Insights into emergency remote teaching in EFL

Abstract

Abstract The transition to emergency remote teaching (ERT) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has spawned many research studies. However, studies exploring EFL instructors’ emotions, in-class experiences, and relationships with their students and their colleagues during the pandemic are scarce. This mixed study captured nineteen EFL instructors’ emotions on ERT, their transformation of classroom practices, and how they related to students and colleagues during this period in North Cyprus. Data were gathered through a qualitative survey, supplemented with quantitative data from a technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) scale. Our findings revealed that the instructors gradually adapted to ERT despite the challenges that hindered their classroom practice transformation. The findings further suggest that if the instructors develop their TPACK and relatedness with their students and colleagues with the support of their institutions, teaching in a remote environment in the ‘new pedagogy’ contributes to establishing a possible way forward in EFL.