Teachers’ ability to constantly thrive and move on in their professional life despite all challenges has been an ever-present topic of research. Due to the pandemic of Covid-19, teachers have been experiencing chaos and disruptions. Facing with new challenges of isolated life style, lockdowns, the urgent shift to e-learning paradigm adversely impacted teachers’ motivation and well-being as they were not well-prepared to adjust to new challenges of their job (Goldschmidt, 2020; Brooks, et.al, 2022). Developing online teaching materials, limited competence of the technology and getting familiar with remote teaching platforms (Hebebci et al., 2020; Supriadi et al., 2020; Yi et al., 2021) maximized teachers’ workload and led to negative effect on teachers’ mental health (Brooks et al., 2022; Çifçi & Demir, 2020; Papazis et.al, 2022; Purwanto et al., 2020; Reich et al., 2020). In such a dramatically life-changing experience, teachers’ resilience strategies to bounce back and recover effectively in the face of online teaching problems and adverse circumstances gain credence (Aulén et.al, 2021; Hascher & Waber, 2021).
COVID-19, as a global phenomenon, has forced teachers and learners to move online and “many language teachers and learners have had to rely on technology with limited resources” (Tao & Gao, 2022, p. 2). This paper sough to document idiosyncratic experience of English language teachers (ELT) during Covid-19 and see how ELT teachers perceive their professionalism during the pandemic. Based on affective filter hypothesis by Krashen (1985), creating positive emotion for learners and a stress-free environment where learners willingly participate in classroom and feel absorbed to L2 learning is a fundamental key for second language acquisition (SLA). Teachers’ encouragement and the confidence they create for the learners are necessary for promoting learners’ positive emotion. Covide-19 pandemic restricted the teacher-learner face to face interaction, eye contact and the way that teachers could manipulate their learners’ emotion to ease L2 learning. Therefore, the challenge of online teaching is implied to be unique for ELT teachers.
As teachers’ resilience is a trait that help them grow as a professional, focusing on resilience strategies contributes to improving teachers’ professionalism (Bransford et. al, 2005*). According to Albert Einstein, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” (Riker & Fraser, 2018, p. 1881). Despite all hardships and challenges imposed by Covid-19 crisis, it provided unexpected opportunities for teachers to gain new experiences and build up professional knowledge (Tao & Gao, 2022). Therefore, reporting on ELT teachers’ teaching in the pandemic of Covid-19 and resilience strategies have valuable contribution for ELT teachers’ professional development.
Review of the related studies
Resilience and coping strategies
Personal disposition to survive in adverse conditions, being productive despite all challenges and the ability to adapt and survive after a distressing situation are attributed to resilience (Castro et.al, 2010; Howard & Johnson, 2004). Teacher resilience is referred to as teachers’ ability to “maintain their commitment to teaching” (Brunetti, 2006, p. 813) or a “process of development that occurs over time” or “specific strategies that teachers employ when they experience an adverse situation” (Castro et al., 2010, p. 263).
In ELT teacher education research, teachers’ resilience has been the topic earlier studies. Review of most recent studies indicated that the relationship between resilience and teachers’ experience (Entesari, et.al. 2020), self-regulation (Partovi & Tafazoli, 2016; Razmjoo & Ayoobiyan, 2019), teaching reflection (McKay & Barton, 2018; Shirazizadeh, et.al, 2019), teachers’ demographic variables (Stavraki & Karagianni, 2020) has been the focus of attention.
In Covid-19 pandemic, a sudden shift from a face to face interaction to online teaching platforms gave rise to an unfamiliar situation in which ELT teachers experienced difficulties due to inadequate preparation and professional knowledge (Ghanizadeh, 2021; Holzer et al., 2021; Nazari et al, 2022). Catering for complexities of online teaching, dealing with different learners’ needs and managing dysfunctions in the pandemic of Covid-19 have been recurrent themes of recent findings (Gregersen et. al, 2021; Xun, et. al, 2022). Online classroom management, heavy workload, limited interaction with the learners, problems with feedback provision and uncertainty about job future were amongst the factors that teachers were complaining about in the relevant studies (Ghanizadeh, 2021; MacIntyre et.al, 2020; Moorhouse et. al, 2021; Ferdiansyah et. al, 2020). Moser and Wei, (in press) reported that “Language teachers felt untrained, marginalized, and emotionally overworked in their online teaching during the pandemic” (p. 26). ELT teachers’ limited knowledge about technology and online teaching led them to feel less motivated and inefficient (Lee, 2021).
To surmount challenges and mitigate hard conditions, resilience and coping strategies are necessary (Xun et al., 2021). Folkman and Moskowitz (2004) argued that coping is not a stand-alone phenomenon: it is embedded in a complex, dynamic stress process that involves the person, the environment, and the relationship between them’ (p. 758).According to Gu (2018), as social ecology of the condition generating stress is different, teachers need to consider context-specific strategies to cope with stressful experience.
Learning about coping strategies in Covid-19 pandemic has been a new area of research in teacher education (Aulén et al., 2021). Current literature emphasized the role of teachers’ resilience to boost teaching efficacy and well-being (Molero, et. al, 2019). However, coping strategies are not a one –size fits all package and, as Gu and Day (2013) stated, “resilience strategies should be adopted in accordance with the change in everyday world in which teachers teach” (p. 26). In a survey on 600 ELT teachers, MacIntyre, Gregersen, and Sercer (2020) divided ELT teachers’ policies to deal with the stress of Covid-19 pandemic into approach coping and avoidance strategies. This study indicated that teachers’ avoidance is connected with their maximized level of stress and negative psychological outcomes. Gregersen, Mercer and MacIntyre (2021) found that ELT teachers’ well-being strategies optimized their resilience. Establishing tele-collaboration among leaners and having online communication to make sure about tasks were ELT teachers’ resilience strategies during Covid-19 pandemic (Ferdiansyah et.al, Zahro, 2020).
Despite all chaos and challenges, Covid-19 pandemic has created unique opportunities for ELT teachers to grow in their profession (Yang et. al, 2022). Looking from Stone-Johnson’s (2021) view point, teachers’ reaction against change is focused on either the chances provided by the change to move ahead or stepping back due to the risks of the change. Working in online platforms and using technology to teach pushed teachers to break their zone of comfort and get familiar with new aspects of teaching (Nazari et. al, 2022). Review of the earlier studies indicate a connection between professional development and resilience. Castro, Kelly, and Shih (2010) found that resilient teachers are engaged in professional growth.
While the review earlier research indicated the importance of resilience in teaching, the strategies to build resilience in Covid-19 pandemic is an emerging area in research. Given the nature of ELT teaching that necessitates negotiation and mutual interactions, and as there has been no training program for ELT teachers to cope with Covid-19 pandemic and to teach in online emergency (MacIntyre et al. (2020), it is expected that the type of challenges that ELT teachers experienced and the coping strategies they used to survive reflect a different picture of teachers’ resilience in online teaching. Also, the question as to how teachers’ resilience strategies helped them move on in their career and build on their professionalism is open to answer. This study aims at describing ELT teachers’ experience of teaching in Covid-19 pandemic, their resilience strategies and see whether and how ELT teachers viewed Covid-19 as a chance to experience professional growth. To fulfil the goals of this study, the following research questions were raised:
- What were the main challenges that ELT teachers experienced during Covid-19 pandemic?
- What resilience strategies did ELT teachers use during Covid-19 pandemic?
- How did ELT teachers perceive Covid-19 as an opportunity to develop their sense of professionalism?
Theoretical frameworks
Transactional model of stress and coping
Folkman and Lazarus, (1984) classified coping strategies into two groups: problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping refers to a set of behavioral strategies such as help seeking, problem solving strategies, evaluating the solutions and their advantages and disadvantages, choosing an alternative, and acting. Emotion-focused coping is defined as a cognitive process, including positive thinking and expressing emotion in order to bear the stressful and challenging situations. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) further mentioned that emotion-focused coping is an effective strategy when the stressor is unchangeable and people cannot change the predominant environmental conditions. The two types of strategies (problem and emotion-focused) complement each other (Lazarus, 2006).
The reason for choosing this mode was that this model presents a more comprehensive understanding of the people’ reaction in challenging situations and how their coping affects their overall wellbeing (Hascher & Waber, 2021). The theoretical underpinning of this model is widely accepted and used in resilience research (e.g. Yu, Chiu, Lin, Wang & Chen, 2007; Folkman & Lazarus, 1985). Also, transactional model of stress and coping is widely used to describe the impact of resilience in the workplace and teaching career (Herman, et.al, 2020; McCarthy, et.al. 2009).
Professionalism
The concept of professionalism is an elusive and multi-dimensional term to define (Baggini, 2005), yet, the most commonly attributed features of teachers’ professionalism are the improvement of the quality of the service (Hoyle, 2001), achievement high level standards of the job (Baggini, 2005). Professionalism in teaching concerns teachers’ ability in surmounting challenges and fulfilling excellence in teaching skills (Tichenor & Tichenor, 2005). Goodson and Hargreaves (1994) developed a seven principle definition for post-modern professionalism which considers teachers’ professionalism beyond technical and subject knowledge:
- Increased opportunity and responsibility to exercise discretionary judgment;
- Opportunities and expectations to engage with the moral and social purposes and value of what teachers teach;
- Commitment to working with colleagues in collaborative cultures of help and support;
- Occupational heteronomy rather than self-protective autonomy;
- A commitment to active care and not just anodyne service for students;
- A self-directed search and struggle for continuous learning related to one’s own expertise and standards of practice
- The creation and recognition of high task complexity. (p.21)