Reflective Teaching in EFL Online Classrooms: Teachers’ Perspective

Abstract

One of the noticeable changes in the tertiary education scene is the continuous quest for quality-driven teaching and learning that prepares students for the demanding employment market. At the heart of this increasingly transformative process is competitiveness. This shifting view has made teaching a multi-faceted and dynamic process that calls upon teachers to adjust their teaching and align their pedagogical practices and decisions to emerging circumstances and challenges. Online learning has become the ‘new normal’ formula in language classes across the Sultanate of Oman due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This paper reports (N=49) teachers’ perceived reflection and adjustment in online classes and the various strategies they adopted in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Oman. Data were collected from the responses of the participants to a semi-structured online survey. Data analysis showed that most teachers practiced reflection on action and for action more frequently while demonstrating lower awareness of reflection in action. The paper also draws on the significance of the spaces created by online teaching for reflection-driven action research to inform effective teaching for better learning experiences.