Despite the growing body of research on boredom in traditional, in-person English classes, little is known about how this silent, aversive emotion is experienced by students learning English in online classes prompted by the current COVID-19 health crisis. To fill this gap, the present study explores causes of and solutions to boredom as well as the time of class deemed more/less boring by 208 English major students in Iran. Drawing on maximum variation sampling, the data, collected through a written, open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, were thematically analyzed through MAXQDA (Version 2020) to derive themes relating to the issues under investigation. Findings revealed that (1) teachers’ long, monotonous monologues, lack of student participation, logistical problems, and carelessly chosen, repetitive tasks were the main sources of boredom; (2) most of the suggested solutions revolved around making the class livelier through more teacher-student interaction, improving inter-personal relationships, and solving technological problems; and (3) although boredom may be experienced throughout online English classes, even at the outset, it tends to reach its apex towards the end. The findings are discussed in terms of lessons for teachers and teacher educators to improve the experience of online English education during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

尽管对传统面对面英语课程中的无聊问题进行了越来越多的研究，但人们对在当前 COVID-19 健康危机引发的在线课程中学习英语的学生如何体验这种沉默、厌恶的情绪知之甚少。为了填补这一空白，本研究探讨了无聊的原因和解决方案，以及伊朗 208 名英语专业学生认为无聊的原因和上课时间。利用最大变异抽样，通过书面、开放式问卷和半结构化访谈收集的数据通过 MAXQDA（2020 版）进行主题分析，以得出与所调查问题相关的主题。调查结果显示：（1）教师冗长、单调的独白，学生参与度低，后勤问题，选拔不慎，重复性任务是无聊的主要来源；(2) 大部分建议的解决方案都是围绕通过更多的师生互动、改善人际关系和解决技术问题来使课堂更生动；(3) 尽管在整个在线英语课程中都可能会感到无聊，即使是在一开始，它也往往会在接近尾声时达到顶峰。研究结果将针对教师和教师教育工作者的课程进行讨论，以改善 COVID-19 大流行期间及之后的在线英语教育体验。即使在一开始，它也往往会在接近尾声时达到顶点。研究结果将针对教师和教师教育工作者的课程进行讨论，以改善 COVID-19 大流行期间及之后的在线英语教育体验。即使在一开始，它也往往会在接近尾声时达到顶点。研究结果将针对教师和教师教育工作者的课程进行讨论，以改善 COVID-19 大流行期间及之后的在线英语教育体验。