In today’s situation, virtual learning is taking place in all the world’s universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was no mass distance learning and learning practice before the pandemic. Until a year ago, Latin medical terminology teachers knew how to teach and understood how their students think and learn. Gaining knowledge in practical medicine (biology, anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, clinical sciences, and so forth) is not the only task medical students face – they also need to learn how to read and write medical texts. For this reason, the teaching and learning of Latin medical terminology is an important part of the education and training of medical students.

This report is based on the approach that the environment of language studies is an important component in the process of teaching medical Latin to international students ([1], [2],). “Learning the Latin language is an integral part of preparing future doctors. The purpose of studying the terms remains one – to create the basis of the terminological system of a professional language” [6].

Universities use the same technologies to organize virtual learning; however, they choose the software according to their financial capabilities, study system needs, faculty experience and competences. Thus, the choice of software depends on the human factor, i.e. teachers, support staff, IT specialists, and the university administration. Online work at universities during the COVID-19 pandemic is fundamentally different from a cautious and slow transition from traditional teaching to online learning before the pandemic (say, one year ago). Therefore, it is expedient to discuss the present situation of specific studies at university as an extreme case.

„Moving instruction online can enable the flexibility of teaching and learning anywhere, anytime, but the speed with which this move to online instruction is expected to happen is unprecedented and staggering“ [8]. Prior to the pandemic, universities had the necessary infrastructure and staff to help faculty implement online learning. However, before the pandemic, only a small proportion of university lecturers employed technology and support staff, i.e. only those who were online teaching/learning enthusiasts. Thus, the process during the pandemic can be described as working in extreme conditions because of the following reasons:

1)      limited resources

2)      limited opportunities to train teachers, most of whom have never tried to work online before

3)      limited number of support staff

4)      a short period of time for the transition from traditional teaching to online teaching/learning.

In this case, the aim is not to create the best possible online learning system, but to create remote access for all university faculty and students. Change has not been easy: there are both positive and negative experiences ([9], [10], [11], [12], [13]). Thus, research on emergency remote teaching should highlight certain essential factors that are important for teachers and students to achieve their goals in a virtual learning environment.

Under the conditions discussed, it is important to make non-standard creative decisions. Moreover, it is specifically important to investigate the cases how universities have dealt with an emergency, as some solutions will be available for further development of online studies.

The aim is to determine the attitude of international students and their teachers to the distance teaching/learning of the basics of international professional terminology in Latin in a pandemic environment. The reseach is aimed at highlighting the positive and negative attitudes, and the main problems that arise in the activities of students and teachers.

The article is based on the theoretical positions that highlight constructivist attitudes, educational environments that are conducive to student empowerment, the preconditions for the emergence of deep learning, the differences in the learning environment, the educational environment and the issues of their relationship, and the specifics of modern learning and higher education ([3]; [4], [5], [7]). The participants of the research, i.e. first-year students (2020-2021) and the teachers working with them, were offered to answer the questions of the semi-structured (formalized) interview. This method was chosen to obtain one type of information from each informant. In the process of analyzing the obtained information, the answers were compared and classified, and categories and subcategories were distinguished. The study involved 20 international students (N = 20) and teachers working with them (N = 2). The study population is the target, convenient population in the context that is important for the study. Convenient selection was applied on the basis of inviting voluntary participation in the study. The interview contents were processed by applying content analysis.

The results of the study revealed that learning the basics of professional terminology in Latin at distance during the pandemic required a great deal of effort on the part of students and teachers to acquire new learning competencies related to employing information technologies. Although this caused a great deal of tension, the results achieved and the situation under control were gratifying and boosted self-confidence in learning. The results of the research also disclosed that this situation allowed to test the possibilities of distance communication; however, many methods and techniques of distance learning remained unused, as teachers and students tried to create a regular "classroom educational environment", only realized remotely.

[1]Y.V. Lysanets, O.M. Bieliaieva, (2018). “The use of Latin terminology in medical case reports: quantitative, structural, and thematic analysis.” Journal of Medical Case Reports volume 12, 45. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-018-1562-x. [2]J. Artimova, E. Butrime, , D. Gudaityte, S.Morkeviciene, "ICT application peculiarities in teaching/learning of professional medical terminology in the Latin language: case study." EDULEARN16 Proceedings : 8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies : Barcelona, Spain, 4-6 July, 2016 / International Academy of Technology, Education and Development (IATED) ; Edited by L. Gómez Chova, A. López Martínez, I. Candel Torres. [Barcelona]: IATED, 2016, ISBN 9788460888604. p. 347-356. [3]P. Juceviciene, D. Gudaityte, V. Karenauskaite, D. Lipinskiene, B. Stanikuniene, G. Tautkeviciene. Universiteto edukacine galia: atsakas 21-ojo amziaus issukiams: monografija. Kaunas : Technologija. 2010. [4]R. Barnett. The Idea of Higher Education. London: SRHE. 1990. [5]G. Petty. Irodymais pagrįstas mokymas. Praktinis vadovas. Vilnius: Tyto alba (in Lithuanian). 2008. [6]Stukalo О. А. “Latin terminology in the professional speech of future veterinarians” . Інноваційна педагогіка. Одесса: Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University, vol. 22, no 3, pp. 99-102. 2020. [7]Bujalkova, M., Dzuganova, B. “English and Latin Corpora of Medical Terms – A Comparative Study”. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE). Volume 2, no 12, December 2015, pp. 82-91. 2015. [8]Hodges, C. Moore S., Lockee B., Trust T., Bond A. The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Review. 2020. Retrieved from: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning. [9]Ramayah, B. and Kumar R. Challenges Towards Online Teaching During COVID 19 Pandemic in Malaysia: University Lecturers’ Perspective. ICERI2020 Proceedings. 13th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, 425-432. 2020. [10]Rizk N. Grouping student by learning style and covid status. ICERI2020 Proceedings. 13th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, 2341-2346. 2020. [11]Kucharczyk-Brus, B. and Mielcarski M. Higher Education under Crisis Conditions – Experiences from the Remote Teaching of Artistic and Design Subjects. ICERI2020 Proceedings. 13th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, 2582-2589. 2020. [12]Souleles, N. and Laghos, A. From Face-to-face to Online: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Rapid Transition of Higher Education Due to the Coronavirus Outbreak. ICERI2020 Proceedings. 13th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, 927-934. 2020. [13]Carrillo C., Assunção Flores M. COVID-19 and teacher education: a literature review of online teaching and learning practices. European Journal of Teacher Education Volume 43, 2020 - Issue 4. DOI: 10.1080/02619768.2020.1821184.