‘School’s Out, But Class’s on’: Experiences of Foreign Teachers Teaching EFL Online in China during the COVID-19 Lockdown

Authors

  • Nicholas Vorster Fouche The University of Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Maglin Moodley The University of Johannesburg, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v10i1.2709

Keywords:

English as a foreign language, foreign teachers, online teaching in COVID-19, online teaching in China, School’s Out, But Class’s on

Abstract

Education the world over has experienced the impact of COVID-19 on the various aspects in teaching and learning. In China, the Ministry of Education started a campaign called the School’s Out, But Class’s on campaign. The majority of schools migrated from face-to-face teaching to online teaching during the nationwide lockdown. Both local Chinese teachers as well as foreign teachers teaching EFL in China experienced a range of challenges during the migration to online teaching. This study focused exclusively on foreign teachers who taught EFL in China during the COVID-19 lockdown. A mixed methods research approach was used, which saw data being collected from a sample of foreign EFL teachers from four western countries. These participants responded to an online survey and an in-depth interview regarding their teaching experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown in Guangdong, China. The results of this study indicated that majority of the participants had a negative experience regarding online teaching in China. This negative experience was greatly attributed to the lack of training and support they as foreign teachers received in China. The results further highlighted the challenges foreign teachers experienced with regards to culture and adopting cultural norms of Chinese society. Recommendations from this study, include a review of training of EFL teachers by institutions to accommodate issues around culture and cultural norms and finally the training of EFL teachers in using the different learning management systems located within the educational space. 

Author Biography

Nicholas Vorster Fouche, The University of Johannesburg

ESL teacher living in China, from South Africa teaching college students spoken English. Research in foreign educators living and working in China.

I am a Masters student at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, my submission is based on my minor dissertation. 

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Published

2022-06-10

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2022): IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature

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Articles

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