Teaching English Online in the Times of Covid-19 at a Saudi University: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

During the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in the late 2020, online learning has become a coercive solution and a last resort, not just a luxurious option of learning style. The forced sudden transition from face-to-face educational system to online education is an unprecedented phenomenon that represented a challenge in itself, therefore, needed to be explored and studied thoroughly. This study, based on a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design, aims to explore the opportunities and challenges of teaching English online in the times of Covid-19 through surveying English language instructors in the context of a Saudi government university in the city of Jeddah in the Western Region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study utilised a survey approach using an adopted questionnaire to 41 instructors (23 males and 18 females). Analyses of the data indicated that the majority of the teachers were knowledgeable and experienced enough with the online platforms, however, they were overwhelmed with the unexpected and sudden transformation to the full mode online learning. Furthermore, a large number of the participants expressed their initial frustration trying to adjust to the full mode online system, however, they found ample opportunities for more teaching and learning flexibility with an autonomous learning provision for the students.