Preparedness for online learning: An analysis of English teachers in Türkiye

Abstract

Ever since the early 1990s, online learning has become a method of instruction in the education systems of the world. Online learning offers both the educators and students extensive benefits such as flexibility, convenience, mobilization, and personalized learning.  However, the significance of online learning had not been so apparent until the recent Covid-19 pandemic disrupted life in Türkiye and countries around the world. The switch to online education during the crisis was so swift and unprecedented that the question of how educators handled this experience was highly controversial. Thus, the answer to how prepared the users were for this type of encounter was worth the investigation. The study explored how prepared the English teachers in Türkiye were in using online learning to carry out their instruction from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in comparison to the time of data collection of the research. The project used a mixed-methods approach with an online survey conducted with 55 teachers and online interviews performed with 5 participants. The findings show that most teachers felt confident in their level of preparedness for online learning at the start and whilst the pandemic. However, the findings also highlighted the essential need for improvement in certain aspects of online learning such as staff and student orientation, functional infrastructure, user-friendly interface, administrative support, counseling services, and user interaction. Lastly, one other significant finding of the research was that most teachers had been able to develop their skills in online learning independently without heavily relying on their institutions.