy (Murphy, 2020), or to university management (Johnson et 

al., 2020) or  students of a particular country (Rahiem, 2020). Initial studies are paving their way 

with respect to international students’ perceptions of their learning during COVID-19 lockdown. 

Thus, the data can be found on the survey of Ghanaian international students in China (Demuyakor, 

2020),  Chinese international students in Australia (Ma et al. 2020).  

The above results lead to the consideration of  a number of points. First, the analysis of the current 

trends in academic research on online learning and its history reveals its current popularity. 

Second, the literature confirms that Academia has made immediate steps to consider the 

phenomenon of emergency transition to on-line learning within the current pandemic. 

However, a number of topics still are to be analysed. Currently, no research has raised the question 

of immediate and mid-term impact of emergency transition to online learning on students’ 

perceptions. However, researchers mention the need for such angle of analysis (Sahu, 2020).  

Further, the issues of international students’ perception are empirically considered with regard to 

a particular ethnic group of youth representatives who held the status of international students 

during COVID-19. 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

277 

 

However, we consider it important to try to map the perceptions of representative of different 

countries as the RUDN university status allows for such an approach. Further, particular topics of 

international students’ adaptability to an emergency transition to online learning have not become 

subject to academic research yet.  Nonetheless, this aspect seems to deserve particular attention. 

Scholars underline that adaptability in general, and that of students, in particular, was one of the 

key issues during the recent lockdown (Pelly et al., 2020).  

The review of literature confirms that scholars explore issues that students consider disruptive 

during their emergency transition to online learning. However, no particular emphasis has been 

laid on international students’ community, or on their perceptions with regard to studies at Russian 

universities during the current pandemic. 

Further, it should be mentioned that we have found no articles with an explicit focus on integrated 

approach in research that would cover e strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) 

within emergency transition of international students to online learning. Bearing in mind the above 

situation, we might conclude that the present research should concentrate on the listed  themes as 

they  bear importance in terms of raising societal awareness of the issue under study, and 

promoting academic studies, as well.   

 

Methods 

Design 

This study used corpus based analysis design to which the contents of the corpus were thematised.  

The objective of this research is to identify the impact of emergency transition to on-line learning 

on the international students’ perceptions with regard to their learning process within the Russian 

higher education environment. This research included theoretical and empirical studies, and 

involved a number of stages. The theoretical analysis of literature helped to map the academic 

rational of the study. The research core activities included empirical analysis of international 

students’ academic performance during lockdown period and their perceptions of the learning 

process within the mentioned context.  Data was analised using thematic analysis and descriptive 

statistics in the forms of rate percentage. 

Research Sample   

The sample for literature analysis covered over 578 papers which have been found on the Google 

Scholar and Elsevier digital databases for the period limits 1999-2020.  



 

  Novikov 

 

The sample for empirical investigation included a diverse pool of 46 international first-year 

students who had started their education face-to-face and were later transferred to online learning 

groups.   

Most participants (80.44%) were enrolled in one of the programs offered by the Department of 

Philology, majoring in Linguistics, Philology or Journalism whereas a smaller percentage included 

those who were pursuing their degrees in Law (15.21%) and Economics (4.35%).  

The sex ratio was representative of the typical first-year group composition (57.14% female to 

42.86% male).  While the age of the students ranged from 17 to 40 (mode = 20, median = 22), the 

majority of them were aged 18-24. 

All of the students have completed their secondary education, graduating from an institution which 

corresponds to the equivalent of a high school, depending on their national system of education. 

Some (19.56%) students have previously received an equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree outside of 

Russia. Furthermore, among these students those who majored in a field different from the one 

chosen at RUDN University (55%) were almost equally represented as those who chose to pursue 

a similar degree in a foreign language (45%). 

As this research focuses on cross-cultural adaptation of international students, the nationalities of 

the participants are also of major importance. The majority of the participants were citizens of 

Peoples’ Republic of China (65.21%), which is also representative of such groups pursuing the 

aforementioned degrees at RUDN University. Other nationalities included citizens of Vietnam 

(6.52%), Egypt (4.34%) and Madagascar (4.34%) whereas the following countries were 

represented by 2.17% of the sample size: Cuba, Spain, Syria, Iraq, Chad, Serbia, Afghanistan, 

Guinea and South Korea.  

Native languages spoken by the students included Mandarin Chinese (65.21%), Arabic (10.87%), 

Vietnamese (6.52%), Malagasy (4.34%), Spanish (4.34%), Korean (2.17%), Serbian (2.17%), 

French (2.17%) and Farsi (2.17%). Despite the fact that the interface of the software provided by 

the university was not available in some of these languages, it is important to add that the majority 

of the students demonstrated the level of proficiency in English sufficient for understanding the 

instructions and using all the functionality of the software - 76.08% were able to read instructions 

in English. The students who were not able to read the instructions in either Russian or English 

received the necessary assistance from their peers, teachers and the students’ committee.  

The length of residence in Russia at the start of the research varied from 1 month to 7 months. 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

279 

 

The CEFR level of proficiency in Russian varied from A1 to B1 due to the variance in the start of 

the first semester which ranged from September 2019 to February 2020. 41.30% have reached 

their B1 levels (First Certificate in Russian) by the start of the experiment, 30.43% have completed 

their A2 exams (Basic level in Russian) while the rest of the participants (28.26%) communicated 

at A1 level (Elementary level in Russian). 

Table 1  

Sample Key Data (Author’s Data) 

Major Philology 

80.44% 

Law 

15.21% 

Economics 

(4.35%) 

Sex Female  

57.14%  

Male 

42.86% 

Age Min 

17 

Max 

40 

Median 

22 

Mode 

20 

Nationality People’s Republic of 

China 

65.21% 

Vietnam 

6.52% 

Egypt 

4.34% 

Other  

(listed above) 

23.93% 

Native language Mandarin Chinese 

65.21%  

Arabic 10.87% Vietnamese 6.52% Other (listed above) 

17.4% 

Level of proficiency in 

English  

> CEFR A1 

76.08% 

<CEFR A1 

23.92% 

Level of proficiency in 

Russian 

CEFR A1 

28.26% 

CEFR A2 

30.43% 

CEFR B1 or higher  

41.30% 

 

Data Collection 

Several sorts of data were collected for research in line with research goal, questions.  

First, the academic publications on on-line learning and emergency transition to on-line studies 

during COVID-19 were selected. 

Second, quantitative information about the students’ academic performance results was 

aggregated. These data were represented  in scores measured against students’ individual weekly 

learning plans and fixed in the university electronic database of students’ academic records. 

The individual performance records of the participants were extracted from the university’s 

Moodle-based learning management system. The records were  compared with the results of the 

previous years. The daily attendance record charts were compiled into a single database for their 

further quantitative analysis. The statistical quantitative data obtained during the observation stage 

were processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics software. 



 

  Novikov 

 

Third, the data covered on-line surveys and  interviews of students  by the author of this research 

from 17 March 2020 to 16 June 2020 on a weekly basis, provided their feedback on online learning 

and shared their vision of various adjustments that they deemed necessary to improve the process.  

Fourth, the data included high-definition full video recordings of every synchronous online lesson 

that was conducted after the university had acquired written consent from all the students. 

Finally, the data  included the results of  on-line survey constructed within Microsoft Forms. 

The survey was offered in English and Russian and completed by all the research participants 

(N=46) with the average completion time of 4 minutes 27 seconds, the results were submitted on 

June 16 when the restrictions were still not lifted. The participants were classified as PT1 – PT46 

in order to keep their personal data confidential.  

The answers in Russian were translated into English with minimal modifications of grammar and 

lexis; to preserve the authenticity of the student’s responses, the text in English was not modified. 

The online survey prompted the students from different groups to answer various questions using 

the following formats: multiple choice, single choice and open-ended questions. The topics 

covered by the survey included the platforms used for all types of online learning activities 

(synchronous, limited synchronous and asynchronous) and student satisfaction with the process 

compared to the traditional face-to-face learning. The students were also asked to report any issues 

they encountered when studying online and suggest their ideas on how the process could be 

improved. All the research participants  respondents completed the survey by 16 June 2020. 

The results were later analyzed with an aim to calculate percentages and build tables; the text data 

was exported into a text file for its subsequent thematic analysis and categorization. 

 

Data Analysis 

To shape the academic framework of the research, Ngram Viewer was used to analyse the 

frequency of  the term online learning during the last two decades. Google Trends tool was used 

to explore the changes in research  between the start of the global lockdowns affecting educational 

institutions and the worldwide peak of interest in the search term online/emergency learning. 

To explore students’ perceptions, a number of software and tools were used. Microsoft Forms was 

used to create the surveys and conduct them, integrating the students’ data from their corporate 

Microsoft Teams accounts and the internal university database.  



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

281 

 

Further, in order to examine the interaction between the students and teachers, the video footage 

obtained using capturing software Bandicam and Microsoft Stream was processed using Sony 

Vegas video editing software to analyze the average input lag, video and audio delay and other 

issues of synchronous online classes. The bandwidth consumption was measured using the built-

in tools in the operating systems.  

Then, the data was processed and exported to Mindmeister, a tool used for creation of mind map 

diagrams, with the aim of creating a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) 

analysis diagram of transition to online learning. This sort of tool has been recognized by academia 

as an effective situation analysis technique (Gürel& Tat, 2017). 

The SWOT mind map diagram was built based on the following: the findings obtained during the 

video footage analysis; the analysis of the data collected before and after the lockdown; the survey 

results and the verbal feedback provided by the respondents-participants to the empirical activities. 

 

Results and Discussion 

This section provides the results of the data analysis with three research questions that have been 

specified earlier, namely the following: 

1) What is the immediate and mid-term impact of an emergency transition to online learning on 

the performance and adaptability of international students? 

2) What types of issues do the international students encounter and perceive as disruptive during 

their transition to online learning? 

3) What strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities can be identified within emergency 

transition of international students to online learning? 

The section also provides the author’s deliberation on the obtained results and suggestions for 

further university practice with regard to the educational context under study, bearing in mind the 

RUDN university experience during lockdown. 

 

Immediate and Mid-Term Impact of Emergency Transition to Online Learning on 

Adaptability of International Students 

One of the aims of the faculty during the transition to online learning consisted of making the 

process seamless while maximizing its efficiency and recreating the classroom experience.  



 

  Novikov 

 

In order to ensure that both teachers and students were provided with an opportunity to adapt to 

the transition, the process was implemented gradually, with optional face-to-face groups being 

offered throughout the first 10 days and no requirements regarding the learning platform. While 

the majority of international students opted for online classes, 12.5% were strongly opposed to the 

change and preferred to be transferred to the groups which continued face-to-face studies for 10 

more days.  

The sole form of control introduced by the faculty at that stage, which lasted until 14 April 2020, 

included weekly lessons plans listing the content and the tools used for remote teaching. 

Afterwards the degree of control was increased by establishing Microsoft Teams as the default 

online platform with mandatory video recordings as well as by monitoring the observance of the 

timetable and the introduction of daily attendance reports. 

The types of lessons offered to first-year international students at RUDN University include 

language classes, lectures and seminars. In order to improve their adaptability, the curricula are 

composed with the highest priority assigned to language classes which account for 100% of 

learning hours at the beginning of the first semester; this percentage is reduced to 66% during the 

second semester with the focus shifting on cultural studies and the specialization of the 

international students. 

It has been noted by the academia that models of student retention and their persistence in face-to-

face and online learning environments manifest in significantly different ways (Boston & Ice, 

2010). The analysis of the retention rate across the observed groups reveals that the process of 

transition to online learning had a negative impact on the retention rate, which decreased by 

13.04% immediately after the announcement was made, with some international students quitting 

the university and leaving Russia.  However, some of the students residing in their hometowns 

(4.34%) demonstrated a high level of motivation, participating in online lessons despite the 

technical issues caused either by the safety policy restrictions introduced by their countries or the 

lack of a high-quality and low-latency internet connection with the university servers located in 

Russia.  

The online course content and instructions were offered in Russian in order to improve students’ 

reading skills and prepare them for their future studies whereas the software interface and 

instructions were offered in Russian and English. However, the formal instructions provided by 

the software developers were characterized by some students as complicated and non-intuitive, 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

283 

 

which led to teachers creating concise video instructions with voiceovers in English and improving 

the reliance on student-to-teacher individual consultations provided via instant messaging.  

The data obtained through the analysis of the daily attendance rate in the observed groups reveals 

an immediate negative influence of the transition evidenced by the decline to 66% within the first 

month. This time was required by the students to adapt to the new form of the learning process, 

acquire the necessary equipment and receive technical assistance from their peers and the faculty. 

However, the analysis of the subsequent attendance rate data demonstrates a recovery to an average 

of 85% which does not deviate from the pre-lockdown percentage. 

The results of the video data analysis reveal that the aforementioned daily attendance rate is not 

fully indicative of student participation in the synchronous online lessons due to a number of 

technical and psychological issues faced by the students, listed in the survey results below. With 

the number of classroom hours per day ranging from 4 to 8 (mean = 6), the attendance fluctuated, 

demonstrating the absence rate ranging from 42% to 15%. 

The technology-related issues were primarily influenced by the two factors listed below. First, 

71.42% of the international students accessed the internet from their dormitory rooms where the 

Wi-Fi connection speed was not sufficient for multiuser real-time high-definition video 

communication. The second factor is the reliance of some students. It changed from 42.85% at the 

start of the observation to 14.28% as the university equipped with the laptops all the students who 

had requested them. The challenge was that mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones 

prevented students from being able to see the participants and the screen simultaneously and 

prompted the teachers to use various font and image scaling options, reducing the ease of use and 

the visibility of the learning resources. The respondents also mentioned that they were forced to 

use metered mobile data connection with an average hourly bandwidth consumption ranging from 

700 Megabytes to 1.3 Gigabytes on their limited data plans as a reason for not attending some of 

their online lessons during the hours where the peak network usage was recorded. 

Furthermore, the audio and video input and output delays caused by the low bandwidth of the 

students’ Internet connections had a significant negative impact on conducting seminars and 

language classes, which require the highest degree of interactivity. According to the lesson footage 

analysis, the delay time in the interaction between students and teachers ranged from 2 to 10 

seconds provided that the students were ready to answer the questions and no misunderstanding 

was discovered. 



 

  Novikov 

 

These circumstances greatly increased the time required for teachers to conduct productive 

dialogues with the students and initiate groupwork activities, rearranging their priorities and 

prompting them to allocate more time to monitoring student-centered work. The additional time 

was also spent on creating self-study materials for the students, using the learning management 

system and working extra hours, scheduling private consultations and providing technical and 

academic online support. In addition to the issues encountered during the synchronous online 

lessons, both teachers and students reported an increase of time spent on submitting and marking 

homework assignments designed to be handwritten and submitted in the paper form. As a result 

of the aforementioned circumstances, the overall teacher’s workload has significantly increased. 

Moreover, the inability of some teachers to adapt to the process led to an increase in teacher 

attrition rate. 

Following the transition to online learning, the reliance on the Moodle-based learning management 

system for both assessment and new learning content delivery has increased. The emergency 

adjustments implemented by the faculty included the transfer of the paper-based end-of-course 

Russian language test to the learning management system, which, due to its technical limitations, 

does not possess the capacity to replicate all the exam procedures and caused additional difficulties 

for the students. In order to prevent such misconduct as the unauthorized use of electronic devices, 

the outside interference and various forms of cheating, the university introduced a proctoring 

system with synchronous and asynchronous audio and video input monitoring.  

The video data analysis also reveals a positive change related to the transition to online learning -

the improvement of students’ attention concentration during their language lessons and seminars 

as the format requires them to actively participate in the process and does not present any 

opportunities for voice communication outside of the meeting. Therefore, such negative factors as 

student-to-student distractions were minimized. Additionally, the screen sharing function available 

to the students as well as the teachers greatly improved their ability to use a variety of multimedia 

resources, which is a feature that was had been unavailable in some classrooms lacking the 

necessary equipment. This function also empowers the students to improve their public speaking 

skills in a foreign language and facilitates conducting project-oriented activities.  

Furthermore, the analysis of the academic performance results reveals that the form of learning 

did not have any considerable effect on the students’ exam results, with 73.42% being the average 

final weighted grade across all the groups of the respondents.  



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

285 

 

The above data enhances the higher education experience with respect to on-line learning in 

specific context, namely in emergency transition to full scale on-line learning. It means shift from 

standard form of blended learning which combines face-to-face classes and students’  individual 

studies in an institutional electronic managements system, to group  training in digital classes 

which are managed by the teacher.  

The above data makes it possible to set forth  some thoughts with regard to immediate and mid-

term impact of  the emergency transition to online learning on adaptability of international 

students. To our mind, immediate impact concerns students’ adaptability to training with regard to 

technical, organizational, and disciplinary issues. Students’ adaptability to training in new settings 

requires the university support in terms of  technical issues, choice of platforms  and digital tools  

for training. Our university experience confirms that there should be a comprehensive university 

policy and management which cover the mentioned aspects. The timely and concrete decisions at 

the university management level to select the tools,  inform both students and teachers, and provide 

additional training , if necessary. Further, the findings reveal that  in terms of educational 

discipline, within the framework of full-scale digital education in emergency conditions, a 

proctoring system with synchronous and asynchronous audio and video input monitoring is 

relevant. The idea of such a system was earlier mentioned by  experts in education with respect to 

on-line training in general (Hylton et al., 2016).  

Another aspect of immediate impact concerns students’ perceptions of their on-line workload . 

With regard to this point we would suggest that the self-study assignments be arranged in such a 

way that they would allow student to work off-line to minimize their dependence on the internet 

connection quality and speed, etc. 

Further, with regard to mid-term impact of emergency transition to on-line learning on 

international students’ perceptions, we should mention that some aspects of international students’ 

adaptability largely depend on their individual features. Scholars earlier mentioned that it is 

positively related to cross-cultural adjustment (Hua, 2017; Soltero Lopez, & Lopez, 2020). The 

findings obtained during the observation and interview analysis reveal that the rate of international 

students’ adaptability to online learning also depends both on their language skills and their 

technological literacy. Thus, when designing the course, it is necessary to take into consideration 

the diversity of the students’ backgrounds and the potential inequality of the opportunities they 

were presented with as children in order to observe their student rights (Atabekova et al., 2019). 



 

  Novikov 

 

Additionally, the research has revealed the increased importance of constructive peer feedback in 

an online environment, which had been previously noted by academia (Van Popta et al., 2016). 

Particular attention should be paid to teachers’ work as well. Heads of the departments are expected 

to systematize the educational aids format, identify students’ workload per week, specify 

evaluation and assessment criteria, as well.     

 

Types of Issues that International Students Encounter and Perceive as Disruptive during 

their Transition to Online Learning 

The findings have shed light on those points that first-year international students perceive as 

disruptive and led grounds for minimizing the risks related to online learning, improving the 

students’ adaptability, maximizing their satisfaction with the learning process and its efficiency. 

Table 2  

 Platforms used for Synchronous Online Lessons (Author’s Data) 

Platforms used for synchronous online lessons N 

Microsoft Teams 34 

Zoom 15 

WhatsApp  6 

Google Hangouts (Google Meet) 5 

Whereby 5 

 

The results of the survey indicate respondents did not limit to one and the same platform and tool. 

While Microsoft Teams was recommended by the university as the default platform for remote 

teaching with 52% of respondents using it as the main application, 23% used Zoom, 8% took part 

in Google Hangouts meetings, 9% have used WhatsApp for synchronous learning whereas 8% 

opted for the use of a less-known, albeit minimalistic and intuitive platform Whereby.  

It has been discovered that each introduction of a new platform or application for on –line learning 

format was followed by a temporary average drop in participation. Microsoft Teams was used to 

conduct exams and online meetings since it was integrated into RUDN University’s Office 365 

ecosystem. However, some students requested using such platforms as WhatsApp, Whereby and 

Zoom, citing their stability, intuitiveness and familiarity as the reasons for their preference 

(abbreviation PT stands for a participant of the empirical studies):  



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

287 

 

PT 4: “First, we suggest improving the Internet or working on a faster program, such as 

WhatsApp”.  

PT 42 “A better, more stable software would be better”.  

The aforementioned responses as well as the feedback provided during the lessons reveal that 

international students may perceive the ease of use and the familiarity of the software as more 

important features than its functionality and the range of specialized learning-oriented features.    

Table 3  

 Tools used for Homework Assignment Submission (Author’s Data) 

Tools used for homework assignment submission N 

Email 30 

Moodle-based learning management system    22 

Microsoft Teams  18 

WhatsApp   13 

Google Classroom 2 

 

The analysis of the responses of the online survey items revealed a number of issues. It has been 

established that the majority of the respondents have used traditional non-specialized tools in order 

to submit their assignments. 65% cited personal or corporate email as a tool utilized to send files 

to their teachers and 28% mentioned WhatsApp. This data confirms the findings of this research, 

stating that both teachers and students attach a higher value to the familiar platforms that they 

perceive as user-friendly, avoiding the use of software they have little experience with, unless 

specifically instructed to do so by the faculty. 

While the use of the Moodle-based learning system created by the university was mandatory for 

every member of the faculty, it was mentioned only by 47% of the respondents, which may indicate 

that they did not perceive it as the primary platform used for student-to-teacher interaction. While 

52% of the students acknowledged having used Microsoft Teams, only 39% of them said they used 

it  to submit homework assignments. Furthermore, 4% of the respondents belonging to the same 

learning group mentioned using Google Classroom, which demonstrates the willingness of the 

teaching staff to explore various options available in order to optimize the students’ experience. 

 

 

 

 



 

  Novikov 

 

Table 4  

Issues Encountered during Remote Learning (Author’s Data) 

Issues encountered during remote learning N 

Bad Internet connection 36 

Disturbance caused by the roommates 19 

Not being provided with the necessary literature 16 

Difficulties encountered while viewing the teacher’s screen on the 

phone (laptop)   

11 

Difficulties encountered while submitting homework assignments 11 

Other 3 

 

The results of the research indicate that during the process of transitioning to online learning 

international students face various challenges that some of their Russian peers may avoid. The 

overwhelming majority (78%) of them cited internet connection issues as a major factor that had 

a negative impact on their learning process (abbreviation PT stands for participant of the empirical 

studies): 

PT 5 “We all did acknowledge that the communication of video call is always poor.” 

PT 32 “Better internet access.” 

PT 8 “The internet connection of university's hostel should be better since it's so bad.” 

PT 9 “The internet connection in the hostel is so bad and there is no way to connect 

sometimes to the session which leads to using our own internet that is expensive.” 

PT 34 Internet access needs much improvement 

PT 37 The only thing I would say is to improve Internet connection if possible. 

While the respondents did not distinguish between various hardware, software and connectivity 

issues that were negatively affecting their learning experience, a further investigation confirms 

that some of these issues can be solved by properly informing the groups and providing individual 

technical support. However, some of these issues lie beyond the scope of the faculty, such as 

offering technical assistance to the students who were studying abroad – in particular, in China 

and Iraq. 

The Wi-Fi connection at the university campus was not initially designed for multiple 

simultaneous high-definition group video calls, which caused the network to underperform during 

the peak hours. Any immediate upgrades of the system were not possible at the time of the 

emergency transition to online learning, yet the university addressed that issue by offering special 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

289 

 

learning spaces with the necessary equipment and high-speed internet access, provided that the 

users practice social distancing. 

The hardware issues, including the use of lower-end devices incompatible with the modern 

software, were resolved by the university providing the students with personal laptops optimized 

for online learning use. 

The students who reported not having been able to connect to the sessions and using their own 

mobile data connection were contacted by the faculty. Further it was discovered that they were 

using suboptimal data plans due to not being informed of the unlimited traffic options offered by 

other mobile network operators when arriving in Russia and purchasing their SIM cards.  This 

example emphasizes the importance of creating a user-friendly knowledge base with simplified 

visual explanations and instructional videos as well as troubleshooting guides translated into 

several languages, aimed at providing students with immediate technical support or instructing 

their teachers to do so on the condition that the issue is common and does not require any special 

technical expertise.  

Another issue especially relevant for students who live in dormitories in the period of self-isolation 

is interruptions caused by the roommates: 41% of respondents mentioned that they prevented them 

from studying efficiently, this includes the situations where two students were having lessons 

simultaneously in one room: 

PT 35 “Students need access to reliable internet, devices, and a quiet space dedicated to 

studying.”  

This issue can be partially solved by instructing the students to use headsets and mute their 

microphones unless they are speaking. 

Additionally, 34% of the respondents mentioned not having the access to the necessary paper-

based learning materials while studying online; this particular issue is unique to the lockdown 

situation. One of the solutions proposed by the faculty consisted of compiling the lists containing 

the necessary literature and making requests to the library to deliver the books to the campus. 

Some respondents (24%) cited the difficulties encountered while viewing the teacher’s screen on 

their mobile devices due to the scaling issues they encountered (abbreviation PT stands for 

participant):   

PT 43 “Tutors making their screen (power point format) more viewable to the class.” 



 

  Novikov 

 

In order to minimize the negative impact of this issue, it is recommended that teachers use text and 

image scaling functions, magnifying the contents of their screen by up to 400% and analyzing 

feedback from the participants. 

Another 24% of respondents cited taking pictures of their assignments and sending them to the 

teachers as another issue encountered during the lockdown, which is also especially relevant for 

international students focused on foreign language studies and improving their handwriting.  

In addition to the abovementioned technicalities, the respondents also cited methodological and 

psychological issues. Some students expressed their willingness to study in a digital environment 

that fully recreates the classroom experience: 

PT 46: “For teachers to carry out classes as close to normal”.  

Some survey participants considered face-to-face lessons to be of the highest importance for their 

Russian language studies:  

PT 23 “I do not know Russian very well, so I want to return to the classroom and talk with 

the participants to check for errors.” 

However, some participants mentioned the importance of completely restructuring the learning 

process, which should be taken into consideration in the long-term perspective:  

PT 38: “Resources designed for online learning instead of quickly altered lesson plans” 

PT 3 “Patient teachers and know how to use online lessons” 

The perceived lack of teachers’ patience related to delayed responses is a known factor in real time 

online conversations (Schoenenberg et al., 2014). Furthermore, the stress induced by the video call 

fatigue reveals a need of raising awareness of its psychological effects among both students and 

teachers: 

PT 9 “Teachers should be more patient and able to understand students since the language 

is new and a hard one.” 

This particular effect was cited multiple times, leading to lowered levels of motivation:  

PT 7 “It’s just really hard to focus if you have online classes every single day” 

PT 14 “i have no idea. i think it is very difficult for me to take online class. it is hard to 

understand class to me. i feel sad and anxious everyday....” 

Additionally, some students emphasized the perceived importance of adapting the procedure of 

reviewing the material in order to facilitate its comprehension and centralize its distribution: 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

291 

 

PT 5 “I think prior to the lectures, the lecturer should go over the topics and lessons, that 

are going to be covered during the day or week with the students.” 

PT 21 “Teacher writes an important point in the chat.” 

Furthermore, the respondents expressed their opinion of the need to simplify the online lessons 

and make its content more accessible to the international students:   

PT 4 “We just want to talk and listen to programs online with people who speak slowly, like 

a teacher, and listen to videos and music slowly”. 

PT 2. “In my opinion Facilitate the explanation and simplify the information due to the 

difficulty of transmitting information to students”.   

 

Table 5  

Degree of Satisfaction with the Online Learning Experience (Author’s Data) 

Degree of satisfaction with the online learning experience N 

Neutral / slightly negative  22 

Highly negative 18 

Positive  6 

 

According to the survey results, while the majority of students (86.95%) preferred traditional face-

to-face learning and would opt in for such lessons provided that they had a chance to do so, 47.82% 

of them stated that they found their online lessons to be of a comparable efficiency with their 

classroom experience. A lower percentage of the respondents (39.13%) mentioned that various 

technical, cultural and other issues prevented them from making the learning process efficient and 

enjoyable.  

The further analysis of the negative opinions reveals that the students realize their inability to 

change the circumstances which caused them to study online and demonstrates their demotivation 

(abbreviation PT stands for participant of the empirical studies): 

PT 5. “Online classes are very complicated and demotivating in my view” 

PT 22 “But you know that we don’t have an option, because everyone wants to get rid of the 

virus”. 

PT 16 “I don’t know how the online lesson will be better, I don’t like it!” 

PT 32 “Having live classes is too hard” 

Some students expressing a certain degree of indifference:  



 

  Novikov 

 

PT 10 “all is well” 

PT 19 “I have no questions.” 

Furthermore, a lower percentage of the respondents (13.04%) expressed the highest degree of 

satisfaction with their experience of online learning, saying that they would prefer to study online 

despite having previously chosen a face-to-face course. 

The above data reveals that generally international students perceive two types of  issues as 

disruptive during their emergency transition to online learning. First, it is all kind of technology-

related points. 

With respect to this point, we should bear in mind , that  individual’s adaptability to on-line 

learning is linked to the overall level of technological literacy, which greatly varies by country, as 

scholars mention  (Falck et al., 2016). Its effect is amplified by the diversity in software practices 

traditionally used by students at home. Moreover, understanding technical instructions in a foreign 

language introduces an additional layer of complexity for the international students whose 

language proficiency level is not sufficient for that task. 

Therefore, a systemic technical support should be provided to students. In case of RUDN 

university is was cross-faculty campus dormitories-based students’ volunteering team (organized 

by the students self-governing bodies in cooperation with the dean offices at the faculties) whose 

members turned out to be more advanced in technology  and language use and managed to help 

their peers  in the campus dormitories. 

Another area seems to be more sensitive as it refers to social and  cultural issues.  The empirical 

data revealed relatively low percentage of positive verbal feedback in the survey results. To our 

mind it  may be linked to the negative bias  focus in open-ended responses. Academia has been 

established that the dissatisfied respondents are more likely to provide feedback than their more 

satisfied counterparts (Poncheri et al., 2008).  

However, in case of RUDN University that has a long-standing experience as an international 

university, we consider that much depends on the teacher, whose objectives during emergency 

transition to on-line learning go far beyond the educational materials development and students’ 

works check. It is the academic staff who is responsible for maintaining the positive psychological 

climate in the digital classroom. The teachers are expected to balance the attention among all the 

students, identify their common and individual learning troubles. Therefore, such issues should be 

subject for consistent consideration and discussion at the academic staff meetings during the 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

293 

 

emergency transition to on-line learning. Such a practice was introduced at RUDN University and 

help both each teacher and the training departments in general to avoid students’ deep and long 

lasting depression  related to emergency related changes in the  training process.     

 

Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities within Emergency Transition of 

International Students to Online Learning 

The research findings demonstrate the impact of various methodological, technological and 

psychological issues caused by the emergency transition to online learning on the adaptability of 

international students and offer an insight into the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the 

system as well as its opportunities and threats both in the short-term and the long-term 

perspectives. In order to categorize these variables and present their overview, the principles of 

strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (further SWOT) analysis were implemented to 

build  the SWOT mind map diagram, see Figure 3:  

 

Figure 3. SWOT Analysis of Transition to Online Learning (Author’s Data) 

According to the research findings, the advantages of online learning include an improved 

flexibility of the learning process with teachers being able to improve their degree of control and 

organize online lessons depending on their methodological preferences, taking into account the 

individual characteristics of their students.  

It has also been established that various online learning formats offer a wide range of possibilities 

for using multimedia content and interactive resources. This removes the dependency on the 

classroom equipment, which is highly relevant for international students primarily focused on 



 

  Novikov 

 

language training, generally provided to a large number of smaller groups simultaneously, 

reducing the chance of each individual group to be able to access a computer laboratory.  

Another characteristic of online learning is the ability of the teachers to draw the students’ attention 

to the importance of individual home assignments and promote project-based learning either 

through the use of the university’s learning management system or other tools chosen by them 

based on a specific task.  

The findings obtained during the observation also demonstrate the improvement of the students’ 

concentration related to a reduced rate of distraction caused by their peers during the synchronous 

online lessons.  

As mentioned earlier, the disadvantages of transitioning to online learning that had an immediate 

effect on the learning process can be categorized into three groups: technical issues, 

methodological issues and psychological issues.  

The immediate effects of an emergency transition to online learning include a lowered student 

retention rate due to some students not being able to adapt to the change in the learning process, 

and a decline in the attendance rate, explained by the unverifiable technical issues. 

The technical difficulties include a range of issues related to the absence of the necessary 

equipment as well as software and hardware incompatibilities. Additionally, both students and 

teachers may lack the required skills of using various online learning tools. The video footage 

analysis revealed a major increase in communication delays between the students and the teachers, 

which reduced the amount of content delivered to student during each lesson, leading to immediate 

significant modifications of the lessons plans, subsequently increasing the teachers’ workload. 

The research findings reveal the connection between the psychological and methodological issues. 

It has been established that video-call-induced fatigue may lead to students becoming demotivated 

and depressed, which dictates the necessity of introducing various methodological measures in 

order to prevent maladaptation issues amplified by the existence of the language barrier and the 

difficulties of cross-cultural adjustment.  

The long-term opportunities presented by the transition to online learning include the potential for 

training specialists in creation of high-quality online learning content, significantly increasing their 

competitiveness, improving the learning management systems and offering new unique programs 

to international students, regardless of their location.  



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

295 

 

Additionally, transition to online learning allows students to improve their computer literacy and 

self-control which have become increasingly important in the modern learning environment. It 

also encourages international students to become familiar with local practices of using specific 

software and learning platforms while raising their technological adaptability.  

The potential long-term disadvantages include the rise in teacher attrition rate, causing some 

faculty members with traditional face-to-face teaching experience to leave the university unless 

they adapt to online teaching practices and master the technology.  

Furthermore, the newly established online learning practices may lead to devaluation of traditional 

face-to-face education, rapidly changing the global learning environment, increasing the 

competition between long-term oriented well-established universities and short-term oriented 

companies specialized in content creation and advertising, potentially lowering the 

competitiveness of the former. 

Online learning has also been found to increase the reliance of international students on computers 

and mobiles devices, lowering the number of face-to-face social interactions, which may reduce 

the rate of their cross-cultural adaptation. 

In addition to the aforementioned issues, the analysis reveals an increased number of opportunities 

for cheating and other forms of misconduct which can be partially, albeit not fully prevented by 

utilizing proctoring software during tests and exams. The information obtained during the present 

SWOT analysis may be used to improve the future online learning experience of international 

students. 

 

Conclusion 

The research provided the data according to which an impact on students’ perceptions operates as 

a multidimensional phenomenon, which could cover immediate and long-term impact, diverse 

types of disruptive issues and threats,  as well as  might contribute to certain strengths and 

opportunities. 

The analysis of the immediate and mid-term impact of online learning on international students 

reveals that various issues persisted throughout the semester, such as noticeable delays in the 

response time experienced by the students and teachers during the synchronous lessons, an 

increased probability of students cheating as well as the substantial rise in teachers’ workload.  



 

  Novikov 

 

The latter is caused by an increased number of hours dedicated to converting the content into the 

digital format, compiling and submitting reports designed to improve the online learning process 

and providing technical assistance to the students. However, mid-term impact refers to individual 

and social aspects. The research results reveal that the efforts of the faculty resulted in stabilization 

of the overall students’ performance as well as the recovery of their attendance record, despite the 

significant changes in the learning process. 

The analysis of the research data demonstrates the way in which first-year international students 

perceive the issues of transition to online learning and offer an insight into possible ways of 

minimizing the risks related to online learning, improving the students’ adaptability and 

maximizing their satisfaction with the learning process and its efficiency. 

The results of the analysis indicate that a rapid transition to online learning is accompanied by a 

number of short-term effects with the disadvantages being more perceivable than the advantages 

by both teachers and students. While taking immediate action during such emergency situations 

might not be possible, it is suggested that faculties create contingency plans and focus on risk 

management in order to minimize the negative impact of such situations on cross-cultural and 

technological adaptability of international students.  

A number of opportunities presented by the transition to online learning are related to improving 

the quality of content and methodology as well as entering the rapidly-growing global market of 

online education. The long-term negative effects include a potential devaluation of traditional 

classroom education and a decrease in the cross-cultural adaptability of international students due 

to a minimized number of face-to-face social interactions. 

Furthermore, the research results lead to the conclusion that in order to ensure that the standards 

of quality are maintained during a transition to online learning, universities should be able to make 

specific efforts. They are supposed to complete such projects as converting the content designed 

for face-to-face learning into the digital format, making it more user-friendly, creating knowledge 

bases that offer the necessary information to international students, translating it into multiple 

languages in order to make it accessible.  

It is also recommended that they provide high-intensity adaptability training for teachers and 

students and introduce various technical and methodological quality-of-life improvements, 

considering the issues specific to international students. 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

297 

 

The research findings confirm the importance of addressing the impact of the current situation by 

conducting an interdisciplinary research on the way in which a forced emergency transition to 

online learning affects the adaptability of international students. The research findings contribute 

to the establishment of best practices aimed at improving the quality of online learning in general, 

preventing the adaptability issues of international students caused by a rapid transition to online 

learning and making this process a seamless one. 

The present research has some limitations. We should say that it has been a kind of pilot study 

with a limited number of participants and general sort of questions they were offered to reply. 

Further investigation is supposed to be implemented with diverse trajectories of studies. They 

should take into account the students’ social-cultural background, geographical origin, level of 

technological literacy, age, gender, etc.   Such an approach would help to tailor the digital training 

within emergencies to particular student audiences at an international university. Further studies 

should also include the response from the university management and academic staff, in terms of 

their perceptions od those issues that should be taken into account when working with first year 

international students within emergency settings due to pandemics. 

 

Acknowledgements 

The publication has been prepared with the support of the RUDN University Program 5-100. 

Special thanks are addressed to Mr. Kevin Krause (USA), senior teacher of the RUDN Law 

Institute Foreign Languages Department, for his valuable comments and help in editing and 

proofreading. 

 

References 

Abe, J.A. (2020). Big five, linguistic styles, and successful online learning. The Internet and 

Higher Education, 45, 100724. DOI: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2019.100724. 

Adnan, M. (2018). Professional development in the transition to online teaching: The voice of 

entrant online instructors, ReCALL, 30(1), 88-111. DOI: 10.1017/S0958344017000106. 

Anikeeva, O.A., Sizikova, V.V., Demidova, T.E., Starovojtova, L.I., Akhtyan, A.G., Godzhieva, 

R.B., Karpunina, A.V., & Maydangalieva, Z.A. (2019). IT and computer technologies for 

education of senior citizens and improving the quality of their life. Eurasia Journal of 

Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(11), 1-8. DOI: 

10.29333/ejmste/109504 



 

  Novikov 

 

Archambault, L., & Borup, J. (2020). Coming together as a research community to support 

educators and students in K-12 online and emergency remote settings. Journal of Online 

Learning Research, 6(1), 1-3. 

Atabekova, A.A. (2020). University discourse to foster youth’s sustainability in society amidst 

COVID19: International and Russian Features. Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7336. DOI: 

10.3390/su12187336 

Atabekova, A.A., Belousov, A.A., & Yastrebov, O.A. (2016). International university freshmen’s 

perceptions on culturally diverse community and internal stakeholders’ tactics. 

International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(16), 9381-9389. 

Atabekova, A., Gorbatenko, R., Shoustikova, T., & Radić, N. (2019). Language analysis of 

convention on the rights of the child to enhance societal awareness on the issue. Journal of 

Social Studies Education Research, 10(4), 506-529. 

Baez Zarabanda, D. (2019). ICT and its purpose in the pedagogical practice. Research in Social 

Sciences and Technology, 4(2), 83-95. https://doi.org/10.46303/ressat.04.02.6 

Basilaia, G., & Kvavadze, D. (2020). Transition to online education in schools during a SARS-

CoV-2 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Georgia. Pedagogical Research, 5(4), 

em0060. DOI: 10.29333/pr/7937 

Baytak, A., Tarman, B., & Ayas, C. (2011). Experiencing technology integration in education: 

Children's perceptions. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 3(2), 

139-151.  

Boston, W., & Ice, P. (2010). Comprehensive assessment of student retention in online learning 

environments. Proceedings of E-Learn 2010 - World Conference on E-Learning in 

Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education, 1593-1599. 

Budiharso, T. & Tarman, B. (2020). Improving Quality Education through Better Working 

Conditions of Academic Institutes, Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 7(1), 99-115. 

http://dx.doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/306  

Burke, L.A. (2005). Transitioning to online course offerings: tactical and strategic considerations. 

Shreveport Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 4(2), 94. Retrieved from 

www.ncolr.org/jiol 

Coldwell, J., Craig, A., Paterson, T., & Mustard, J. (2008). Online students: Relationships between 

participation, demographics and academic performance. The Electronic Journal of e-

Learning, 6, 19-30. 

Crawford, J., Butler-Henderson, K., Rudolph, J., Malkawi, B., Glowatz, M., Burton, R., ... & Lam, 

S. (2020). COVID-19: 20 countries' higher education intra-period digital pedagogy 

responses. Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 3(1), 1-20. 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

299 

 

Daniel, S.J. (2020). Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospects, 1-6. DOI: 

10.1007/s11125-020-09464-3 

Demuyakor, J. (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19) and online learning in higher institutions of 

education: A survey of the perceptions of Ghanaian international students in China. Online 

Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 10(3), e202018. DOI: 

10.29333/ojcmt/8286 

Etherington, M. (2019). The Challenge with Educational Transformation. Journal of Culture and 

Values in Education, 2(1), 96-112. https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.02.01.8 

Falck, O., Heimisch, A., & Wiederhold, S. (2016). Returns to ICT Skills, IEB Working Paper No. 

2016/05. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2744714 

Guo, Z., Xiao, L., Van Toorn, C., Lai Y., & Seo, C. (2016). Promoting online learners’ continuance 

intention: An integrated flow framework. Information & Management, 53(2), 279-295, 

DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2015.10.010. 

Gürel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. 

UluslararasıSosyalAraştırmalarDergisi The Journal of International Social Research, 

10(51), DOI: 10.17719/jisr.2017.1832 

Hua, J. (2017). Flourish or falter: the role of individual adaptability in cross-cultural adjustment. 

Academy of Management Proceedings. 10050. DOI: 

10.5465/AMBPP.2017.10050abstract. 

Hylton, K., Levy, Y., & Dringus, P. (2016) Utilizing webcam-based proctoring to deter misconduct 

in online exams. Computers & Education, 92–93, 53-63. DOI: 

10.1016/j.compedu.2015.10.002. 

Jansen, B.A. (2011). Civic education and the learning behaviors of youth in the online 

environment: A call for reform. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 2(2), 22-

42. 

Johnson, N., Veletsianos, G., & Seaman, J. (2020). US Faculty and administrators' experiences 

and approaches in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online Learning, 24(2), 6-

21. 

Kang, H., & Chang, B. (2016). Examining culture's impact on the learning behaviors of 

international students from confucius culture studying in western online learning context. 

Journal of International Students, 6(3), 779-797. 

Kaufmann, R., & Buckner, M. (2019). Revisiting “power in the classroom”: exploring online 

learning and motivation to study course content. Interactive Learning Environments, 27(3), 

402-409. DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2018.1481104. 



 

  Novikov 

 

Khan, B. (2001). An event-oriented design model for web-based Instruction. New Jersey: 

Educational Technology Publications. 

Kim, D., & Lee, M., (2019). The structural relationship among smartphone dependency, teaching 

presence, deep approach to learning and satisfaction in online deeper learning. Proceedings 

of the 2019 8th International Conference on Educational and Information Technology 

(ICEIT 2019). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA. DOI: 

10.1145/3318396.3318416. 

Liu, B. (2017). Study on social cultural adaptability of international students in china under the 

background of "the belt and road". 7th International Conference on Social Science and 

Education Research (SSER 2017) Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities 

Research, 132, 20-26. 

Ma, T., Heywood, A., & MacIntyre, C.R. (2020). Travel health risk perceptions of Chinese 

international students in Australia–Implications for COVID-19. Infection, Disease & 

Health, 25(3), 197-204. DOI: 10.1016/j.idh.2020.03.002. 

Moore, J., & Krista, G. (2011). E-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: 

Are they the same? The Internet and Higher Education, 14, 129-135. DOI: 

10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.10.001. 

Murphy, M. P. (2020). COVID-19 and emergency eLearning: Consequences of the securitization 

of higher education for post-pandemic pedagogy. Contemporary Security Policy, 41(3), 

492-505. DOI: 10.1080/13523260.2020.1761749 

Naji, K. K., Du, X., Tarlochan, F., Ebead, U., Hasan, M.A., & Al-Ali, A.K. (2020). Engineering 

students’ readiness to transition to emergency online learning in response to COVID-19: 

Case of Qatar. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16 

(10), em1886. DOI: 10.29333/ejmste/8474 

Nazareth, J., Minhas, J., Jenkins, D., Sahota, A., Khunti, K., Haldar, P., & Pareek, M. (2020). Early 

lessons from a second COVID-19 lockdown in Leicester, UK. Lancet, 396(10245), e4–e5. 

DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31490-2. 

Ohlin, C. (2019). Information and Communication Technology in a Global World. Research in 

Social Sciences and Technology, 4(2), 41-57. https://doi.org/10.46303/ressat.04.02.4 

O’Neill, D.K., & Sai, T.H. (2014). Why not? Examining college students’ reasons for avoiding an 

online course. Higher Education, 68, 1–14. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-013-9663-3. 

Paechter, M., & Maier, B. (2010). Online or face-to-face? Students' experiences and preferences 

in e-learning, The Internet and Higher Education, 13(14), 292-297. DOI: 

10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.09.004. 



Journal of Social Studies Education Research                                                    2020: 11 (3), 270-302 
   

301 

 

Pelly, F. E., Wiesmayr‐Freeman, T., & Tweedie, J. (2020). Student placement adaptability during 
COVID‐19: Lessons learnt in 2020. Nutrition & Dietetics.[Epub ahead of print]. DOI: 
10.1111/1747-0080.12625  

Perets, E. A., Chabeda, D., Gong, A. Z., Huang, X., Fung, T. S., Ng, K. Y., ... & Yan, E. C. (2020). 

Impact of the emergency transition to remote teaching on student engagement in a non-

STEM undergraduate chemistry course in the time of COVID-19. Journal of Chemical 

Education,  97( 9), 2439–244. 

Poncheri, R.M., Lindberg, J.T., Thompson, L.F., & Surface, E.A. (2008). A Comment on 

Employee Surveys: Negativity Bias in Open-Ended Responses. Organizational Research 

Methods, 11(3). DOI: 10.1177/1094428106295504, 614–630. 

Rahiem, M.D. (2020). The emergency remote learning experience of university students in 

indonesia amidst the COVID-19 crisis. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and 

Educational Research, 19(6), 1-26. 

Sahu, P. (2020). Closure of universities due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): impact on 

education and mental health of students and academic staff. Cureus, 12(4),12(4), e7541. 

DOI: 10.7759/cureus.7541 

Schultz, R.B., & DeMers, M.N. (2020). Transitioning from emergency remote learning to deep 

online learning experiences in geography education. Journal of Geography, 1-5. DOI: 

10.1080/00221341.2020.1813791 

Schoenenberg, K., Raake, A., & Koeppe, J. (2014). Why are you so slow? – Misattribution of 

transmission delay to attributes of the conversation partner at the far-end. International 

journal of human-computer studies, 72(5), 477-487. 

Sevillano-García, M.L., & Vázquez-Cano, E.  (2015).  The  impact  of  digital  mobile  devices  in  

higher education. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 18(1), 106-118. 

Sinacori, B. (2020). How nurse educators perceive the transition from the traditional classroom to 

the online environment: A qualitative inquiry. Nursing Education Perspectives, 41(1), 16-

19. DOI: 10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000490. 

Soltero Lopez, A., & Lopez, P. (2020). Expanding Our Reach: Cross-Institutional Collaborations 

and Teacher Preparation in Hispanic Serving Institutions. Journal of Culture and Values 

in Education, 3(1), 120-135. https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.03.01.8 

Soltovets, E., Chigisheva, O., & Dmitrova, A. (2020). The role of mentoring in digital literacy 

development of doctoral students at British universities. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, 

Science and Technology Education, 16(4), em1839. 

Strielkowski, W., Chigisheva, O. (2018). Research functionality and academic publishing: Gaming 

with altmetrics in the digital age. Economics and Sociology, 11(4), 306-316. 



 

  Novikov 

 

Tadeu, P., Fernandez Batanero, J., & Tarman, B. (2019). ICT in a Global World. Research in 

Social Sciences and Technology, 4(2), i-ii. https://doi.org/10.46303/ressat.04.02.ed  

Tarman, B. (2020). Editorial: Reflecting in the shade of pandemic. Research in Social Sciences 

and Technology, 5(2), I-IV. DOI: 10.46303/ressat.05.02.ed 

Tarman, B., & Dev, S. (2018). Editorial: Learning transformation through innovation and 

sustainability in educational practices. Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 3(1), 

i-ii. DOI: 10.46303/ressat.03.01.ed 

Van Popta, E. (2016). Exploring the value of peer feedback in online learning for the provider. 

Educational Research Review, 20. DOI: 10.1016/j.edurev.2016.10.003.