Technology, Pedagogy & Assessment: Challenges of COVID19-Imposed E-Teaching of ESP to Saudi Female PY Students

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) triggered substantial shifts in the education systems worldwide as teaching and learning have had to shift from face-to-face to an entirely virtual model due to the closure of educational institutes. The present paper is a descriptive-analytical investigation of the challenges of the current pandemic-imposed E-teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses to female preparatory (PY) year students at King Khalid University (KKU). It identifies teachers’ and students’ responses about the ongoing issues with E-teaching of ESP with to put practical solutions to them. The study is conducted at The University Center for Girls’ Studies- Al-Samir Campus-Abha during the academic year 2020-2021. Twenty English Language instructors at the English Language Center (ELC) and eighty students of the preparatory year at the College of Medicine enrolled in Intensive English Course (Njl-019) participated in the study. It adopts mixed qualitative methodology with the teachers’ semi-structured interview and students’ questionnaire as tools to collect data, and descriptive analysis as a method to interpret data. The study finds out reciprocity of teachers’ and students’ responses in pinpointing the factors posing serious challenges in teaching and learning ESP courses as majorly related to technology, pedagogy, and Assessment. Considering these challenges, the study puts forth practical suggestions to promote virtual teaching and learning of ESP courses. The suggested solutions are hoped to help providing successful standards for virtual ESP teaching and learning as per the constraints of quality modern education.

Emergency Remote Teaching During COVID-19: Saudi University Teachers' Perceptions of EFL Classroom Interaction in Synchronous Online Lessons

“…Teachers also stated that it was possible to co-construct (negotiate) meaning in SOLs with other students via text-chat, audio, introductory activities, visual aids, or eliciting answers slowly. Although teachers were largely confident about their ability to promote classroom interaction, future studies can explore learner perspectives as well because only few learners in Alvi et al's (2021) ER-ELT study "agreed that teachers make them participate in the interpretation and meaningmaking process" online (p. 345). There appears to be a discrepancy between teacher and learner perceptions as regards classroom interaction in SOLs.…”

“…The findings indicated that most teachers agreed that interaction is hindered 'when teachers lack technological skills to use the platform effectively in online classes' or 'when students are unfamiliar with the tools of the platform'. Digital illiteracy can be one reason why low or lack of interaction is observed in SOLs (Alvi et al, 2021;Hazaea et al, 2021). Teachers in this study suggested that lack of technological skills can be overcome by workshops for teachers and learners on tool use.…”

“…Teachers in this study suggested that lack of technological skills can be overcome by workshops for teachers and learners on tool use. Likewise, other ER-ELT studies suggested the need to offer teachers intensive orientation sessions to engage learners in active learning (Rahman, 2020;Alvi et al, 2021;Hashmi et al, 2021), develop their computer literacy and efficient online communication (Alvi et al, 2021), and improve their technological competencies (Moorhouse et al, 2021).…”

“…It is important to be mindful of equity/equality, diversity of individuals, and inclusion (EDI) when dealing with camera use (Castelli & Sarvary, 2021). Some individuals who live in countryside areas might have unstable internet (Alvi et al, 2021) and experience audio/video lag if they were forced to turn on their webcams. Thus, teachers need to develop "communicative and interactive teaching methodologies that engage the students and motivate them to learn" (Alvi et al, 2021, p. 350) in contexts where it is not possible to use the webcam image.…”

“…Research has shown that in Saudi Arabia, VCS platforms were widely adopted by teachers and students during ER-ELT, yet it's a fairly new technology and several challenges may impact pedagogical interaction in such platforms (Alahmadi & Alraddadi, 2020). Various challenges were also reported in certain ER-ELT studies, such as digital illiteracy and pedagogical challenges (e.g., Alvi et al, 2021;Hazaea et al, 2021). Educators require specific online competencies to resolve the challenges they face during SOLs (Moorhouse et al, 2021).…”