English Teachers’ Perspectives on Challenges, Suggestions, and Materials of Online Teaching amidst the Global Pandemic

Abstract

Maintaining undisrupted learning during this pandemic becomes a challenge for teachers all over the world. In Indonesia, the practices of open online learning are not yet to be implemented. Online learning in Secondary school Year 7-9 level goes as far as internet-assisted learning or blended learning. Thus, previous research has not examined teachers' perspectives on full online learning as implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic. Considering this situation, EFL Secondary school Year 7-9 teachers’ perspectives, as one of the essential aspects of online learning, lack investigation. Therefore, the present study offers 20 EFL Secondary school Year 7-9 teachers’ insights regarding challenges, suggestions, and teaching materials needed during the Covid-19 outbreak. Drawing on qualitative data collected by means of self-written reflections and semi-structured interviews, the findings informed that poor internet signal disrupts the teaching process. Thus, the teachers suggest that maintaining a stable internet connection should become a priority. Then, easy access to online applications and websites is deemed necessary by teachers as material sources for online teaching. The results of this study contribute to the literature of English language teaching in response to the present-day phenomenon about online learning, particularly in Secondary school Year 7-9 level. ABSTRAKMempertahankan pembelajaran tanpa gangguan selama pandemic ini menjadi tantangan bagi para guru di seluruh dunia. Di Indonesia, praktik pembelajaran online terbuka masih belum diterapkan. Pembelajaran online di Sekolah Menengah tingkat 7-9 masih sejauh pembelajaran dengan bantuan internet atau pembelajaran campuran. Dengan demikian, penelitian sebelumnya belum mengkaji perspektif guru tentang full online learning sepertin yang diterapkan selama pandemi Covid-19. Mempertimbangkan situasi ini, perspektif guru EFL Sekolah Menengah Kelas 7-9, sebagai salah satu aspek penting dari pembelajaran online, belum diselidiki. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini menawarkan perspektif dari 20 guru 20 EFL Sekolah Menengah Kelas 7-9 tentang tantangan, saran dan bahan pengajaran yang dibutuhkan selama wabah Covid-19. Berdasarkan data kualitatif yang dikumpulkan melalui refleksi yang ditulis sendiri dan wawancara semi-terstruktur interviews, temuan menginformasikan bahwa sinyal internet yang buruk mengganggu proses pengajaran. Oleh karena itu, para guru menyarankan bahwa menjaga koneksi internet yang stabil harus menjadi prioritas. Kemudian, aplikasi dan website online yang mudah diakses dianggap dibutuhkan oleh guru sebagai sumber materi pembelajaran online. Hasil penelitian ini berkontribusi pada literatur pengajaran Bahasa Inggris dalam menanggapi fenomena pembelajaran online saat ini, khususnya di tingkat Sekolah Menengah Kelas 7-9.

EFL Lecturers’ Challenges and Suggestions in the Online Teaching

“…Another challenge faced by the EFL lecturers in their online classes was that they could not start their teaching on time because some students did not join the class yet. It is in line with the study result by Nartiningrum and Nugroho (2021) informing that some students were always late to join the video conferences. To go further, the EFL lecturers also felt not sure whether their students could catch all the information having been explained because of the unstable internet connection.…”

“…The connection to the internet which was not stable is one of the challenges for EFL lecturers in running their remote EFL classes. The poor internet connection in Indonesia becomes the challenge for running the remote Indonesian EFL classes (Ariyanti, 2020;Hardiyanty et al, 2021;Nartiningrum & Nugroho, 2021).…”

“…The lecturers are challenged to teach their courses in online classrooms. Nartiningrum and Nugroho (2021) argue that EFL lecturers have to be familiar with the online teaching platforms and applications. Besides, they have to have a good capacity to conduct the online platforms and applications for their online classes.…”

“…Next, Tukan (2020) found that Indonesian EFL teachers at senior high schools got some problems operating the online applications, developing their online materials, assessing their online teaching and learning, evaluating their online EFL classes, creating the various methods of teaching, and motivate the students and their parents. Then, the study by Nartiningrum and Nugroho (2021) informed that EFL teachers of Indonesian secondary school years 7-9 experienced disruption in their online EFL teaching and learning because of the poor signal internet in Indonesia. Thus, they suggested the Indonesian government provide a stable internet connection as their priority.…”

Exploring the Effect of the Pace Model on Students’ Grammar Mastery and Students’ Voices on Its Usage

“…According to Aniuranti (2021), many problems have appeared during online classes. Nartiningrum & Nugroho (2021) mention that there are several kinds of problems generally encountered by teachers such as difficulty in delivering the materials, poor internet service, students' slow responses, and problems in adjusting the lesson plans. Efriana (2021) even argues that the teachers normally have problems in using IT and supervising their students.…”