During the COVID-19 pandemic, the online learning of foreign languages at higher education level has represented a way to adapt to the restrictions imposed worldwide. The aim of the present article is to analyse university students’ behaviours, emotions and perceptions associated to online foreign language learning during the pandemic and their correlates by using a mixed approach. The research used the Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) scale and tools developed by the authors, focusing on task value, self-perceived foreign language proficiency, stressors and responses in online foreign language learning during the pandemic. Some of the results, such as the negative association between anxiety and FLE, are consistent with those revealed in studies conducted in normal times. Other results are novel, such as the protective role of retrospective enjoyment in trying times or the higher level of enjoyment with lower-achieving students. Reference is made to students’ preferences for certain online resources during the pandemic (e.g., preference for PowerPoint presentations) and to their opinions regarding the use of entirely or partially online foreign language teaching in the post-COVID period. The quantitative results are fostered by the respondents’ voices in the qualitative research. The consequences of these results are discussed with respect to the teacher-student relationship in the online environment and to the implications for sustainable online foreign language learning.

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Reducing students’ dropout rate is a major challenge for universities. Based on a quantitative approach, this study aims to analyze and explain students’ dropout intention at the largest forestry school in Romania by collecting data in their first two months of the academic year prior to failing any courses. The study participants are undergraduate freshmen, male and female students, and the tools are psychological instruments commonly used or specifically developed for this study. Our findings partly confirm previous results, such as the higher intention of dropping out among male students compared to females, and also among students with admission GPA lower or equal to seven, on a GPA scale from 1 to 10, and among students from families with low income. Dropout intention can be explained by the academic performance expectancy, gender, family, socio-economic status, and perceived barriers to completion of studies. There were no differences regarding whether students were from urban or rural areas, proximity of university to home, and high school academic program. Our results may help to implement efficient measures for increasing student retention.