What have we learned about the impact of COVID-19 on English teaching and learning?
As we enter the third and final year of the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) programme, it is useful to reflect on our work to reform Brazil’s English language education system, the lessons learnt, the challenges faced, and the opportunities that have arisen.
The programme has been working in pilot states across the country to improve the English language teaching (ELT) curriculum, through developing and providing high-quality learning resources and training teachers in both pedagogy and language skills. Ultimately, S4P aims to raise standards of English language proficiency in state schools to benefit over 2 million students.
The background of the S4P programme has been the COVID-19 pandemic, which swept across the world disrupting it in a way no one could have predicted and continues to impact all sectors of society. It has also revealed stark inequalities, not only across the globe but also within countries. In the education context in particular, the rapid move to remote learning and the increasing use of new technology has contributed to widening the learning gap between those who have access to equipment and an internet connection and those who don’t.
COVID-19 has undeniably posed challenges, with much of the learning for both students and teachers at best taking place online, at worst being halted completely. However, it has also presented opportunities to implement positive changes in ELT.
Three key challenges and opportunities
The need for data
Within this challenging context, it is increasingly important for governments to have accurate data to inform policy, target their efforts where they can have the greatest impact, and implement evidence-based solutions that can effect sustainable change.
This is why the introduction of a new section dedicated to ELT Data in the Observatory for English Language Learning, an online platform developed by S4P, is so important and so welcome. The data includes detailed information on the offer of English classes in the basic education system, on the profile and qualifications of language teachers and their workload according to the different education levels. The new section of the Observatory will help increase understanding of the challenges of teaching English in the state school system and to develop action plans tailored to local realities.
Shift in the teaching approach
Moving on from government policy to classroom practice, English language teachers that were trained as part of S4P had to cope with multiple changes. Many had to adapt their long-held teacher-centred beliefs and practice to a more learner-centred pedagogical approach, while getting used to teaching remotely and learning new modes of lesson delivery. These include using virtual classrooms or providing students with online self-study resources.
Facing so much change at the same time can be overwhelming for teachers, who are often reluctant to embrace what they can perceive at best as a poor substitute for effective face-to-face teaching, at worst as a threat to the essence of their profession.
On the other hand, the need for multiple and simultaneous adaptations has provided the opportunity to reinforce the importance of teachers’ engagement and buy-in for sustainable change in teaching practices. As we emphasised through the S4P programme in Brazil, a one-way ‘theory to practice’ training model of professional development should be avoided. Instead, research suggests that letting teachers theorise their own practice by taking elements of pedagogical theory, trying them out in the classroom and seeing what works in their context leads to a better understanding of their benefits. It encourages teachers to take ownership of their own classroom practice, and ultimately increases the engagement and buy-in necessary to effect change.
Engaging learners through remote teaching
On a practical level, moving from face-to-face to full online or hybrid methods of delivering lessons has made it harder for teachers to engage learners, particularly younger ones.
On a positive note, the pandemic has spurred collaboration in this area. Teachers have relied on peer-to-peer support as never before, sharing tips, tools, teaching and learning materials, which was made possible through gradually understanding how technology can facilitate interaction and collaboration in a virtual learning environment.
Global organisations such as Cambridge English have also helped teachers adapt to this new reality, providing free access to online teaching and learning resources. These include the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Teaching English Online, which was launched early in the pandemic to help teachers acquire the skills needed to teach online, as well as a series of webinars to help them work virtually, which are available on You Tube. More practical tips, from how to teach an unforgettable online English class to how to solve challenges in teaching young learners online, have also been shared through blog posts.
As we enter the third year of the pandemic as well as the third and last year of the programme, we can see that S4P has helped to lay strong foundations to improve English language teaching and learning in Brazil. However, a great deal still needs to be done to ensure these initiatives are sustainable and reach all socio-economic segments, which is what S4P is committed to do over the remainder of the programme. It is therefore important that even after the programme is over, data continues to be gathered, in particular in the areas of digital access and the digital skills of teachers and learners, to help policy makers develop targeted actions that address these key challenges.
Cover photo: Students use Xperience, the English language didactic materials collection developed by Skills for Prosperity. Credits: Vandy Ribeiro/Seed
