The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Challenge of Teaching English Online in Higher Institutions of Learning in Cameroon

Abstract

The resources of the internet have long served the English language teaching enterprise with varying levels of implementation and success. The Covid19-imposed lockdown in March, 2020 and the Prime Ministerial decision for higher institutions of learning in Cameroon to switch to online lectures fazed many staff, including those on the Use of English programmes in state universities. This study set out to describe Use of English teachers’ views about the place of the internet in English language instruction as well as their online teaching experiences during the Covid-19-imposed lockdown. A questionnaire survey was used to elicit data from thirty Use of English staff affiliated to the Universities of Buea and Bamenda. The findings highlight English language teachers’ firm belief in the potential of internet-based tools to facilitate not only English language learners’ display of 21st century learning skills but English language skills as well. However, not much success regarding the integration of the various internet-based tools was acknowledged. Limited Information and Communication Technology competence, lack of adequate training on how to teach online, poor internet connection, power failures, and high costs of internet subscription, were amongst the challenges enlisted by the subjects in this study. We recommend the effective integration of E-Learning as a post-pandemic pedagogy for Use of English staff in both universities under study.