Investigating Communication Barriers in Technology-Supported Teaching–Learning Processes: A Quantitative Study of BSL-Level Students in Government Universities of Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

The teaching-learning process requires proper communication between the teachers and students, especially in technologies-mediated environments. Nonetheless, advancement of communication technologies in pedagogy may cause obstacles that hinder the interaction and learning process. The quantitative research design, in this study, explores the factors between teachers and students that lead to communication barriers during technology-based instruction. The study sample included 100 BS-level students of government universities in Lahore, Pakistan, who were chosen valuing convenience sampling. The information was gathered through the use of a designed questionnaire that measured major aspects of communication barrier factors, such as technological barriers, language barriers, understanding of the teaching messages, delay in getting feedbacks, and involvement of students. The intensity and pattern of these barriers were evaluated using descriptive and inferential statistics, such as mean scores, standard deviations and correlation analysis. The results denote that the technological constraints, the lack of opportunities to interact with each other, postponed reaction time, the low level of digital literacy, and incomprehensible instructions have a great influence on teacher-student communication. This paper is an empirical study concerning interaction dynamics in technology mediated learning and can be used to support the literature by introducing quantitative information to the field involving the Pakistani university students. The findings may guide the teachers, policymakers and learning institutions on creating methods to improve communication and maximize technology-based instructional methods.