‘Like an imprisoned robin’: Similes by English language teachers on teaching in and beyond the times of COVID‐19

Abstract

AbstractThis qualitative study captured the reflections of 53 English language teachers from 40 different contexts including Bangladesh, Colombia, France, India, Scotland, Taiwan, Türkiye and the United Kingdom on teaching English during the times of COVID‐19 and its post‐effects on their practices. Data were collected through an online form consisting of three stems and the participants were asked to create similes about teaching English before, during and after the pandemic. By conducting thematic analysis, images created for each phase were categorized under occupational well‐being, digital transformation, transactional distance, gap of communication and social isolation. Teachers pointed out work overload, lack of administrational support, instructions' not making sense, decreasing level of participation, dropouts, loss of student–teacher interaction and isolation as the drawbacks of the process along with the possibility of digital transformation ahead of their profession.