Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
5th International Conference on Research in Applied Linguistics ICRAL 2021, Bolu, Türkiye, 22 - 24 Ekim 2021, ss.111-118
We all agree that Covid-19 has extensively affected human behaviors in that almost all
countries have applied online education during the pandemic process which has changed the
way people live, work, study, and socialize (Gentili & Cristea, 2020). Similarly, many
countries have employed technology as the main learning tool in the Covid-19 period to
continue the learning process, in spite of the absence of interaction between students and
teachers (Fansury, Januarty, & Ali Wira Rahman, 2020). Technology in education was
implemented long before the pandemic since it plays a significant role in assisting both
learning and teaching to make lessons more entertaining and motivating for students.
Currently, the employment of technology in education is seen as an alternative way to take
over the classical learning practice (Alrubaie, Alrubaie, & Hassoon, 2020). During Covid-19,
EFL/ESL instructors have regularly represented new online teaching methods to keep their
students motivated (Kawinkoonlasate, 2020). However, the students' motivation to learn
English was highly low since they solely studied at home. EFL/ESL instructors must
accordingly solve this problem in order to obtain adequate learning outcomes (Fansury,
Januarty, & Ali Wira Rahman, 2020). Considering all the mentioned factors, the
transformation in EFL instruction from the traditional classroom setting to the digital EFL
instruction during the Covid-19 pandemic was probed by means of the conceptions of EFL
teachers from different contexts. Countries all over the world are at diverse conditions in
terms of their Covid-19 infection rates. It is known that around 1.5 billion students were
affected by school closures or confinements as a result of the pandemic throughout the
world (Unesco). With this abrupt change from the traditional classroom into the digital one in
numerous countries, it is wondered whether the employment of online education will go on
prevailing post-pandemic era as well. It is also crystal clear that the pandemic has changed the
accustomed route of education, just like the case in EFL classes. In order to gather the data of
this qualitative study, a qualitative research was conducted to clarify the related cognitive
constructs of the informants engaged in EFL teaching in Higher Educational Institutions in
Turkey, Georgia and Kazakhstan to evaluate smaller changes in the digital EFL settings
during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The informants included in the study are Turkish, Georgian and Kazakhstani EFL teachers.
Keywords: online learning, digital classroom, Covid-19, Changes; EFL Classes