Events caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have required second language (L2) educators to move away from face-to-face (F2F) lessons and adopt online teaching. Educators have utilized a range of online synchronous meeting tools (SMTs) to facilitate student learning. One of the popular, immersive and easy-to-use SMTs these days is Zoom. It includes several features, such as annotation tools, polls, breakout rooms and video and screen sharing. These functions facilitate communicative language learning through the use of authentic language instruction in interactive synchronous classes.

In this technology review, we explore the affordances of the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT for language teaching and learning. In addition to this, we also present debates and drawbacks of ChatGPT. Finally, we present the digital competencies teachers and learners require to use this chatbot ethically and effectively to support language learning.

COVID-19 has forced universities around the world to suspend in-person teaching and adopt emergency remote teaching (ERT). To compensate for the suspension of in-person teaching, many universities mandated that teachers utilise video-conferencing software (VCS) to deliver synchronous online lessons conducted through VCS. This study explored the impact of ERT and the requirement to teach synchronously online through VCS on the motivation of university teachers at a major university in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine teachers who had completed a full semester of ERT. The findings suggest that the teachers fell into two distinct groups. Teachers in one group ( n = 5) seemed to thrive, reporting mainly positive effects of ERT on their motivation, while the others ( n = 4) seemed to be just surviving, reported mainly negative effects. For members of the “thriving” group, the semester reinvigorated their teaching and provided them with new skills; members of the “surviving” group, by contrast, questioned their ability to teach, found it hard to build a rapport with learners, felt isolated, and struggled to find job satisfaction. The study concludes with a discussion of measures that could help university teachers to maintain their motivation during online instruction.

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The global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus has had a disruptive and profound impact on English-language teaching. To reduce the spread of the virus, teachers and learners had to suspend in-person teaching and learning. This led to the widespread adoption of synchronous and asynchronous online teaching. Obviously, this period has led to immense challenges for teachers and students alike, but it has also provided a unique opportunity to understand the potential affordances of online teaching in English-language teaching. This study, a systematic thematic review of empirical studies pertaining to English-language teaching and the COVID-19 pandemic, identifies and analyses the key knowledge generated by the English-language-teaching community during the pandemic. It ends with a discussion of the lessons learned from the pandemic and suggests potential areas for further research.