EFL Teachers' Perspective of Teaching Large Online Classes: Issues and Challenges Maraam M. Alutaybi  Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia Nurah S. Alfares Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia Abstract—This study aimed to explore Saudi tertiary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' perspective on teaching large online classes (LOCs) and investigate how they cope with the challenges associated with teaching. At the tertiary level, large class sizes have been the norm because of the restricted availability of teaching personnel and enormous student enrollments. A qualitative approach was used to collect data to achieve the aims of this study. Six EFL faculty members at Taif University English Language Centre were interviewed. The findings revealed that, notwithstanding the benefits of teaching LOCs, instructors encountered challenges due to a lack of student engagement, participation, motivation, technological issues, evaluating students and providing meaningful feedback, and classroom management. In addition, they suggested various ways to overcome these challenges. Index Terms—challenges, EFL, large online classes, perspective, tertiary level I. INTRODUCTION After the global COVID-19 pandemic, the educational system was one of the first to undergo drastic changes. Many countries have shifted toward distance learning. Since the start of school suspension in Saudi Arabia on March 9, 2020, the Ministry of Education has worked diligently to adapt public and higher education to online instruction (Oraif & Elyas, 2021). Consequently, the sudden shift from conventional regular classrooms to online education has presented both EFL students and teachers with enormous challenges (Akhter, 2020). The increasing number of Saudi university students is an obstacle to EFL instruction for teachers and students (Ur Rahman, 2020). Large class sizes have been the norm at the tertiary level because of the limited availability of teaching personnel and the tremendous number of student enrollments. These classes often serve as stepping stones for students' journeys to their majors (Stanley & Porter, 2002). Unfortunately, at Taif University in Saudi Arabia, many EFL online classes exceed eighty-five students. This large number has an impact on instructional practices and student engagement; professors are unable to communicate with students or monitor their progress. Although several studies have examined the impact of big classes on EFL instruction and the teachers' perceptions of teaching such classes (e.g., Bahanshal, 2013; Loh Epri, 2016; Siperto, 2018; Moghal et al., 2019; Ashraf, 2021; Dian Erlina et al., 2022), and other studies investigated the challenges of moving toward online classes in general (Dashtestani, 2014; Madalińska-Michalak & Bavli, 2018; Atmojo & Nugroho, 2020; Bao, 2020; Fansury et al., 2020; Lassoued et al., 2020; Ur Rahman, 2020), there is a lack of research in Saudi Arabia, particularly regarding the tertiary online classrooms and from the perspective of the faculty members. Thus, this study aimed to explore the Saudi tertiary EFL teachers' perceptions of the challenges in teaching large online classes (LOCs) and how they deal with them. The results will provide all stakeholders with a clearer understanding of the situation, raise awareness of the issue, and contribute to the body of knowledge regarding teaching and learning in large EFL classes. II. LITERATE REVIEW A. EFL Online Classes in Higher Education Distance learning has long been used as an alternative to traditional education. However, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities have shifted to relying solely on online education (Alshehri et al., 2020). All universities in Saudi Arabia have utilized Blackboard for online education and have delivered a variety of elective and general courses (Mahyoob, 2020). This platform includes features that enable the registration and evaluation of learner and teacher activities and promote the delivery of lectures and interactions between students, their peers, and teachers (Coman et al., 2020). Forums that enable asynchronous student-teacher contact and collaboration, web conferences that allow video, audio, and textual communication, and chats where users may post messages and get replies in real time are among the most significant functionalities of online learning platforms (Cacheiro-Gonzalez et al., 2019).  Corresponding Author. ISSN 1798-4769 Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 255-262, January 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1501.28 © 2024 ACADEMY PUBLICATION