Boosted with Online Learning to Improve English Language Teachers’ Proficiency

Abstract

Language teaching and learning have been significantly transformed by the advent of online technology. Learning and information-gathering have been dramatically boosted by technology. Owing to online learning, physical geography is no longer a major obstacle. However, there has not been much study to portray online technologies and online learning improving teachers’ proficiency in the English language. With this in mind, the purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which online learning has improved teachers’ language proficiency. About 201 teachers from eight districts in Malaysia were enrolled in an online course. The study was conducted online for three months. Data was collected from an evaluation survey obtained at the end of the period. Responses gathered based on descriptive analysis of the course content, overall experience, and comments derived from the survey was then analyzed from the data. The findings revealed that the teachers are very positive towards the course and found it constructive in enhancing their professional development. The results also indicated that teachers have also improved their language component upon being enrolled in the course. These documents that all the language skills have been enhanced, and they are very motivated. Therefore, future research should focus on a specific language component in order to gain a deeper insight of continuum from this study.