Impact of COVID-19 in an ESP course: An unforeseen adaptation to distance teaching

Abstract

The unexpected COVID-19 outbreak in the middle of the school year 2019-2020 and the subsequent declaration of the state of emergency by the Spanish government brought about a dramatic change in classroom structure along with digital innovation at all levels worldwide. Traditional classes inevitably needed to be shifted to an unprecedented as well as unexpected non-face-to-face model that both teachers and students had to use without prior training and which, consequently, required great effort and dedication. This article describes a case study of this adaptation process as it actually ensued in an eminently practical subject. On the other hand, it also examines the students’ perception based on an assessment survey on the methodology and activities implemented along the course. The results show the right and wrong choices made in the process, the students’ opinion about them together with potential solutions to correct the bad practices identified in the study. Finally, this article shows the extraordinary evolution of the use of new technologies in education as unforeseen one year ago.