COVID-19 pandemic and its waves have resulted in transitions from face-to-face activities to completely online learning, then to hybrid learning, and then to a peculiar face-to-face COVID-19-time learning (with masks, distance-keeping, etc.). As the situation tends to continue for an indefinite time, it is important to study the existing experience and to take the obtained results into consideration in the future practice. Therefore, the presented research attempted to study students’ view on the experience of face-to-face (F-2-F), hybrid and online EFL teaching in universities during 2019-2021. With this purpose, a quantitative study was carried out through questioning the opinions of English as a foreign language (EFL) students in Georgia and Italy. The advantages and disadvantages of the three modes were assessed by 466 (430 of them from Georgia and 36 from Italy) volunteer respondents. The outcomes of the study were analyzed and elaborated in the forms of practical recommendations for more effective planning and implementation of EFL teaching during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Keywords: F2F; Hybrid; Distance Education; EFL

This paper aims at highlighting the general challenges faced recently during the COVID-19 pandemic in the field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) education in Georgia. For better acknowledging and understanding of the role of the ESP teachers the paper provides definition of the terms, their origin, division into different groups, analysis of various types of ESP. The work serves as an attempt to show the importance and challenges of ESP teachers during its teaching process and at the same time to highlight a growing demand for ESP at the global employment market, being a main medium for professional and business communication across the world. It also aims at demonstrateing the deficiency in ESP area which can result in barriers for graduates’ personal and professional development, in particular during the times of a pandemic.

We all agree that language, like any living being, undergoes constant change and evolution to adapt to the needs of its users. Therefore, the English Language being a Lingua Franca is not an exception, and it keeps pace more than other languages in the world with cutting edge developments in all areas of human life with its primary function of effective communication in professional as well as ordinary real-life situations. The development of English as an International Language has become more noticeable since the beginning of globalization. Furthermore, it leads to the definition of Global English(es) and is even more vivid after digitalization in which its significant role and existential function are now unquestionable. Moreover, it is the best communication tool for global citizens, individuals equipped with 21st century skills uniting under one common goal of making the world a better place to live via sharing and exchanging knowledge and expertise, as well as collaborating and cooperating more than ever before, using this powerful weapon connecting us all - English. With this thematic literature review, based on synchronic and diachronic linguistics, the two authors reconstruct and highlight expeditious changes and turning points undergone by the English Language, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the conclusion, a summary of the key findings taken from the literature were given, and their significance were emphasised, as many changes in vocabulary are in order (abbreviations, simultaneous conversations, new uses, new structures, popularised health communication), especially in how they reflect a new language need to express the dynamism of current global challenges.

Despite the established importance of English worldwide, and notwithstanding the fact that in expanding circle countries (defined as expanding or extending circle countries those countries where English is used as a foreign language), English for Academic Purposes plays an increasingly important role. Studies on the linguistic needs of university students are still lacking their perspective, at least in Italy, where students studying English language in Higher Education institutions are expected to gain access to the discourses of the academia via language competence. For this reason, the present paper reviews the theoretical and practical bases of English for Academic Purposes in order to provide further thought-provoking ideas based on a study carried out in the Italian university context. As far as method is concerned, due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was conducted through Google Forms. The results of the authors’ questionnaire model are presented and analysed for the purpose of this research. Findings demonstrate both the complex network of elements that play a significant role in determining the needs of EAP students in Italy, and the unavoidable necessity to set priorities. It is a fact that needs in a learner-centred system are not static. In addition, learning EAP is bound to mean learning to be an independent learner.