Distance education in the post-COVID-19 era (on the basis of learning the opinions of foreign language teachers)
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2023-5-129-138
The purpose of the study is to analyze foreign language teachers’ views on distance education (DE) in the period that is defined now as post-COVID period; on the optimal ratio of the online and offline forms of education; on main difficulties while shifting to hybrid format of education; on the changes in quality of life among teachers and in their emotional state. The anonymous answers of 120 foreign language (FL) teachers served as a basis for the research. They answered questions in the online survey. It was found 46 % of FL teachers have fully adapted to the distance teaching, but 39 % of the surveyed work remotely with great reluctance. Half of the respondents believe that online learning is effective only in combination with full-time education. For 63 % of teachers, the main difficulty of online teaching is the accumulated physical and psychological fatigue. The optimal ratio of offline and online classes in a blended learning format in order to achieve its greatest effectiveness is 50–70 % of offline classes. Teachers perceive the advantages of online learning in the more rational use of their working time (40 %), the possibility of combining it with other work. Distance learning affects the health of teachers. The received results are recommended to use for the review of teachers’ workplace conditions in online as well as in blended learning with the aim to upgrade the quality of their professional activity in blended or distance learning. The research that is based on the empirical data would be useful for specialists in digitalization of the educational system.
Keywords: distance education, foreign language teaching, pandemic, language teachers, COVID-19, post-COVID era, teachers’ health
References:
1. Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture. L’éducation dans un monde post-Covid: Neuf idées pour l’action publique. La Commission internationale sur Les futurs de l’éducation. Publié en 2020 par l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France. © UNESCO 2020. URL: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373717_fre (accessed 1 December 2022).
2. Baklashkina O. N., Maksimova N. V., Luts S. S. Preimushchestva gibridnoy formy obucheniya v prepodavanii inostrannykh yazykov [Advantages of the hybrid form of training in teaching foreign languages]. Baikal Research Journal, 2021, no. 12 (3), p. 9 (in Russian).
3. Falloon G. From digital literacy to digital competence: the teacher digital competency (TDC) framework. Educational Technology Research and Development, 2020, vol. 68 (5), pp. 2449–2472.
4. Volchenkova K. N. Analiz otnosheniya prepodavateley rossiyskogo vuza k vynuzhdennomu distantu [Analysis of the attitude of Russian university to forced distance]. Vestnik Yuzhno-Ural’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Obrazovaniye. Pedagogicheskiye nauki – Bulletin of the South Ural State University. Series: Education. Pedagogical Sciences, 2020, no. 12 (4), pp. 88–97 (in Russian).
5. Lockee B. B. Online education in the post-COVID era. Nat Electron, 2021, no. 4, pp. 5–6.
6. Lennox J., Reuge N., & Benavides F. UNICEF’s lessons learned from the education response to the COVID-19 crisis and reflections on the implications for education policy. International Journal of Educational Development, 2021, no. 85, p. 102429. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059321000821?via=ihub (accessed 15 November 2022).
7. Cahapay M.B., Michael B. Rethinking Education in the New Normal Post-COVID-19 Era: A Curriculum Studies Perspective. Aquademia, 2020, no. 4(2). URL: https://www.aquademia-journal.com/article/rethinking-education-in-the-new-normal-post-covid-19-era-a-curriculum-studies-perspective-8315 (accessed 5 December 2022).
8. Zhao Y., Watterston J. The changes we need: Education post COVID-19. Journal of Educational Change, 2021, no. 22, pp. 3–12.
9. Neuwirth L. S., Jovic S., et Mukherji B. R. Reimagining higher education during and post-COVID-19: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 2021, vol. 27, no 2, pp. 141–156.
10. Szopiński T., Bachnik K. Student evaluation of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2020, vol. 174, p. 121203. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8429354/ (accessed 21 November 2022).
11. Didenko E. N. Povysheniye effektivnosti onlayn-obucheniya inostrannym yazykam kak mnogourovnevyy protsess v ramkakh tsifrovizatsii obrazovatel’noy sredy [Increasing the effectiveness of online teaching of foreign languages as a multilevel process within the digitalization of the educational environment]. Sovremennoye pedagogicheskoye obrazovaniye – Modern Pedagogical Education, 2021, no. (5), pp. 36–43 (in Russian).
12. Golovanova I. I., Alipichev A. Yu., Ayupov T. Yu., Baltina T. V., Gorskaya T. Yu., Donetskaya O. I., Khasanova E. N. Tsifrovaya obrazovatel’naya sreda i onlayn-format obucheniya glazami studentov: za i protiv [Digital Educational Environment and Online Learning Format Through the Lens of Students: Pros and Cons]. Obrazovaniye i samorazvitiye – Education and Self-Development, 2022, no. 3, pp. 202–221 (in Russian).
13. Núñez-Canal M., de Obesso M. D. L. M., Pérez-Rivero C. A. New challenges in higher education: A study of the digital competence of educators in Covid times. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2022, no. 174, p. 121270. URL: https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v174y2022ics0040162521007046.html (accessed 2 December 2022).
14. Gol’tsova T. A., Protsenko E. A. Opyt distantsionnogo obucheniya inostrannomu yazyku v neyazykovom vuze: fakty perspektivy [Experience of distance learning of foreign languages in non-linguistic higher education: facts and prospects]. Tsennosti i smysly, 2021, no. 2, pp. 63–77 (in Russian).
15. Kozarenko О. М. COVID-19: distantsionnoye obucheniye glazami studentov [COVID-19: Distance education in students’ opinions]. Otkrytoye i distantsionnoye obrazovaniye, 2021, no. 79 (1), pp. 25–34 (in Russian).
16. Kozarenko O. M. Enseignement à distance lors de la pandémie de COVID-19: enjeux d’enseignants de français langue étrangère (FLE) de Russie. Formation et profession, 28 (4 hors-série), 2020, pp. 1–11.
17. Petrakova A. V., Kanonire T. N., Kulikova A. A., Orel E. A. Osobennosti psikhologicheskogo stressa u uchiteley v usloviyakh distantsionnogo prepodavaniya vo vremya pandemii COVID-19 [Characteristics of Teacher Stress during Distance Learning Imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic]. Voprosy obrazovaniya – Educational Studies Moscow, 2021, no. 1, pp. 93–113 (in Russian)
( 985.83 kB ) 
( 887.53 kB )
Issue: 5, 2023
Series of issue: Issue 5
Rubric: HIGHER EDUCATION
Pages: 129 — 136
Downloads: 1217