A Road Map to English Language Teaching in the Post-Pandemic Era: An Adaptation of Pedagogical Authority Approach

Abstract

This case study expounds on the practices of critical pedagogical approach of English language teaching by introducing pedagogical authority, which has three dimensions: didactic, pedagogic, and deontic. The study specifically places its emphasis on the implementation during the COVID pandemic: The early time of the pandemic, when teaching was fully online, and after returning to campus, when teaching followed the blended mode. The study identified various pedagogical authority practices representing the three dimensions in the two stages based on the reflective journals and interviews with four language teachers, albeit to varying degrees depending on the length of teaching experience. Physical interaction was identified as a very important aspect of pedagogic and deontic interactions in face-to-face classrooms, while critical thinking was found to be more recurrent in virtual classrooms, which creates more space for didactic and pedagogic practices. The findings of this study will encourage language teachers to rethink their teaching practices in the new post-pandemic era. Additionally, it will contribute to available practices of critical pedagogy approach for language teaching during emergencies.