Will Online Teaching Remain 'The New Norm'?

Before exploring this question, some advantages and disadvantages of teaching online will be touched upon with some examples given from teaching English to adults in the Netherlands and more.

On the plus side

What used to be travel time to and from f2f lessons has become extra time to perform duties, for example, which we welcome wholeheartedly, and we may have subconsciously already become used to this blessing in disguise since the Corona crisis began. Time is the enemy as they say, or time is money in the business world. To teachers of adults it frees up time, giving more breathing space and perhaps even allowing opportunities to take on new work. As a counterargument, some would say that they would make use of train travel to do marking or reading, but, then again, now there is more time for these at home.

Interaction between students in groups has surely become more dynamic as interaction patterns can be varied effortlessly using such an ingenious invention as breakout rooms. By way of illustration, you can begin with an ice breaker to the whole class via any of the conferencing platforms, (i.e. Big Blue Button, Teams, Webex, Zoom), later vary the dynamics by switching to pairs for a telephone roleplay making use of this terrific tool, and. Of course, you can monitor by listening in. Further, you can involve the class as a whole for the final task, which is a question and answers speaking activity regarding business topics. By doing this, the learners benefit in terms of energy levels, getting variety and enjoying the lesson.

Safety concerns and rules of the land dictate where we teach during these terribly trying times. We are fortunate to be able to continue to do what we love and make a living in the process; and all from the comfort of our own homes. At home we can use this environment to our advantage. Whether it be illustrating prepositions of place by showing students items on surfaces in your office, or by doing an energiser speaking activity where each individual describes an object using realia they picked up on their travels; the possibilities are endless. You have all your material close by, so if something comes up like somebody had no time to prepare a presentation or perhaps objects to a speaking topic, then you have an inexhaustible supply of handouts to hand, which could very well save the day.

For those who prefer paperless lessons, this is probably paradise to them. Although, there is a lot to be said for keeping papers in order with dividers in folders, there are plenty of people who would rather keep everything online and download documents instead. This could be a matter of taste or preference. One can only hope that those in question have awesome organisational skills. It’s time to get stuck into the flip side.

On the other hand

Technical difficulties can be disruptive and cause frustration. Some can be avoided, and others are out of our hands. For the former, such as forgetting to switch on the power source that connects our computer with the mains or not using a network cable to ensure the internet stays connected. With regards to the latter, sound problems, log-in problems from other devices, errors and, sometimes, students forgetting to do things like switch on their webcams, how to use an emoji to convey that they have finished a task, or, people not realising that they are muted are quite common. Certainly, we can remind them they need to unmute, or, in some cases, contact a technical colleague who can offer assistance after they have tried logging out and in. It should be pointed out that quite often English teachers are not technical types.

The immediacy and confrontational quality of public chat messages could be distracting for some teachers and they may even lose their train of thought. Some students type things in there which are not relevant to the task in hand, which can disorientate other members of the class. In one case, a lady (B2) asked the teacher via public chat at the beginning of the lesson what the difference between past perfect and past perfect continuous was. These verb tenses were not on the course at all as it happened. She didn’t mention that it is something she found in a self-study book about presentations. The class was just about to begin an icebreaker, which focused on social English allowing them to relax, forget about outside pressures and unwind. The teacher found out the origins of the question and explained carefully that he would send her a private message after the lesson.

Interacting with students f2f is something which many teachers miss and complain about when reflecting on using online platforms. Socially it is understandable that some extroverted characters are in their element in the face-to-face classroom. On the other side of the coin, introverted educators are far more likely to prefer being alone and not being the centre of attention in a classroom situation. Of course, they are still in the spotlight when teaching a group online, but they feel less pressure to perform or are less self-conscious. Interaction during presentations is more effective in person, for instance, where presenters can walk with purpose, it’s easier to use hand gestures and eye contact to build a relationship with the audience. Mingling activities are energisers which can give a boost of adrenaline and recharge the batteries of class members, i.e. Find somebody Who, where everyone gets up and fills in a chart after asking their classmates various questions about grammar or punctuation (used in academic English classes at Universities) and this only works in the flesh.

'The New Norm'

Without a crystal ball, it is not possible to definitively give a prediction based on evidence. However, one can only speculate as to what will become of our profession in the future. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, there will be no more Corona crisis and we can get on with our lives as we would like to. Will teaching online continue to dominate? Yes – it certainly looks like it will. From the perspective of language centres, it is more cost effective (i.e. no travel expenses to pay for freelancers), it’s more desirable to clients (i.e. they don’t need to leave their homes, and, again travel costs need not be an issue). Also, teachers have become used to teaching in this way and have learned to make the most of it. Despite these points, there will always be teachers who prefer face to face lessons no matter what and will jump at the chance to get back in the groove; old habits die hard as they say. The same applies to some students who would equally feel more comfortable and would opt for f2f instead of online courses. It is worth mentioning that schoolteachers have reported negative experiences teaching youngsters online as it is indeed more difficult for the kids to behave and to concentrate. Some schools don’t even insist on pupils having to keep their webcams on, which is important and promotes interaction. It could be that schools will avoid using online teaching in the future, although streaming lessons may continue as it can be useful for when a student is absent. Back to adults, it will be interesting to see what becomes of our profession. At University level, learners miss the social interaction of being on campus, but they can meet outside of class. We shall see if higher education will revert back to a more classical approach or whether it decides to take the opportunity to reinvent itself.