When “Technology Saves Us”: Exploring and Theorizing Pandemic Pedagogies in Adult ELT Contexts

Kisha Bryan, Quanisha Charles

Abstract


Educators continue to grapple with the ever-changing dynamics of COVID-19 and its effects on teaching and learning. As such, this study contributes to the limited research on the challenges and supports of English language teachers (ELTs) who work with adult learners. Much of the research on teaching during the pandemic has amplified the voices of students, K-12 teachers, and higher education faculty who teach in disciplines where courses are often already offered in online or hybrid formats. In this paper, the researchers highlight the experiences of ELTs in global settings during the onset of the pandemic, when school closure was a necessity and emergency remote teaching was seemingly the only alternative. Utilizing qualitative methodology, data was collected via questionnaires. The researchers provide a thematic analysis of teacher participants’ coping strategies, fears, hopes, challenges, and successes of what is termed ‘pandemic pedagogies for ELT’. The findings suggest that despite the ability for technology to save us, there is a need for more effective ways of responding to and caring for the English language teaching communities amid a global pandemic.

Keywords


adult learners, COVID-19, emergency remote teaching, online education, pandemic pedagogy

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abidah, A., Hidaayatullaah, H. N., Simamora, R. M., Fehabutar, D., & Mutakinati, L. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 to Indonesian education and its relation to the philosophy of "Merdeka Belajar". Studies in Philosophy of Science and Education (SiPoSE), 1 (1), 38-49.

Aboagye, E., Yawson, J. A., & Appiah, K. N. (2020). COVID-19 and e-learning the challenges of students in tertiary institutions in Ghana. Social Education Research, 1(1), 1–7. Available at: 10.37256/ser.122020422

Al-Jarf, R. (2020). Distance learning and undergraduate Saudi students' agency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bulletin of the Transylvania University of Braşov, Series IV: Philology & Cultural Studies, 13(2), 37-54.

Amri, Z. & Alasmari, N. (2021). Self-efficacy of Saudi English Majors after the Emergent Transition to Online Learning and Online Assessment during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Higher Education, 10(3). Available at :10.5430/ijhe.v10n3p127

Arshad, A., Afzal, M., & Hussain, M. S. (2020). Sudden Switch to Post-COVID-19 Online Classes and Cognitive Transformation of ESL Learners: Critical Analysis of Discourse of Fear. Research Journal of Social Sciences and Economics Review, 1(3), 188-199.

Asonze, J., Mkpa, I., & Yock, J. U. (2020). Exploring the effects of COVID-19 online English language learning and adult ESL learners in Nigeria. Rivers State University Journal of Education, 23 (1 & 2). ISSN:2735-9840.

Atmojo, E.P.A., & Nugroho, A. (2020). EFL Classes must go Online! Teaching Activities and Challenges during COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia. Register Journal, 13(1), 49-76. Available at 10.18326/rgt.v13i1.49-76.

Bao, W. (2020) COVID-19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking University. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(2), pp. 113-115.

Duraku, Z. H., & Hoxha, L. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on education and on the wellbeing of teachers, parents, and students: Challenges related to remote (online) learning and opportunities for advancing the quality of education. 1-28.

Fansbury, A.H., January, R., Rahman, A.W., & Syawal. (2020). Digital content for millennial generations: Teaching the English foreign language learner on COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Southwest Jiaotong University, 55 (3). Available from http://jsju.org/index.php/journal/article/view/630.

Garcia, A. & Villegas, L. (April 13, 2022). Educating English Learners During the Pandemic: Insights from Experts, Advocates, and Practitioners. New America. Available from https://search.issuelab.org/resource/educating-english-learners-during-the-pandemic-insights-from-experts-advocates-and-practitioners.html

Gibbs, G.R. (2007). Thematic coding and categorizing, analyzing qualitative data. SAGE Publications, Ltd., London. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849208574

Glew, S.T., Oto, R., & Mayo, J.B. (2020). With love: Attempting to instill the lasting value of humanity while teaching during a global pandemic. Journal of International Social Studies, 10(2), National Council for Social Studies International Assembly http://www.iajiss.org ISSN: 2327-3585

Hartshorn, K. J., & McMurry, B. L. (2020). The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on ESL learners and TESOL practitioners in the United States. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 2(2), 140-156.

Herrera, L. J. P., Martínez-Alba, G., & Trinh, E. (Eds.). (2022). Teacher Well-Being in English Language Teaching: An Ecological Approach. Taylor & Francis.

Hijazi, D. & AlNatour, A. (2021) Online Learning Challenges Affecting Students of English in an EFL Context during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Education and Practice, 9(2), 379-395

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Educause Review Online. Retrieved March 27, 2020, from: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning

Kamisli, M. U., & Akinlar, A. (2022). Emergency Distance Education Experiences of EFL Instructors and Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Adult Learning, 10451595221094075.

Klimovich, N., & Zhdanovich, V. (2022). Teaching Adults: Learning Languages in the Pandemic Span. Adult English Language Teaching, 125-143.

Li L., Flynn KS, DeRosier ME, Weiser G and Austin-King K. (2021). Social-Emotional Learning Amidst COVID-19 School Closures: Positive Findings from an Efficacy Study of Adventures Aboard the S.S. GRIN Program. Front Education. 6:683142. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2021.683142

Manoharan, S. R., Hua, T. K., & Sultan, F. M. M. (2022). A Comparison of Online Learning Challenges Between Young Learners and Adult Learners in ESL Classes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Critical Review. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 12(1), 28-35.

Mahyoob, M. (2020). Challenges of e-Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic Experienced by EFL Learners. Arab World English Journal, 11(4) 351-362. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no4.23

Moorhouse, B.L. & Kohnke, L. (2021). Responses of the English-Language-Teaching Community to the COVID-19 Pandemic. RELC Journal, 52(30), December 2021, pp. 359-378. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882211053052

Reimers, F., Schleicher, A., Saavedra, J. & Tuominen, S. (2020). Supporting the continuation of teaching and learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Annotated resources for online learning. Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. Available from https://www.oecd.org/education/Supporting-the-continuation-of-teaching-and-learning-during-the-COVID-19-pandemic.pdf

Ribeiro, R. (2020) Teacher Experiences: Teaching Adult English during Covid-19 Pandemic. [Online] Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/07/02/teacher-experiences-teaching-adults-english-covid-19/

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860.

Safira, Y. F., Hadi, M. S., & Zaitun. (2021). An analysis of English language teaching activities during covid-19 pandemic at SMP Purnama Jakarta. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 9(2), 212-219, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v9i2.3528

Sahu, P. (2020). Closure of universities due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Impact on education and mental health of students and academic staff. Cureus, 12(4), e7541.

Seyyed-Abdolhamid, M. (2022) COVID-19 and Language Education: Lessons of a Pandemic for English Teaching. Changing English, 29(1), 3-11. DOI: 10.1080/1358684X.2021.2001642

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage Publications, Inc.

Sufyan, A., Hidayat, D. N., Lubis, A., Kultsum, U., Defianty, M., & Suralaga, F. (2020, October). Implementation of E learning during a pandemic: Potentials and challenges. In 2020 8th International Conference on Cyber and IT Service Management (CITSM) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

Vivoni-Suarez, J. (2021). Students’ perceptions on the effectiveness of online interaction strategies in English as a second language teaching: Study on higher education Puerto Rican students during the COVID-19 pandemic (Doctoral dissertation, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico).

Wahyuningsih, S., & Afandi, M. (2022). Incorporating English Skills in Blended Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Inquiry. Elsya: Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3).

Wang, C. X. (2020). CAFE: An Instructional Design Model to Assist K-12 Teachers to Teach Remotely during and beyond the Covid19 Pandemic. TechTrends.

Yi, Y, Jang, J. (2020). Envisioning possibilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications from English language teaching in South Korea. TESOL Journal, 11(543), https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.543




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v7i3.922

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.




JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics); Web: www.jeltl.org; Email:journal.eltl@gmail.com

Creative Commons License
JELTL by http://www.jeltl.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License


Indexed and Abstracted BY: