Ecuadorian university English teachers' reflections on emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 appeared at the beginning of 2020, affecting, among others, the education industry. As a result, a lock-down quarantine was declared, and on-campus classes were suspended. Accordingly, emergency remote teaching (ERT) was set into motion to solve the education issue. This investigation surveyed 20 Ecuadorian polytechnic university English teachers and obtained their reflections on their experience with ERT. This paper bases on mixed-methods research that used a Likert-scaled survey and interviews to respond to the established research questions. The results show that, in a general sense, teachers were not ready for the sudden shift to ERT, which generated feelings of anxiety. The most significant disadvantage reported was the extra workload caused by adapting materials and giving feedback to students.COVID-19 struck at the beginning of 2020, affecting, among others, the education industry. As a result, a lockdown quarantine was declared, and on-campus classes were suspended. Accordingly, emergency remote teaching (ERT) was set into motion to solve the education issue. This research aimed to obtain the reflections of 20 Ecuadorian polytechnic university English teachers on their experiences using ERT during two semesters. This paper is based on an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design that used a Likert-scale survey and interviews to respond to the established research questions. In a general sense, the findings show that teachers were not ready for the sudden shift to ERT at the beginning of the pandemic, which generated feelings of anxiety. The most significant disadvantage reported was the extra workload caused by adapting materials and giving feedback to students. The study suggests that changing classes from on-campus to emergency remote teaching was not easy to carry out at the beginning of the pandemic. There are practical implications for language department managers as it gives them light to prepare for the continuing pandemic and any other crisis that might require ERT to be in practice again.