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ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING DURING THE COVID CRISIS: ONLINE CLASSES AND UPSKILLING TEACHERS

Since many countries have imposed a lockdown on movement, and many schools have subsequently closed their doors, vast numbers of previously tech-shy teachers are having to learn very quickly how to teach using online resources. This might be through delivering lessons using virtual classrooms or providing online self-study material for students, both of which may be new modes of lesson delivery for many.

Since the rise of the internet in the 1990s, English language (EL) teachers have had what might be described as a difficult relationship with technology. Initial teacher education has been slow to embrace digital ways of teaching and learning, meaning that many EL teachers feel that they have been poorly prepared to use technology in their teaching (Clark, 2018). Consequently, many EL teachers have been resistant to the digital wave which has revolutionised other areas of our lives. Understandably, there are a number of worries which teachers have regarding introducing technology into teaching. Three of the most common are:

• Technology is isolating – learner interaction is limited, and dissimilar to the kind of ways that they will be required to use language in the real world.

• Teachers are being deskilled, and the essence of teaching is being lost.

• The rise of technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), will soon mean that teachers are made redundant.

Is technology isolating for teachers?

In many situations, technology can actually facilitate interaction. We only need to think of how many of us now use our phones and social media such as WhatsApp or Facebook to communicate. This can be equally true of interaction in a virtual learning environment – if managed correctly, opportunities for language use can be optimised and students will have plenty of interaction with each other. And, whether we like it or not, these forms of interaction, mediated through digital channels, now account for a high percentage of interactions in the 'real world‘.

EL teaching has long since stopped being a static discipline, in which teachers are primarily conveyors of declarative knowledge, i.e. facts or information. Nowadays, English teachers are better conceptualised as facilitators of learning who provide learning opportunities for their students, and give feedback to support improvement. The essence of teaching is not therefore something fixed but rather dynamic, adapting to the context and situation in which each teacher finds themselves. The facilitation of learning through technology is a highly skilled endeavour, and in many contexts can offer a really useful support to the classroom, providing students with the chance to learn in new and interesting ways.

Artificial intelligence is a 21st century spectre which haunts many professions. However, a study into which jobs are likely to be replaced by AI in the future (Frey & Osborne, 2013) found that the chances of the profession of school teacher disappearing was around 0.007, i.e. very low indeed, especially when compared with jobs such as Library Assistants (0.95), Real Estate Brokers (0.97) and Telemarketers (0.99).

This is because teaching is a complex job, requiring a range of skills, such as subject knowledge, classroom management, motivational skills, delivering feedback, differentiating learning, problem solving, emotional intelligence, counselling, etc. – the list is almost endless.

This contrasts with the current state of AI, which can be described as 'domain specific‘, i.e. highly skilled but in one particular area, e.g. playing chess, driving a car, recognising human faces or speech. The 'domain general‘ skills which a teacher possesses, and the complex interaction between those, is not going to be matched by machines anytime soon.

Adapted from: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/blog/english-teaching-and-learning-during-the-covid-crisis/ (Accessed on 01.23.2022)