ESL Lecturers’ Adaptation to the New-Norm of Online Teaching in Malaysia

Abstract

Since March 2020 in Malaysia, tertiary educational sectors have been forced to shift to online classrooms under the Movement Control Order (MCO). The abrupt change to online learning has affected educators’ style of teaching and in navigating themselves for online classrooms. This study aimed to investigate ESL lecturers’ adaptation to online teaching and learning during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Malaysia. This paper adopted a case-study approach with four lecturers were interviewed. The findings of this study indicate that lecturers use online platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom. Additional applications such as Kahoot, Quizizz and Padlets are also used to reinforce students’ English skills. Additionally, issues on the effectiveness of online learning such as Internet connectivity, the paradigm shift from traditional to online classrooms are highlighted by the participants. The findings also highlighted other factors, such as understanding motivational strategies, language learner’s needs, and Sociocultural factors. This paper provides ramifications of online learning such as incentive, laptop rental, and mastering the applications of technology in education.