TEFL PROFESSORS' E-LEARNING EXPERIENCES DURING THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC

Sumer Salman Abou Shaaban

doi:10.46827/ejfl.v5i1.3202

Abstract

This study aimed at revealing teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) professors' eLearning experiences during the Covid 19 pandemic in the Gaza Strip higher education institutions. For this end, the researcher designed a (20) open-ended questions questionnaires to be completed by (32) TEFL professors in (8) Palestinian higher education institutions. Results showed that TEFL professors need training to develop their skills in designing, developing and drawing action plan for TEFL e-courses that achieve the objectives of foreign language teaching\ learning. Palestinian TEFL professors spent (4- 7) hours daily preparing, meeting, guiding, helping and facilitating learning by using different eLearning programs and network social media such as Moodle, Google classroom, Zoom, WhatsApp and Facebook. They adopted different teaching methods as well as different types of evaluation and following up in order to measure the objectives achievement; however, they neglected developing thinking and real life skills. The most challenges for both TEFL professors and learners were insufficient knowledge about eLearning and technical problems. TEFL professors action plan was focused on reducing the number of activities and drawing clear procedures with all the needed tools and activities for each objective in the course. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends that higher education institutions should provide training courses in the field of eLearning for both learners and professors, prepare a guide for designing and developing e-courses and provide professional technicians for maintenance of equipment and should regularly fix various technical malfunctions. Article visualizations:<img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0656/a.php" alt="Hit counter" />

Highlights

Higher education institutions sought to provide a new form of education that fits with the current situation, so they adopted eLearning as an alternative in order to ensure the continuation of the educational process
The first one includes three questions about professors' general information while the second one presents seventeen questions which enable teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) professors reflect on their eLearning experience. (95) professors were asked to complete the questionnaire but only (32) responded
A: General Information about TEFL Professors The first part of the open questionnaire which consisted of three questions were asked about general information

Summary

Introduction

Sumer Salman Abou Shaaban TEFL PROFESSORS' E-LEARNING EXPERIENCES DURING THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC aspects of life which is unacceptable in a world. In the Gaza Strip, all higher education institutions rely on face-to-face learning and sometimes blend with eLearning which not all professors favour. During the Covid 19 pandemic the majority of higher education institutions have asked professors to use different eLearning programs besides using social networks. In other words, they based on facilitated instructor-led eLearning courses and student-centered learning. They based on facilitated instructor-led eLearning courses and student-centered learning This type provides "different levels of support from tutors and instructors and collaboration among learners" (Kavitha and Lohani, 2019). "it offers a great flexibility in the educational methodology, in the administration of contents, in the synchronous and/or asynchronous interaction between teachers and learners, in the organization and in the structure of the course, in the educational plans, in the support, the tracking and the evaluation of the student" (Della, La Mura & Petrino, 2005)

Objectives

Methods

Results