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Teaching English Online: From Course to Practice

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Florina Codreanu
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ATN: Languages for specific purposes, vol. 20, nr. 3/2020

Teaching English Online: From Course to Practice

Florina CODREANU

Abstract: The year 2020 is by default dedicated to online teaching, changing learning
behaviours, and virtualised classrooms. Looking for a silver lining in the COVID-19
pandemic is one of the greatest challenges the education professionals all over the world
have faced in recent months. Be it Blackboard Learn, Skype, Google Hangouts/ Classroom/
Meet, Whereby, Zoom, WebRoom, Edmodo, Microsoft Teams and so on, the English
language teachers around the world have been struggling to find their new voice lent itself
to the current international situation and to keep themselves on a steep learning curve in
terms of digital environments and online platforms know-how. In response to the
teachers’ growing need, Cambridge Assessment English offered via www.FutureLearn.com
a 4-week course about Teaching English Online, and the present paper intends to describe
and analyse how the training course was delivered and used afterwards within online
English classes.

Key words: training course; online class; digital communication; teaching & learning
platform; shared knowledge.

1. Training Course Overview

Immediately after the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic,
Cambridge English Assessment – one of the three main exam boards forming the
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), offered a free
training course to English teachers who had recently transferred their face-to-face
classes to online platforms. The course filled up the trend of providing support to
teachers working mainly onsite or teachers willing to convert completely to online
teaching and in need of developing their own teaching business, either by working
for a company or for themselves as to say. Nowadays, a teacher-oriented course
when education has almost entirely become student-centred is something of a
golden opportunity and the beneficiaries of such a course could have profited
accordingly.

As far as the organizational side of the course was concerned, the given outline of
each course week primarily included types of equipment, tools and resources
available online and considered useful in the process of teaching receptive and
productive skills. The main skills required as an online teacher were as well in

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question for the obvious purpose of engaging and motivating learners in building
online rapport both with their teacher and class peers.

Starting from the basic idea that online learning is not online chatting, the
trainees were actively encouraged to set clear planning, objectives and learning
goals since establishing good rapport is much more different online due to
physical distance or even social and cultural distance in the case of foreign
students. Backup planning with an eye to potential eventualities or difficulties was
desirable as the group dynamics despite the given distance depends on the
following and many more: building natural relationships, modelling good
communication and polite, respectful behaviour, showing interest in other’s life
and way of thinking, personalising lesson contents for the students’ sake, putting
the learners in control of their conversation, and last but not least establishing by
all means a good rapport.

2. Online Benefits and Possible Hardships

A vast majority of the teachers enrolled in this course were of the opinion that
online teaching is by and large much more demanding than face-to-face teaching
since it requires and involves different and specialised skills, not to mention that
at times technological expertise seems of a greater value than competence in
teaching itself. The ability to come to grips with online conversion, and in some of
the cases even online havoc, has become the core subject of today’s education
and training. However, the possibility to transfer teaching materials to online
environment changes the whole dark scenario of adapting for a virtual
environment. Teachers may still use exam syllabuses or coursebooks in electronic
format and they may supplement everything with online resources and learner-
generated resources such as images, vocabulary quizzes, videos and so on.

Teaching Speaking
Among the four basic language skills, speaking seems by far much more accessible
to online teaching as the teacher listens and watches the students continuously,
so he/she can monitor their spoken language, give them immediate or delayed
feedback and encourage their active participation and engagement with the
speaking activities. Nevertheless, the teacher should state from the beginning that
learning and developing speaking is not like talking to a friend on Skype, for
instance, even though this idea may help students to feel more comfortable and

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ATN: Languages for specific purposes, vol. 20, nr. 3/2020

confident when joining a speaking lesson online (Nobre, 2018b). In terms of

providing feedback, which is mandatory in teaching productive skills, the teacher
may choose between on the spot feedback, by using either the chat box or the
shared screen, or delayed feedback if there is the intention to wrap up at the end
of the task. Another possibility for immediate correction in speaking could be to
hold up a colourful card to signify an error has been made that needs correcting.
No matter the choice (accuracy vs. fluency), the teacher should give the students
more time to come up with answers when asking a question because of the time
lag or unexpected delays between computers. The main advantage in teaching
speaking online lies in the possibility of recording the lesson or the speaking
activity for further use and improvement.

Teaching Reading
After integrating speaking into online teaching, reading comprehension is another
skill that can be taught as effectively as in any physical classroom since all the
hardcover student’s books and photocopiable teacher’s resources and worksheets
can be used in their electronic versions. Anyway, the idea of going paperless
would fulfil all the environmental expectations regarding trees’ preservation and
nature’s protection. Besides different types of texts and interactive exercises
which are just a click away, the teacher can extract short texts or stories from
dedicated websites and use the screen-sharing feature for the reading process
and drawing/texting tools for direct annotations on the screen. The spotlight may
conveniently replace the pointer if the teacher intends to attract students’
attention to certain words or phrases from the given texts. In addition, both the
teacher and the students can take a screenshot of the material read and discussed
during a lesson and save it to their computers for later self-study.

Teaching Listening
Listening to audio and video files depends more than any other skill on having the
right equipment. In most of the listening contexts the students should try to use
headphones or ear plugs in order to muffle the outside noise whereas the teacher
should share his/her computer sound while assigning listening tasks. If for
successful speaking practice, a functional microphone and a reliable camera are
more than necessary, for successful listening practice, a headset would ensure the
message is got across perfectly. Here the point at issue is not exactly the prepared
beforehand listening materials that can be easily rewound, but the way the

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Florina CODREANU, p. 29-37

students understand one another in collaborative work and the way they
understand the teacher, especially when setting tasks, introducing new
vocabulary or correcting errors. Also, both pre-listening and post-listening tasks
can be addressed similarly online by using the virtual whiteboard, the chat box or
the shared screen. As in the case of speaking, the possibility of recording may
extend students’ self-awareness and incorporate their listening practice into
future comparisons and even self-assessment exercises.

Teaching Writing
Probably the most neglected skill in onsite teaching, the writing skill gains online
the chance to make a fresh start: in a face-to-face classroom is usually overlooked
because it may be perceived as time-consuming and it's generally seen as a
homework task without much thought – but it shouldn't be! Teaching writing
online can be a fun and enjoyable experience as long as teachers are aware of the
tools available and let their creativity spark (Nobre, 2018b). From the simplest
jumbled-word sentences to sharing a Google Docs in which the students may
write their own pandemic story simultaneously on the same file, the writing tasks
are unlimited and may cover all the stages of the writing process: brainstorming
inspiring ideas and organising them, reflecting on a text structure and doing
collaborative proofreading. By studying various text types and layouts, the
students can improve their writing subskills such as linking ideas, punctuation,
vocabulary, register etc. and it is quite obvious the computer screen is much more
adequate for taking the time to teach writing off and on.

Online teaching and learning should benefit first and foremost from the existing
digital support services and solutions (Annexe 1 & 2) and avoid being subjected to
hardships caused by lack of rigorous planning, basic equipment or online
distractions. For example, the breakout rooms is a great tool for developing
learner’s autonomy and team spirit, but if the teacher’s task is not clear enough or
double-checked for full understanding it might turn out to be time-consuming and
when the students reconvene to the main session they are not able to present
their group/ pair work or while in the process the teacher may catch them
switching to their mother tongue even though they are gently advised not to do
so. It is a proven fact the students don’t always follow the teacher’ routes and
online it is much more challenging to guide them and control all their activities.
The increased digitalisation of the educational tools, aids and resources, has

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ATN: Languages for specific purposes, vol. 20, nr. 3/2020

proven for some time to be inevitable, with or without the acceleration of the
coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, and educational experts
have become increasingly aware that all misfortune is actually a stepping stone to
fortune in formal education and not only.

3. From Training Course to Online Practice

Starting with the 21st century, the teacher’s roles within the English classes have
reshaped tremendously. Not so much the controller or the tutor, including the
outdated role model, the teacher has become step by step a little bit of learning
facilitator/ prompter, information provider/ resource developer, a class
participant and a discrete assessor. In the international context of transition from
a live teaching event to a meaningful virtual experience, the teacher’s role boils
down to carefully planning, organising and managing the virtual environment.
More of an online manager in his own right, the English teacher had to decide in
the passing year which is the right online platform for teaching a foreign language,
which are the predictabilities in terms of advantages and disadvantages, and what
assessment strategy is much more suitable for coping with the whole situation.

Amidst a great deal of possibilities, the choice in our case has slowly narrowed
down to Zoom versus MS Teams, namely the British Council’s nomination along
with other international English language providers vs. the university
recommendation to support a mixed community of teachers. Eventually, Zoom was
a better choice since it includes all the necessary tools and features to naturally
continue the face-to-face instruction: video, chat box, interactive whiteboard, share
screen feature, breakout rooms, ability to record the lesson etc. etc. and in its
upgraded version unlimited time span of videoconferencing for groups larger than
one hundred students. What is more, the audio and video quality is stable, and the
lessons do not have to suffer from any interruptions or delays.

The specialised skills a teacher needs for online teaching revolve around a short list
of six skills according to the trainer teacher Cecilia Nobre (2018a), an ELT teacher
based in Rio de Janeiro: 1.) communication skills (building extra sense of patience
and empathy), 2.) time management skills (adding dynamism to an already fast-
paced class), 3.) organisational skills (creating a digital library for teaching different
levels), 4.) computer skills (mastering the chosen platform and the online
classroom), 5.) assessing students (doing needs analysis and online interviewing,

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Florina CODREANU, p. 29-37

giving feedback) and 6.) social media skills (joining online groups of teachers,
networking). The bottom line in teaching online is that the teacher (sometimes even
together with the students) should always be ready to share knowledge and set the
proper teaching context to convey meaning. As the digital language teachers and
trainers Helen Allen and Ollie Wood said in a webinar dedicated to teaching online,
we can’t replicate exactly what we do in face-to-face classes but we can find ways to
achieve the same outcomes (Allen and Wood, 2020).

The online context may be set by the teacher at the beginning of the lesson, by the
students in a flipped classroom approach when they are doing a homework task
prior to joining the class, or by both when something comes up unexpectedly or the
students want the teacher to teach them something. The success of an online class
depends mostly on the language input (implying meaning, form and pronunciation),
and from this point of view the digital environment is not scarcer than the physical
one, quite the contrary. One can set the context through a multitude of fairly
straightforward possibilities: using drawings, pictures or charts; creating a cartoon
or a video presentation; telling an anecdote or a story; using an avatar, a film clip or
a short text. However, displaying a longer text for reading wouldn’t be entirely
convenient as the students have to read at the same pace when the teacher scrolls
down. Also, if the group tends to become torpid, the teacher may ask the learners
to pick one peer and ask a topic-based question and, why not, taking turns in asking
and answering questions to animate the whole group.

All in all, the online teacher can keep a diary of excellent and poor online
experiences with his/her students and repeat some of the approaches or
techniques that made the lessons more animated and engaging. From making use
of the digital tools available and sharing appropriate resources to maximizing the
interaction between the teacher and the students and maintaining a positive
learning environment, there are always certain teaching and learning tips and
tricks (and hacks) that could make a big difference in the end.

4. Virtual Conclusions
When teaching online, not the lesson or the contents taught change, but the
environment, that is why the teacher has to play different kinds of roles adapted
for digital environment: online motivator and platform promoter, technologist
and computer specialist, daily informer and permanent collaborator, skills

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ATN: Languages for specific purposes, vol. 20, nr. 3/2020

integrator and data collator, supervisor and at times even gatekeeper by locking
the meeting if necessary, especially during tests. Furthermore, the teacher is likely
to pay more attention to copyright, privacy and security regulations than in a face-
to-face setting. The digital teacher should possess a wide range of technical and
non-technical abilities, anticipate problems and solutions, minimise the chances of
miscommunication and maximise students’ potential towards English language
awareness and proficiency.

In the realm of online teaching, the teacher becomes indeed the host or the
owner of the meeting or team, but in fact he/she experiences a sort of
partnership with the students in the process of teaching and learning. The online
transition appears to be a win-win situation for both parties: the teacher develops
professionally and explores alternative ways of teaching (i.e. hybrid teaching)
while the students not only learn the contents and reach the expected level of
knowledge, but they also learn how to learn and get constantly aware that the
learning process is going to continue as such for the rest of their professional life
and they have to be ready to easily adapt to future changes.

Considering all the above, the course Teaching English Online (opened in March
2020) is a good starter in whetting teachers’ appetite for online teaching and it is
not surprising at the moment 256,601 people have already enrolled on this
course. The training course is conveniently intended to clarify which are the online
opportunities to grasp and the pitfalls to avoid in the long run. Still, in the absence
of permanent critical reflection on online practice and effective strategy to meet
students’ needs, all the shared knowledge is not going to withstand alone the test
of changing times and attitudes towards e-learning and digitalisation.

Bibliography
Allen, H. and Wood, O. (2020). Getting started with teaching English online (Webinar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrfx_akpd0U)
Nobre, C. (2018a). “Teaching online vs teaching face-to-face” in
https://ugc.futurelearn.com/uploads/files/d6/cd/d6cd9dc1-efbe-4dfd-81d4-
cc283de76a1e/Teaching_Online_Vs_Teaching_Face_to_Face_FinalR2.pdf, UCLES
Nobre, C. (2018b). “Teaching skills online” in
https://ugc.futurelearn.com/uploads/files/bf/64/bf6473b2-bfec-4363-876e-
59fd87c9d799/Teaching_Skills_Online_FinalR2.pdf, UCLES

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Florina CODREANU, p. 29-37

Annexe 1

Ctr. Language skill- related links

1. Speaking:
https://l-www.voki.com/ (using avatars in speaking)
https://voicespice.com/ (voice recorder and message sharing)
https://info.flipgrid.com/ (for video discussions)
https://www .speakpipe.com/voice-recorder (online voice recorder)
https://forvo.com/ (for pronunciation)
2. Reading:
https://kahoot.com/ (for quizzes and class competitions)
https://www.newsinlevels.com/ (for news reading)
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/learning-english/activities-for-
learners/?skill=reading (for reading practice at all levels)
https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/?cc=ro&selLanguage=en
(for reading practice at all levels)
https://www.linguahouse.com/ (for reading lessons)
3. Listening:
https://film-english.com/
(for listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition)
https://www.englishcentral.com/browse/videos
(for learning new words through videos)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ky207/clips
(for listening to short clips)
https://tedxesl.wordpress.com/
(ESL discussion materials based on TED talks)
http://tubequizard.com/
(pronunciation and grammar for listeners)
4. Writing:
https://writeandimprove.com/ (for immediate feedback on writing)
https://ro.padlet.com/ (for sharing pieces of writing or collaborating on
the same piece)
https://storybird.com/ (for guided writing)
https://www.makebeliefscomix.com/ (for storytelling via the online comic
strip creation tool)
https://bookcreator.com/ (for boosting creativity in writing)

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 ATN: Languages for specific purposes, vol. 20, nr. 3/2020

Annexe 2

Ctr. Online resources

1. Class study:
https://mailchi.mp/peacheypublications/catalogue
https://legacy.lessonstream.com/lessons/
https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/
2. Self-study:
https://www.memrise.com/
https://quizlet.com/
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/learning-english/games-social/quiz-
your-english/

Florina CODREANU, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Department of Modern

Languages and Communication, Assistant Professor,
florina.codreanu@lang.utcluj.ro

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