Abstract:

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.

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