Dealing with Emergency Remote Teaching: The Case of Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Turkey

Abstract

Education has been offered in the form of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) worldwide since March 2020 due to the spread of Covid-19. This compulsory transition has often been marked by disregard of the technological infrastructure of educational institutions, digital literacy skills of teachers and students, and their access to technology. A growing body of research discusses challenges faced in ERT; however, further studies are needed to arrive at validated conclusions to inform formal language teaching and learning. Against this backdrop, this qualitative study aimed at adding context-dependent knowledge to the literature by reporting on the case of university students majoring in language teaching. For this reason, the perceptions of a group of 67 pre-service English language teachers on ERT practices at a Turkish state university were explored. Data were collected through an interview form developed by the researchers and a focus group interview. The data were analysed inductively using content analysis. Half of the participants reported that specific skills were conducive to doing tasks in an ERT environment. They not only reported a variety of challenges related to the perceived ineffectiveness of learning, technical insufficiency, and inappropriateness of the learning environment, but also acknowledged contributions to their personal and academic development. That is, they found ERT flexible, time-saving, and favourable for learners who felt more confident in virtual classrooms, and some considered ERT as an opportunity for self-actualisation. Nonetheless, the majority favoured face-to-face education over ERT appreciating the enhanced effectiveness of in-class education. In sum, the study emphasises the need to support learners and teachers by providing instructions and strategies on how to organise learning and teaching. Moreover, schools, policy makers, and governmental authorities may need to provide ERT-tailored programmes and an infrastructure in terms of technical equipment to meet the requirements of education delivered in ERT and to realise effective language learning in virtual environments. Broadening the knowledge base concerning ERT in language teacher education, this study advises to address drawbacks of ERT and to take advantage of its opportunities.

Ventajas, inconvenientes y retos COVID-19: profesorado en lenguas extranjeras de Costa Rica

“…Este inconveniente técnico y financiero en la enseñanza remota de emergencia produjo, además, una desventaja pedagógica para el personal docente, ya que, si el alumnado no estaba presente en las clases sincrónicas por falta de internet o de ordenador, no podría interactuar ni participar en las conversaciones con el profesorado ni tampoco podría responder a las preguntas que se le formulaban. Ağçam et al (2021) también señalaron en su estudio la ausencia de interacción como uno de los problemas más grandes en el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera. Este fenómeno fue mencionado por el personal docente, puesto que el hecho de que el estudiantado no encendiera las cámaras ni los micrófonos en clase impedía su participación en las sesiones sincrónicas.…”

“…Juárez-Díaz y Perales (2021) expusieron también el aprendizaje activo del estudiantado, ya que era el principal protagonista de su propio proceso de aprendizaje. Ağçam et al (2021), Berber (2022) y Nomnian (2022) agregaron la flexibilidad, la libertad y la conveniencia del proceso educativo. Ağçam et al (2021) señalaron que la educación remota de emergencia favorecía la oportunidad de mejorar el conocimiento de las tecnologías en la enseñanza de lenguas.…”

“…Ağçam et al (2021), Berber (2022) y Nomnian (2022) agregaron la flexibilidad, la libertad y la conveniencia del proceso educativo. Ağçam et al (2021) señalaron que la educación remota de emergencia favorecía la oportunidad de mejorar el conocimiento de las tecnologías en la enseñanza de lenguas. Berber (2022) indicó que el estudiantado podía revisar los vídeos o las lecciones grabados en cualquier momento, aunque se ausentara de la clase.…”

“…Tao y Gao (2022) mencionaron la falta de compromiso del estudiantado en el aprendizaje y el desconocimiento del progreso del alumnado en la virtualidad. Ağçam et al (2021) expresaron, además, que la educación remota de emergencia no favorecía la práctica en clase, puesto que existía menos interacción entre estudiante y docente.…”

A Completely New and Sudden Reality: English Language Teacher’s Voices on Emergency Remote Teaching in Indonesian Pesantren Schools

“…In the field of ELT, the issue of emergency remote teaching has also spurred interest of many researchers across the globe such as USA (Moser et al, 2021), Arab league countries (Hazaea et al, 2021), Turkey (Ağçam et al, 2021), Hong Kong (Forrester, 2020), China (Talidong, 2020), UK (Jones, 2020), South Korea (Yi & Jang, 2020), Oman (Naqvi & Zehra, 2020), Singapore (Ng, 2020), and so forth. In Indonesian context, most studies on emergency remote teaching, particularly in the field of English language teaching, have addressed teachers' and students' activities, challenges, and insights in higher education level (Atmojo & Nugroho, 2020;Rahiem, 2020;Abdullah, 2021;Ginting et al, 2021;Cahyadi et al, 2021).…”