A Case Study on the Present State of English Language Education in the Rural Schools during Pandemic: Accounts of Teachers and Education Leaders

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the present state of English Language Education in rural schools during the pandemic. This study was seen through mainly on the concept of the Principle of Language Acquisition of Threshold Hypothesis of Cummins(2001) and the Time-on-Task Hypothesis of Rossell and Baker (1986), which are: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence. The study participants were teachers and education leaders who were teaching English Language Education in rural schools during the pandemic. Twelve teachers participated in an in-depth interview. They were selected using the purposive sampling method. Some challenges emerged, namely: constrained in giving immediate feedback limited self-assessment limited teacher participation in crafting interventions limited learning resources an unstable internet connection limited teacher training lack of knowledge and motivation in learning the English language distance from home to school lack of communication between teachers and students and limited parent literacy. The results also implied that teachers should be equipped with sufficient training in learning the English language competencies despite the pandemic. Also, teachers must consider devising new interventions to provide appropriate activities that will benefit each student. Moreover, language teachers must design various teaching strategies and creative innovations to aid every rural school student during the pandemic. It should also be combined with the habit of reading, as it has been discovered that it aids in learning English.