Innovation in Language Learning

Teachers’ Attitude Toward On-line Courses During the Pandemic: A Multinational Study

Nahid Zarei

Department of English, Maragheh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Maragheh, Iran

[email protected]

Although digital learning had started way before the pandemic in various educational settings throughout the world, the pandemic made the use of this platform an obligation rather than an option even in the countries in which it had not been tried before either because of educational practitioners’ resistance or poor technology-related facilities. This study set out to explore university teachers’ beliefs about the practicality of this platform in presenting the course content during the pandemic. For this purpose, 15 university lecturers, assistant professors and associate professors from the United States, Canada, France, Sweden, Kuwait, Italy, Malaysia, Lithuania, and Iran participated in the study. The teachers were contacted via the social networks- Facebook, LinkedIn- or e-mail. An open-ended questionnaire including six questions was sent to the participants and they were requested to express their personal experience concerning the use of technology during this period.  After gathering the questionnaires, the answers were read carefully and content analysis was conducted. The results showed that the teachers found this method of presentation a mixed blessing. The results of the study have implications for the curriculum planners and material designers of modern day system of education, educational practitioners and technology providers.