The research question of the current study dealt with the attitudes the Iranian EFL university lecturers held toward online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this section, the researcher reports and describes the participants’ attitudes through employing supporting extracts from the interviews. The university lecturers participating in this study were asked eleven questions.
4.1. Change in Pedagogy
The first major attitudinal theme of the interviews was change in pedagogy, with four subthemes of online teaching software, synchronous versus asynchronous teaching, benefits of online instruction, and university lecturers’ challenges regarding online instruction.
All of the university lecturers pointed out that, during the COVID 19 pandemic, instruction is conducted online, using different devices connected to the internet. Besides, the instructors noted that they interact with their students through email or Telegram. Moreover, the interviewees asserted that instructors and students cannot see each other unless recorded videos or images are made available. The following comments from UL1, UL2, and UL6 elucidate this:
“During this global pandemic, I teach course materials through the explicit use of technology and computer networking systems, without any physical or face-to-face activities or meetings to enable my students to participate in their learning activities beyond the university classroom.”
“My colleagues and I are required to teach our students through distance learning which involves network delivered computer based instruction and online tools and methods. We also need to interact with our students via email or Telegram rather than face-to-face.”
“The COVID-19 outbreak caused our university to implement online instruction for the sake of controlling the spread of the global pandemic. Thus, since we were unable to meet in a face-to-face setting during the current COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching in the EFL context occurred entirely online and we had to adjust to online instruction in response to this global pandemic.”
Furthermore, out of 13 university lecturers, four pointed out that university students are expected to be more autonomous in an online learning environment. The comment from UL13 demonstrates this point:
“Pedagogy used for face-to-face learning is not feasible for online instruction. Online instruction is mostly based on materials such as readings or exercises and offers the opportunity to integrate more media. Connecting university students and professors through digital platforms, laptops, and cell phones is the latest transition in online education. In addition, in an online learning environment, our students are required to be more autonomous.”
4.1.1. Online Teaching Software
All of the interviewees asserted that during this global pandemic, they teach courses through web-based technologies, from the internet that enables students to participate in learning activities beyond the classroom. In this regard, all of the university lecturers indicated that they employ Daan platform to hold their online classes. Moreover, nine interviewees highlighted the importance of using social media like Telegram channels as a tool to supplement online courses. This is evident in the following excerpts from UL2 and UL13:
“My colleagues and I are required to hold our online classes through Daan platform of Islamic Azad University. On the other hand, Telegram channels provide a considerably effective mobile platform during the current global pandemic and offer more functionalities and fewer potential drawbacks than other applications.”
“Other than using Daan platform, I often provide my students with additional resources and coaching through private Telegram channels that are created for each course at the beginning of the semester.”
4.1.2. Synchronous versus Asynchronous Teaching
All university lecturers spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of synchronous and asynchronous teaching environments and pointed out that synchronous instruction is mostly voice dependent and limits flexibility for students. Because of the need for everyone to be online at the same time, the instructor and students are required to work through the course at a similar pace in the synchronous environment. On the contrary, they noted that although asynchronous instruction has higher level of temporal flexibility, it lacks the real-time interaction between the instructors and their students. The following comments from UL8 and UL12 elucidate this:
“Asynchronous online instruction cannot be that much beneficial. In an asynchronous environment, course materials may be misunderstood, and instructor to student interactivity is limited to an email when our students have a question or problem. In contrast, in a synchronous environment, we are connected by audio conferencing and the students can ask their questions in real time like a face-to-face environment. In addition, there are a number of tools that can support synchronous teaching such as: instant messaging or whiteboard sharing.”
“I have experienced them both. In asynchronous online teaching, the teaching materials were sent online, and my students worked through the materials in their own time and communicated with me through my email. However, synchronous teaching was more useful and took place through voice conferencing and live chat.”
Furthermore, all of the university lecturers highlighted the significance of collaboration in synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments. The comment from UL4 demonstrates this point:
“I believe that collaboration between the instructor and students is considered as a crucial factor in both synchronous and asynchronous teaching environment and it creates a sense of connection and shared purpose between them.”
4.1.3. Benefits of Online Instruction
As the sample extracts from UL5 and UL7 reveal, nine university lecturers (UL2, UL3, UL4, UL5, UL7, UL8, UL11, UL12, and UL13) reported that promoting student autonomy, reducing student anxiety, recording online sessions, reviewing the lessons multiple times, offering more effective ways to deliver course materials to students, holding classes in more comfortable physical conditions, promoting virtual communication and collaboration, and developing technical skills are the most important benefits of online instruction.
“Online environment assists university lecturers in minimizing their students’ anxiety and also students may become more autonomous in an online environment. Another important benefit of online instruction is that students can record their online sessions and review them several times. In addition, students can improve their virtual communication skills.”
“As a part of their coursework, students need to use online learning materials, get familiar with new software and tools, and troubleshoot common issues. Therefore, they can develop their technical skills in an online learning environment.”
Furthermore, UL13, Ph.D. in TEFL, with 10 years of teaching experience, noted that university students do not sometimes feel comfortable asking their professors to repeat a point they made in their last lecture or dive into deeper details on a particular topic. Thus, when learning online, they can revisit the last material, perform additional research, and organize their notes. Moreover, UL1 maintained that online instruction involves a variety of efficient tools in terms of podcasts, videos, Power Point and PDF files that can be used by instructors as a part of their lesson plans. The statement from UL3 demonstrates this:
“University instructors can become more efficient educators by extending the lesson plan beyond traditional textbooks to include different online resources.”
On the other hand, the interviewees put under the spotlight the significance of flexibility of place in online teaching environment. Besides, they asserted that students who live in different cities or lack time to attend their courses can considerably benefit from online instruction. This is evident in the following excerpts from UL2, UL4, and UL9:
“For those students who live in another city or need to juggle working and going back to university, the flexibility of an online program provides them with the opportunity to learn while they are at work. Therefore, this flexibility allows them to balance their education, work, and life.”
“In face-to-face classes, there was a preparation process that involved dressing and ironing. However, in online classes, it is enough to be next to my laptop in a comfortable place in our home five minutes before the class. As a result, it is so comfortable and contributes to focus on the course.”
“Another considerable benefit of online class is that it allows the instructor and students to attend the class from home or any other location of their choice. Thus, online teaching environment offers them the accessibility of place in education.”
4.1.4. University Lecturers’ Challenges Regarding Online Instruction
Seven interviewees (UL1, UL3, UL5, UL6, UL7, UL8, and UL10) asserted that facing technology and internet connectivity issues, harming instructors and students’ eyes, focusing on the screen for a long period of time, developing physical problems, having a sense of isolation, and having minimal interactions between the instructor and students are the most important challenges university lecturers and students face regarding online instruction. This is evident in the following statements from UL4, UL7, UL11, and UL12:
“This pandemic has raised several challenges for the higher education community. Poor internet connectivity is one of the important challenges of online classes. Without a consistent and reliable internet connection for university lecturers or students, there will be a lack of continuity in learning for students.”
“Laptop or cell phone screens harm instructors and students’ eyes if they continue to look at the screen for a long time.”
“There is no face-to-face interaction between the professor and students in an online learning environment and this issue results in a sense of isolation for the students.”
“Instructors and students may develop physical problems due to staying hunched in front of a screen. I am really concerned about the health hazards of having myself spend too many hours staring at my laptop screen. Thus, this increase in screen time is one of the most important disadvantages of online instruction.”
On the other hand, UL3 and UL5 spoke about financial constraints and lack of experience, awareness, and training to use digital forms of learning, respectively:
“Online learning requires professors and students to have a basic knowledge of using digital forms of instruction and learning. However, some of our students have inadequate knowledge of how to use online tools and those from poor families do not even have the necessary tools to join online classes.”
“Professors are not trained for online instruction and some of the old instructors might not even know how to teach online and prepare appropriate materials for online classes. On the other hand, adjunct professors need to spend money from their own pockets to use high-speed internet facilities to teach in their online classes.”
4.2. Supporting Students
The next major attitudinal theme of the interviews was supporting students with two subthemes of establishing rapport and positive relationship with students and student engagement.
4.2.1. Establishing Rapport and Positive Relationship with Students
All of the university lecturers underscored the significance of caring, empathy, availability, and enhanced communication in establishing rapport with their students in an online environment and demonstrated that rapport is one of the crucial factors that contributes positively to their students’ development. Besides, they noted that university professors and students need to trust and respect each other in order to build positive relationship in their online classes and students will feel more supported if their instructors show sincere interest in them as individuals. These points are evident in the following statements from UL1 and UL6:
“Trust is necessary for developing rapport and positive relationship with our students. On the other hand, we should be respectful and available to our students, establish empathy, and assist them in reducing their anxiety levels through interacting with them.”
“During this global pandemic, some of our students are experiencing high levels of anxiety. Therefore, it is important to assist them in minimizing their anxiety. Additionally, if our students realize that we care about their development and success, they will be more likely to engage with us and their course materials.”
UL4, Ph.D. in TEFL, with seven years of teaching experience, put under the spotlight the importance of calling students by their first names and remembering the details. In this regard, she pointed out that:
“We understand each other better when there is rapport between us. I always call my students by their first names in our online classes and remember the details regarding their learning process in order to build rapport and positive relationship with them.”
4.2.2. Student Engagement
Six university professors (UL2, UL6, UL7, UL9, UL11, and UL12) asserted that employing praise and positive feedback, providing students with opportunities to reflect on their own learning experiences, and being open to their feedback can bring motivation and engagement in their students’ learning. Moreover, they noted that building a positive relationship with students can truly motivate them to engage in the online environment and develop their performance. Further, UL11 highlighted the importance of using a variety of instructional methods and stated that:
“I always try to provide positive feedback on my students’ performance in my online classes. On the other hand, my willingness to listen to my students’ feedback will make them feel comfortable in sharing their reflections with me in our online class. I also make my online courses accessible, use different instructional methods, and enrich each lesson with Power Point files and textual information in the lesson, along with some videos illustrating the key points.”
On the other hand, UL10, with 15 years of teaching experience, noted that an instructor’s enthusiasm is one the crucial factors in increasing students’ motivation. Moreover, she highlighted the importance of having a good learning environment and expressed that:
“Learning environment has an important role in students’ success in an online course. A good and supportive online learning environment can help our students stay engaged. In addition, inspired professors can inspire their students as well.”
4.3. Ethics in Online Instruction
Another major theme of the interviews explored the university lecturers’ attitudes toward the role of ethics in an online learning environment, with a subtheme of assessment in an online environment.
All of the interviewees highlighted the significance of ethical issues in an online learning environment and spoke about being fair, polite, respectful, honest, and trustworthy, considering each student’s face, being aware of the tone of their language, respecting students’ emotions and feelings, controlling their behaviors and actions, answering students’ questions, avoid being defensive, preventing discrimination against students, avoid using offensive language, checking interactions among students in the online class, and making students aware of their commitment to the ethics in an online learning environment. The following comments from UL9 and UL11 elucidate these points respectively:
“In my view, politeness, fairness, respect, and tolerance are extremely important in an online learning environment. Besides, I always control my behavior and avoid using insulting language. Moreover, in answering my students’ questions in our online classes, as a sign of courtesy and respect for the students, I answer them as soon as possible.”
“In my online classes, my students are required to respect each other, conduct interaction based on pre-determined rules, and be aware of the issues associated with ethics in online courses. I always supervise the processes of collaborative learning development of my students, check the interactions among them in our online class, and never let them insult their peers. When something is annoying in the online class, I try to react calmly and without any kind of violence or aggressiveness. Additionally, in case of any violence, I report it to the head of our faculty in order to take appropriate action.”
Further, all of the interviewees put under the spotlight the significance of being committed to their work and being organized in an online learning environment. Moreover, they demonstrated that students need structure for success. This is evident in the following excerpt from UL10:
“When a professor and students are organized and have clear instructions and schedules, their uncertainty is minimized. However, unfortunately, I know some instructors who are too disorganized. They are frequently late for their classes or leave their classes early, unable to find their materials for their online classes quickly, and not comfortable and up to date with their course content.”
4.3.1. Assessment in an Online Environment
Out of 13 university lecturers, nine spoke about several strategies to minimize cheating on online final examinations and pointed out that assessment is the most challenging part of the transition from physical to online teaching environment. However, they stated that creating open-ended questions, starting the exam at a specific time, limiting how long the students will have to take the exam, using plagiarism checkers to evaluate students’ term projects, research papers, and assignments, designing exam questions that provoke students’ critical thinking, requiring students to focus merely on one question at a time, changing test question sequence, offering different versions of the same test, and checking possible technical problems prior to each exam are of utmost importance in reducing cheating on online examinations. These points are evident in the following statements from UL8 and UL12:
“Well, in an online environment, it is hardly possible to ensure that our students do not cheat! However, I often prohibit backtracking and require my students to focus only on one question at a time, answer it, and then go to the next one. On the other hand, I usually provide different students with different versions of the same test to minimize cheating on online exams."
“There are a number of ways through which we can minimize cheating in an online environment. For instance, changing test question sequences, checking plagiarism, using varied question types, and designing subjective-based question types that demand higher order thinking and deeper understanding of the content in order to assess students’ mastery of course materials.”
On the other hand, six participants highlighted the significance of requiring their students to sign a Pledge of Ethics Form before starting their examinations. The following statement from UL13 elucidates this:
“Since online teaching and assessment are taking place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, students of Islamic Azad University are required to sign an Ethics Form prior to their final examinations. In fact, the Ethics Form serves as a reminder of the significance of ethical principles.”
Furthermore, UL7 and UL10 put under the spotlight the importance of carrying out formative assessment and evaluating students based on their classroom practices and pointed out that university instructors should not rely too heavily or only on exams as a means of assessing their students’ learning. Concerning this, they pointed out that:
“I believe that assessment is more than just scores and learning is not about grades, but about progress. I carry out formative assessments in my online courses to ongoingly and consistently determine how well my students learn the course contents and provide critical feedback to them.”
“In an online learning environment, I often evaluate my students based on their classroom performance and term projects and each student’s active participation is strongly recommended for all my online classes. Moreover, my students’ final score includes (a) a final exam (25 percent) and (b) active class participation and assignments (75 percent).”
4.4. The Future of Online Instruction
The last major attitudinal theme of the interviews was the future of online instruction, with two subthemes of university lecturers’ suggestions or recommendations regarding online instruction and changes in learning approaches after the COVID-19 pandemic.
4.4.1. University Lecturers’ Suggestions or Recommendations Regarding Online Instruction
The interviewees emphasized the importance of having adequate and up-to-date computer-based and high-speed internet-based facilities, training university instructors to teach online, and providing them with economic support during the global pandemic. Further, developing university lecturers and students’ online computer literacy skills, promoting students’ involvement, engaging students in synchronous rather than asynchronous activities in online courses, establishing positive attitudes, showing compassion, getting students’ feedback, responding to their feedback, identifying their own weaknesses, and reflecting on how to improve their courses were among the interviewees’ other suggestions or recommendations regarding successful online instruction in the Iranian EFL context. In this regard, UL2 and UL6 with almost two decades of teaching experience indicated that:
“We should receive training on online teaching principles. Besides, I believe that policymakers should provide us with economic support during the global pandemic to avoid burnout and ensure that all university lecturers and students have access to the proper devices and connection. On the other hand, professors can use other ways, such as term projects, reflective essays, and research papers, to evaluate each student’s performance in an online learning environment.”
“We need online facility improvement. On the other hand, since ensuring success in an online learning environment requires active engagement of students in the learning process, university lecturers are expected to promote student involvement and peer collaboration in their online courses.”
4.4.2. Changes in Learning Approaches after the COVID-19 Pandemic
The interviewees maintained that, after this global pandemic, when normal classes resume, face-to-face EFL university courses might be combined with and supported by online teaching sessions. Besides, university professors may use these online tools to enhance their instruction. Moreover, in the future, university lecturers might have more liberty and autonomy in deciding where to integrate technology to support their teaching practices. In this respect, UL12 gave this comment:
“These days, we have to resort to online educational tools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the future, it will become a new model of education and I believe that online instruction might become an integral component of higher education. Therefore, educators might apply those teaching initiatives that have proved to be effective during distant learning and integrate them into the regular face-to-face education system.”