During the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, many educational institutions have adapted various online teaching modes. However, studies exploring the employment of synchronous online discussion for teaching English in higher education context were still limited. This study aimed at investigating EFL university students’ perceptions and challenges on the use of synchronous online discussions. Employing virtual observations and semi-structured interviews, five Master students of English education study program of a public university in Bandung participated in this study. Data were based on three domains of communication types for e-learning; content-related, planning of tasks and social supports. The findings showed that the students had positive response to the employment of synchronous online discussion. They believed that synchronous online discussion was a good online teaching mode where task negotiation, task planning, opinions, questions and answers can be done easily. In addition, they could improve critical thinking and writing skills as well as get social supports. Meanwhile, poor internet connection and misunderstanding of tasks became the challenge. HIGHLIGHTS Covid-19 pandemic demands the employment of online learning mode. Synchronous online discussion offers distinctive features for accommodating higher education learning, specifically in the teaching of English. Data analysis based on three domains namely content-related, planning of tasks and social supports would be administered.

Myriad studies reported abrupt transition of face-to-face classrooms to online learning due to pandemic and the results were various, contextually-bounded from country to another. Yet, studies exploring the aforementioned issue in Indonesian EFL context are still scarce. This study explores issues and challenges experienced by Indonesian EFL teachers in conducting English online learning during the pandemic within qualitative approach. Twenty-five secondary English teachers from urban, suburban, rural and remote area participated in this study. Subsequently, online questionnaire and semi-structured virtual interviews were employed to collect data. Then, the data were analyzed descriptively and thematically. The results showed that the participants had positive responses to online learning to maintain learning processes in pandemic time. In terms of teaching language skills, the participants argued that speaking is the most challenging to teach online. Moreover, the study identified three types of online learning challenges related to technical aspects, teachers and students. Pedagogically, this study implied that pandemic time has given teachers disguised blessings as they had an opportunity to upgrade their information technology skills and literacies.

Over the past few decades, technologies grew rapidly, transforming traditional instructions to be more digitalized and stimulating many researchers to study digital literacy practices in a school-educational context. However, studies exploring digital literacy practices in the context of tertiary education are still scarce. Within the qualitative approach, this study investigated digital literacy practices by EFL (English as a Foreign Language) postgraduate students. Moreover, it intensively discusses the kinds of digital tools used by the participants and the purposes of using them. Additionally, the way the participants conceptualized digital literacy was also elaborated. Thirty-four EFL Master students of a public university in Bandung, Indonesia, participated in this study. An online open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were applied in data collection. Meanwhile, eight dimensions of digital literacy in the Hague and Payton’s frameworks were used as the basis of the thematical analysis of the interview data. Results showed that the participants conceptualized digital literacy as soft skills for managing digital information covering the acts of searching, comprehending, evaluating, creating, and sharing. The prominent result of this study relates to how the participants used digital tools for academic/research and general purposes. Subsequently, this study recommends that tertiary education institutions provide more training on maximizing digital tools for academic writing and broader access to prepaid journal articles. Further exploration of lecturers’ digital literacy practices is highly recommended.

Textbooks play an important role in language teaching practices as the core source of knowledge. Meanwhile, the 21st century demands students having more advanced skills to solve the multifaceted and complex life situation. In fact, there are still limited studies evaluating textbooks based on the inclusion of 21st century skills. Looking at the gap, this study aimed to analyze the representation of 21st century skills in an Indonesian EFL textbook. A content analysis research design was applied in this study. The subject of the study was an EFL textbook used by grade 7 students. The results of the study revealed that there were 12 out of 15 of the 21st century skills presented in the textbook. The most dominant skills were communication and collaboration. The representation of the skills was done through some learning activities/tasks such as goal, input, procedure, teacher/learner role, pictures and notes. However, this textbook did not provide sufficient topics and materials about information, communication and technology (ICT). Therefore, it is suggested for further revision to include topics and materials about ICT.

Learner autonomy has become a key issue in promoting effective language teaching. Besides, ICT has contributed to the betterment of English language teaching. In fact, there is still limited research which focuses on investigating English teachers’ perception on the use of ICT to promote learner autonomy. This study aimed to investigate the English teachers’ perception on the involvement of ICT for promoting learner autonomy. A Qualitative research design was employed in this study. The data were collected through online questionnaires and interviews. Thirty English teachers were voluntarily involved to participate in this research. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the English teachers saw ICT as an opportunity for them to promote learner autonomy since it helped the students to be more independent and engaged with the lessons. Further research focusing on students’ perspectives about learner autonomy was suggested to enrich the literature of language learner autonomy.