Abstract
This article examined the ways in which students and their classroom communication were affected by the required transition to remote, online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand the impact, a study was conducted using an online survey in an English department at a public four-year university, which has historically offered few, if any, online courses. Participants were students who were enrolled in courses before, during, and after the transition to required, remote online instruction. The research indicated that the participants felt isolated and that there was a lack of community in the classroom. Majority of the participants deemed face-to-face instruction as superior to online instruction; in online learning environments, participants had difficulty maintaining and establishing academic relationships and faced technological, social, and learning challenges, which affected their ability and desire to academically and socially engage. Further, participants had to develop methods in order to better communicate and learn in online courses.