39 / 2021-06-02 20:23:22

Understanding junior high English teachers’ experiences of distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: A grounded theory study

junior high English teachers; distance education; perceptions; responses

The Ministry of Education of China and other four departments issued Opinion about Vigorously Strengthening Construction and Application of Teaching Resources in Elementary Education (MOE, 2021), highlighting the importance of learning lessons from distance education over the pandemic. However, little of the existing research focused on distance education in the elementary education settings. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 7 junior high school teachers teaching English online during the pandemic, focusing on how EFL teachers in Chinese junior high schools perceived and responded to distance education when it became the main mode of delivery under the special context. A semi-structured interview protocol was used and data analysis was iterative, consistent with grounded theory methodology. Three major themes emerged from the data: (a) complicated emotion to distance education; (b) perceived factors affecting the quality of distance education; (c) strategies to ensure the quality of distance education. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for policy makers, educators, and technical counselors. Suggestions regarding how the experiences of distance education during the pandemic can promote the informationization of elementary English education are presented.