Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic required an abrupt shift to online education. In Indonesia, where WhatsApp is a popular communication tool, teachers moved from face-to-face delivery to sharing teaching materials via WhatsApp. This study investigated teachers’ and learners’ perceptions, practices, and challenges of utilizing WhatsApp as a primary teaching and learning tool amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed quantitative and qualitative method was used to identify 119 EFL teachers’ and 198 learners’ perceptions, practices, and challenges of using WhatsApp in East Java senior high schools. The findings revealed discrepancies in perceptions between EFL teachers and learners regarding WhatsApp's overall perceptions, ease of use, and usefulness. Results indicate that WhatsApp can be a suitable primary tool for teaching and learning, rather than being limited to its more traditional role as a supporting tool. Considerations for increasing the effectiveness of WhatsApp for teaching and learning are discussed.
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