Effect of Distance Learning on Iranian EFL Students’ Motivation with a Focus on Gender

Distance learning has gained more significance in recent years. The present study intended to investigate whether there was any statistically significant correlation between motivation and learning English through Shad and WhatsApp as perceived by Iranian high school language learners. Furthermore, the study aimed to find out whether the participants’ gender moderated the relationship between motivation and learning English through Shad and WhatsApp. To fulfill these aims, a correlational study was set up and data were collected from 169 male and female learners, some of whom were exposed to WhatsApp and the rest received Shad as their English language class platforms. Data elicited from the motivation questionnaire and English language test of the learners were analyzed through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson correlation, and Fisher's z transformation formula to come up with the results of the study. The findings revealed that there was a moderate, positive, and statistically significant relationship between motivation and English learning of the WhatsApp-group learners. Moreover, it was found that there was a weak, positive, and statistically significant relationship between motivation and English learning of the Shad-group learners, and gender did not have a moderating role in the relationship between motivation and English earning of the learners, neither in the WhatsApp nor in the Shad groups. The implications of the study are presented and discussed.