Adaptation to Emergency Remote Teaching: Perspectives from Instructors Teaching in English Preparatory Programs

The present study investigates the experiences of English language instructors (ELIs) teaching at tertiary-level English preparatory programs during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT), which was imposed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Adopting a cross-sectional survey design, the researchers developed a questionnaire to explore reflections of ELIs concerning their remote teaching experiences, the changes that took place in their teaching practice, the challenges and issues negatively affected their instruction and their overall attitudes towards ERT. The results indicated that the majority of ELIs were not involved in remote teaching prior to ERT, however they reported to have an average or above average expertise in teaching remotely. It was also revealed that ERT caused an increase in the time allocated for lesson preparation and a decrease in teaching time in virtual classrooms. ELIs also indicated that of all the factors that negatively affected their teaching practice, student-related issues disrupted ERT most. Finally, even though ELIs displayed a positive attitude towards remote teaching, they did not believe that ERT provided an effective learning experience for students and that remote teaching could potentially substitute for traditional face-to-face instruction. The study presents some implications in developing, organizing and implementing planned remote teaching of languages.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

English Language Instructors (ELIs), English Preparatory Programs, COVID 19, Emergency Remote Teaching, English (ERT)

PDF

___

Adedoyin, O. B., & Soykan, E. (2020). Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: The challenges and opportunities. Interactive Learning Environments. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1813180
Akbana, Y. E., Rathert, S. & Ağçam, R. (2021). Emergency remote education in foreign and second language teaching. Turkish Journal of Education, 10(2), 97-124. https://doi.org/10.19128/turje.865344
Artino, A. R. (2010). Online or face-to-face learning? Exploring the personal factors that predict students' choice of instructional format, The Internet and Higher Education, 13(4), 272-276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.07.005
Bruns, C., Herrmann, T., Böckmann-Barthel, M., Rothkötter, H. J., Bernarding, J., Plaumann, M. (2021). IT support in emergency remote teaching in response to COVID-19. GMS Journal for Medical Education, 38(1).
Bozkurt, A. & Sharma, R. C. (2020). Emergency remote teaching in a time of global crisis due to CoronaVirus pandemic. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), i-vi. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3778083
Cheung, A. (2021). Synchronous online teaching, a blessing or a curse? Insights from EFL primary students’ interaction during online English lessons, System, 100, 102566 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102566
Couper, M. P. (2005). Technology trends in survey data collection, Social Science Computer Review 23(4), 486–501.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dörnyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration and Processing. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Erarslan, A. (2021). English language teaching and learning during Covid-19: A global perspective on the first year. Journal of Educational Technology & Online Learning, 4(2), 349-367. http://doi.org/10.31681/jetol.907757
Felix, U. (2008). The unreasonable effectiveness of CALL: What have we learned in two decades of research? ReCALL, 20(2), 141-161. doi:10.1017/S0958344008000323
Fishbane, L., & Tomer, A. (2020). As classes move online during COVID-19, what are disconnected students to do? March 20 Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/03/20/as-classes-move-online-during-covid-19-what-aredisconnected-students-to-do/
Fryer, L. K & Bovee, H. N. (2016). Supporting students’ motivation for e-learning: teachers matter on and offline. Internet and Higher Education, 30, 21-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.03.003
Hakim, B. (2020). Technology integrated online classrooms and the challenges faced by the EFL teachers in Saudi Arabia during the Covid-19 pandemic. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 9(5), 33–39. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.9n.5p.33
Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Retrieved from HYPERLINK https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning
Gacs, A., Goertler, S. & Spasova, S. (2020). Planned online language education versus crisis-prompted online language teaching: Lessons for the future. Foreign Language Annals, 53, 380–392. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12460
Guillen, G., Sawin, T. & Avineri, N. (2020). Zooming out of the Crisis: Language and Human Collaboration. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 320-328.
UNESCO. (2020). Education: From disruption to recovery. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse.
Lin, C. & Warschauer, M. (2015). Online Foreign Language Education: What Are the Proficiency Outcomes? The Modern Language Journal, 99, 394-397.
Kessler, G. & Hubbard, P. (2017). Language Teacher Education and Technology. In C.A. Chapelle and S. Sauro (Eds.) The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118914069.ch19
Kurtoğlu, P. (2016). Expectations, experiences, and suggestions of newly-hired instructors: A mixed-method, study at a foundation university in Turkey. [Unpublished Master Thesis]. Middle East Technical University.
Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., & Dearden, J. (2018). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Language Teaching, 51(1), 36-76. doi:10.1017/S0261444817000350
MacIntyre, P. D., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2020). Language teachers’ coping strategies during the Covid-19 conversion to online teaching: Correlations with stress, wellbeing and negative emotions. System, 94, 102352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102352
Mercer, N. (1994). Neo-Vygotskian theory and classroom education. In B. Steerer & J. Maybin (Eds.), Language, literacy, and learning in educational practice: A reader (92-110). Bristol, PA, USA: Multilingual Matters.
Moser, K. M., Wei, T. & Brenner, D. (2021). Remote teaching during COVID-19: Implications from a national survey of language educators, System, 97, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102431
Murphy, L., Eduljee, N. B. & Croteau, K. (2020). College students transition to synchronous virtual classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northeastern United States. Pedagogical Research, 5(4), https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/8485
Pourtoussi, Z., Ghanizadeh, A., & Mousavi, V. (2018). A Qualitative In-depth Analysis of the Determinants and Outcomes of EFL Teachers’ Motivation and Demotivation. International Journal of Instruction, 11(4), 175-190.
Sarac, Y. (2020, April 18). Preparing a national roadmap for online higher education. University World News, https://covid19.yok.gov.tr/Documents/AnaSayfa/Preparing-a%20national-roadmap-for-online-higher-education-UWN.pdf
Shim, T. E., & Lee, S. Y. (2020). College students' experience of emergency remote teaching due to COVID-19. Children and youth services review, 119, 105578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105578
Trentin, G. (2007). Pedagogical sustainability of network-based distance education in university teaching. In E. P. Bailey (Ed.) Focus on distance education developments (79–106). Nova Science Publishers Inc.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
White, C. J. (2017). Distance Language Teaching with Technology. In C. A. Chapelle & S. Sauro (Eds.), The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning (134–148): Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley.