Education
Overcoming the Challenges of Online ELT
A Chinese perspective
When the Ministry of Education in China announced a nationwide closure of schools and universities earlier this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak, many English language teachers in the country were caught off guard. Among them is Associate Professor Haifeng Pu of Tianjin University of Technology. Guidelines issued by the government and 2 weeks of teacher training conferences equipped them with tools and resources for online teaching. However, they were still unprepared for the challenges of transitioning to a virtual classroom.
What started as a temporary measure 6 months ago has now become the norm in the education industry. The need for social distancing has forced educational institutions across China (and the world) to embrace e-learning. Educators with little or no experience of online teaching were grappling with a relatively new teaching context.
In his journal article, Implementing Online ELT in the Time of Crisis: Ordeal or Opportunity, Mr. Pu recounts his personal experience of teaching English online. Having taught face-to-face for the past 15 years, he harboured reservations about digitizing his lessons. When the pandemic showed no signs of waning, he realized the status quo was unlikely to change in the coming months. He took stock of his performance, identifying the challenges of online ELT and tailoring solutions to his specific context.
The Challenges of Online ELT
The university teacher informs readers about 3 problems he faced adapting to the virtual classroom. His concerns about the e-learning system’s ability to facilitate the smooth and consistent delivery of online lessons, the adaptability of face-to-face lessons to the virtual context, and the limitations of online interactions between teachers and students are valid.
1) To enable course teachers to manage synchronous and asynchronous lessons as well as track students’ development, Tianjin University of Technology created a virtual learning environment (VLE). The system includes features and functions such as live streaming, assessment, and compiling feedback from students of the university. With an increasing number of students (in addition to the university staff) using the system everyday, the problem of a slow internet speed was more pronounced than before. This stifled Mr. Pu’s progress in terms of lesson planning and delivery.
Do I need to teach the students everything for an online English course that I would do in person?
2) Mr. Pu asked himself the above question when he and his colleagues at the university’s School of Languages and Culture were tasked with adapting their face-to-face lessons for the e-learning platform. Despite university guidelines for digitizing existing courses, the EFL teacher had to redesign activities for the virtual classroom and rethink assessment criteria to motivate online learners.
3) The widening communication gap between teachers and learners fuelled misgivings about the effectiveness of online communication. Mr. Pu observed that his students perceived his digital presence differently from his physical presence. His digital presence didn’t inspire his students with confidence in the same way his physical presence did. This prevented his learners from reaching their potential in the virtual classroom.
Overcoming the Challenges of Online ELT
1) To solve the problem of connectivity due to increased traffic, Mr. Pu resorted to external applications such as Tencent Meeting. A cloud-based video conferencing application popular in China, Tencent Meeting was used for live streaming lessons. This decreased the pressure on the university’s VLE which was used primarily for assessments and feedback.
2) To reconcile the course curriculum and the e-learning system, he did 3 things differently from his colleagues. First, he formatted integral parts of his course such as feedback from learners, lesson activities, and assessment to make them compatible with the VLE. Second, he reduced the time learners spent on the system by designing more asynchronous lessons that met course objectives. Third, he organized his course assignments and activities into a logical sequence on the e-learning platform. This helped his students achieve learning outcomes more effectively.
3) To encourage open communication and strengthen ties with his students, Mr. Pu created a digital learning community with a 3-pronged approach combining reciprocal learning, pair work, and group work. Online interaction with learners evolved in 3 stages: 1-to-1, partner-based, and group-based. Spoken English classes changed from question-answer sessions to pair and group discussions. A social media group formed for his course provided learners a safe space to share their feelings and opinions. Posting audio and/or video recordings to the group boosted students’ confidence and facilitated social connections in home confinement.
Further Considerations for Online ELT
When students of English expressed a desire for increased interaction with their teachers in an email to Mr. Pu, he reviewed existing literature on teacher-student communication. His research revealed that a productive learning experience is possible through a combination of 3 elements: a) cognitive presence, b) social presence, and c) teaching presence. Social presence is, by far, the most crucial since e-learning has become a key part of learners’ social communication.
A quick analysis of ongoing course modules unearthed another important consideration for optimizing students’ e-learning experience — data quality. The type of digital device (laptop or smartphone), the mode of internet connection (WiFi or mobile data), and internet bandwidth affect data quality. For this reason, Mr. Pu believes teachers must exploit the tools and applications available for the smooth delivery of online classes.
Conclusion
As the Covid-19 crisis lingers, e-learning will continue in China and around the world. With the new school year approaching in many countries, Mr. Pu’s experiences of online ELT can serve as lessons for teachers new to online teaching. Since contexts vary between locations, cultures, courses, and teaching styles, the solutions outlined above can be customized.
