This research aims to investigate EFL teachers’ perspectives toward student engagement in online English classes at the high school level and the challenges teachers have experienced in
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
1.1.1 The Impact of COVID-19 on Global Education
There is hardly a shred of doubt in anyone’s mind that the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be memorized as a milestone in human history The pandemic has been accountable for the deaths of millions of people and has brought up serious health, economic, and social problems on a scale that has not been seen in many years (ILO & OECD, 2020) Education was believed to be one of the fields strongly impacted when most educational systems underwent serious adjustments, closures of schools, and billions of children and youth being out of school in more than 190 nations and all continents (De Giusti & Eduardo, 2020; Joshi & Gupta, 2021; Karakửse, 2020; Saavedra, 2022) National governments implemented restrictive policies that affected many aspects of everyday life of all schools, students, teachers, and parents to make significant adjustments to the learning and teaching settings (Karakửse, 2020)
1.1.2 Teaching Online in the Global Context of High Schools
With the strong development of technology, countries have taken awareness of the necessity of technology in education to deliver effective teaching and learning in this emergency setting It was not until the COVID-19 pandemic that online classes were adopted as a compulsory delivery mode because the mission of bringing knowledge to the students could not be postponed (Susilowati, 2020) Schools in the USA reacted to the pandemic in various ways, depending on their location, facilities, and financial resources (Kaden, 2020) However, insufficient student access to digital devices and the unavailability of high-speed internet were two of the most critical barriers to the expansion of online education (Kaden, 2020) In Indonesia, the government has released policies about home study through virtual classes offered to schools and higher education (Aletheiani, 2021) This unexpected change resulted in chaos, especially for Indonesian high school students preparing for the national examination (Putri et al., 2020) Eventually, the government canceled the national examination that year to ease the pressure on students, parents, and schools (Putri et al., 2020)
1.1.3 The Impact of COVID-19 on Vietnamese Education
The rising concerns over the increasing rate of COVID-19 infections prompted the Prime Minister of Vietnam to declare the closure of all schools and colleges on March 27, 2020, according to Directive No 15/CT-TTG (Prime Minister of Vietnam, 2020) According to the Prime Minister of Vietnam (2021), the national education system was required to gradually move to the online state and resume previous activities as a “new normal” Until the pandemic was controlled, teachers and students were required to implement learning environments from their homes for an undetermined time Implementing online learning at that time was challenged by the lack of experience and a pilot nature, which caused a variety of issues, including difficulties in using online learning applications and software; internet and transmission line problems; lack of students’ online learning motivation, as well as objective factors influencing students’ learning sense (Le et al., 2021)
1.1.4 Teaching Online in the Context of High Schools in Vietnam
During the early stages of the pandemic, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) issued an instruction “Suspending school, not stopping learning” to educational institutions across the country (Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper, 2021) High school students were among the groups who suffered many difficulties when both pressured by a new learning mode and preparing for the national high school graduation exam Instead of the annual occurrence in June or July, the exam was held in early August and September, which was later than usual (UNESCO & UNICEF, 2021) According to the Official Letter No 2515/BGDĐT-QLCL, the MOET was responsible for organizing the exam into two phases, each based on the localities’ current circumstances (MOET, 2021) Localities actively implemented synchronized actions such as preventing the COVID-19 pandemic at exam locations, suggesting solutions to provide maximum support for students, ensuring that no student misses the exam due to difficult situations, and considering special consideration for graduation acknowledgment for students who are qualified to take the second exam but are unable to do because of the effect of the pandemic (Thoa & Dung, 2022)
1.1.5 Student Engagement in Online Learning
Student engagement is critical for excellent learning outcomes and academic accomplishment (Trinh et al., 2019) However, according to these authors, student engagement cannot be achieved effectively when it is affected by personal aspects and the learning environment Trinh et al (2019) stated that this is linked to the Vietnamese high school setting, where teachers and supervisors tend to monitor students closely Still, a lack of attention is paid to student engagement in learning Therefore, it is necessary to consider the issues associated with student engagement while implementing online learning for high school students (Trinh et al., 2019)
In contrast to traditional approaches to education, an online delivery mode is carried out through virtual classes without physical interactions (University at Buffalo, 2022) Meanwhile, Taci (2021) emphasized that “teaching is interaction” (p.21) Both students and teachers are required to interact with digital tools, building lesson plans, and other related works, all through a computer screen Taci (2021) stated that the problem of online teaching is not at technology but is specifically related to many students’ psychological, social, and emotional factors in the learning process This opinion is accurate when it became even more challenging for teachers to achieve high levels of student engagement since all schools were required to transfer to online learning
Having a great opportunity to meet and work with some EFL teachers teaching in several high schools in Ho Chi Minh city, the researcher has been shared many stories about the difficulties of implementing an online class Moreover, the pressure from the national high school graduation examination and preparation for university entrance has weighed heavily on teachers’ and students’ shoulders as they had to review knowledge and wait for updates from the Ministry of Education Therefore, these concerns prompted the researcher to conduct this study
Although many studies described student engagement in online delivery mode in recent years (Das et al., 2019; Le & Pham, 2021; Tran & Nguyen, 2020), a considerable amount of them concentrated on higher education or concerned with student-related aspects (Dinh et al., 2022; Le et al., 2021; Le & Truong, 2021; Le et al., 2021; Ngo, 2021; Nguyen, 2021; Nguyen et al., 2019) There have been few investigations on student engagement in compulsory education levels that have been discussed, especially in the Vietnamese context (Pham et al., 2021; Trinh et al., 2019), and most of them related to the students’ perspectives (Hoang & Tran, 2021; Ngo, 2021; Nguyen, 2021) Little attention has been paid to teachers’ perspectives on student engagement in educational activities Thus, to bridge that gap, this study investigates what EFL teachers think about student engagement and their challenges in improving high school students’ engagement in the online teaching context.
Aims of the Study
The purposes of this study are first to explore the EFL teachers’ perspectives towards student engagement in online classes, second to investigate the challenges that EFL teachers encounter in improving student engagement, and third to propose some suggestions for improving online delivery mode This study is hoped to shed light on the experiences of teachers teaching online by giving them a chance to discuss their experiences in online English classes.
Research Questions
In particular, this study attempts to address the two following research questions:
1 How are EFL teachers’ perspectives on student engagement reflected in their online English classes?
2 What challenges are the EFL teachers dealing with in enhancing student engagement in their online classes?
Significance of the Study
This study is expected to be a valuable resource for EFL teachers in Vietnamese and similar contexts to better understand student engagement’s critical role in online classes Furthermore, exploring several challenges during online classes may help these EFL teachers determine the related problems and adjust the teaching approaches and lesson plans to have successful online teaching.
Scope of the Study
Student engagement had been affected when teaching and learning were forced to move to online status during the COVID-19 social distancing Therefore, this study attempts to focus on investigating EFL teachers’ perspectives on student engagement in their online classes A case study in this research was conducted at three high schools in three different districts in Ho Chi Minh city with a total of 15 EFL teachers, of which each school had five EFL teachers participating Specifically, an online survey was conducted with 15 EFL teachers, and then the focused group interviews were employed with nine EFL teachers who had taken part in the online survey.
Organization of Thesis Chapters
The organization of this study is as follows Chapter 2 introduces a literature review related to student engagement in an online EFL context The first section clarifies the definitions and the three main components of student engagement The second section provides the definition of online teaching and the two key aspects of online teaching, including online teaching pedagogy and technology The third section provides some comprehension of online delivery mode in English classes The fourth section focuses on the importance of student engagement in online English classes
The last section describes the factors influencing student engagement during online teaching
Chapter 3 describes the methodology for conducting this research, including the following sections: the research design, the context of the study, the participants, the research tools, the ethical considerations, and the data collection and analysis procedures
Chapter 4 presents the results and findings collected from the online survey and the focused group interviews This chapter then discusses the results and findings to answer the two research questions In the results and findings section, four sub- sections are included, namely: (1) EFL teachers’ perspectives on student engagement in online classes, (2) EFL teachers’ online teaching experiences, (3) EFL teachers’ perspectives on online teaching, and (4) supports and suggested solutions for EFL teachers to overcome the challenges in online classes In the discussion section, the researcher discusses the first theme related to the EFL teachers’ perspectives on student engagement and the factors influencing student engagement in online classes Then the researcher discusses the second theme related to the teachers’ challenging experiences with online teaching and the recommendations suggested by the teachers to improve online delivery mode in the future
Chapter 5 provides the conclusion of the study, including (1) the general conclusion, (2) the suggestions for EFL teachers to improve their online teaching and enhance their students’ engagement, (3) the limitations of the study, and (4) the recommendations for further studies.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of Student Engagement
Student engagement has to be seen as a critical element of building a successful learning and teaching process However, the term seems difficult to define because of the ambiguity about the object of “engagement” (Ashwin & McVitty, 2015) Some authors defined student engagement as participation in comprehensive educational practices, including inside and outside the classroom experiences and interactions (Coates, 2006; Furrer & Skinner, 2003; Harper & Quaye, 2010) This definition makes it seem unrealistic, but it does have a helpful meaning at a specific degree of analysis
It is not only unlimited to the academic environment but also extended to students’ interactions with their learning, institutions, and society Additionally, student engagement refers to the extent of concentration and enthusiasm in students’ learning (Karani & Achuthan, 2019; Shernoff, 2013; Skinner & Belmont, 1993) It emphasizes the involvement in learning and school activities, such as attending classes, completing required work, and following teachers’ guidance (Chapman, 2003; Cole
& Chan, 1994), and it is shown as “part of the school program” (Natriello, 1984, p 14) Moreover, Hu and Kuh (2002) argued that student engagement regards the effort of individual students and what is significant for their learning, which contributes to the desired learning outcomes Meanwhile, Fredricks and McColskey defined student engagement as “a meta-construct that includes behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement” (p 764)
It can be seen that many authors studying student engagement have claimed inconsistency in the use of terms as well as in their definitions (Trân, 2019); therefore,
I found many difficulties in determining the appropriate definition for the research context However, the scope of this study is to examine EFL teachers’ perceptions of high school students’ engagement in online learning, and it revolves around students’ primary task of learning Therefore, I used the concept of engagement of the authors Fredricks and McColskey (2012), which is “a meta-construct that includes behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement” (p 764) Student engagement is a meta- construct that explains how students behave, sense, and perceive online learning through behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement
According to Fredricks et al (2004), behavioral engagement refers to the participation of students in academics, such as complying with school and class regulations or avoiding performing abnormal performance, such as making trouble at school, not attending class, or social activities Students are also engaged in various activities in academic and outside the classroom (Anjarwati & Sa’adah, 2021) In addition, behavioral engagement may reveal how persistently students perform activities that have been assigned (Nguyen, 2021), and it is also an important element for achieving expected learning outcomes (Fredricks et al., 2004) Besides, Jeliska and Paradowski’s (2021) study emphasized the significance of teacher support in the online classroom, indicating that it is positively related to student behavioral engagement
Considered one of the key elements of student engagement (Nguyen, 2021), emotional engagement covers the students’ positive feelings toward their teachers, peers, institutions, and the learning process (Fredricks et al., 2004; Harris, 2008) It also includes the students’ interests and whether they find the lessons valuable (Fredricks et al., 2004) The students’ reactions should be organized under a general theme, including positive and negative appraisals (Nguyen, 2021) A positive appraisal demonstrates characteristics such as enthusiasm, interest, motivation, or inquisitiveness, while anger, disappointment, tension, and fear are all examples of negative appraisals (Nguyen, 2021)
Cognitive engagement represents the idea of the students’ thoughtful contribution and effort in their learning, such as concentrating on learning, seeking to comprehend the lessons, being flexible and having strong abilities in solving problems, being self-regulate and following their learning goals (Anjarwati & Sa’adah, 2021; Fredricks et al., 2004; Harris, 2008) Moreover, one set of definitions emphasizes the students’ psychological engagement in learning, eagerness to achieve the requirements, and desire for a challenge (Connell & Wellborn, 1991)
In this research, I used these three dimensions to find out how teachers perceived their students’ engagement in online English classes, and these dimensions were presented in the survey This helped me get an overview of EFL teachers’ perceptions of student engagement and delve deeper into teachers’ challenges in enhancing these dimensions in online teaching.
Online Teaching and Its Key Aspects
A wide range of definitions of online teaching have been proposed since this form of teaching has developed intensely Online teaching is a form of distance education in which teachers and students are geographically separated, and learning instructions and materials are mostly delivered through the Internet (Griffin, 2014)
In a publication by Bakia, Shear, Toyama, and Lasseter (2012), the authors stated that online teaching is “instructional environments supported by the Internet” (p 2) Meanwhile, Albrahim (2020) mentioned that online teaching is an experience of education that facilitates personal development and knowledge acquisition by giving learners access to educational resources, allowing them to engage with the material, instructors, and other learners through the Internet, and assisting them throughout the online learning process
In the context of the education field affected by the pandemic, the transition from face-to-face to online teaching has opened up a significant change and reshaped the way teachers and students convey and absorb knowledge Online teaching delves into two key aspects including online teaching pedagogy and online teaching technology
In the pressing shift to online teaching, Hodges et al (2020) noted the emergence of new definitions of online teaching pedagogy that emphasize adaptability, flexibility, and the rapid integration of digital tools Sharing the same idea, Ko and Rossen (2010) emphasized that effective online pedagogy involves deliberate instructional design, technology integration, and active engagement strategies to foster meaningful learning experiences It can be seen that educators grappled with redefining pedagogical approaches to suit the unique challenges posed by remote learning (Hodges et al., 2020)
According to Obizoba (2015), the facilitation of effective communication and interactions is a fundamental aspect of online teaching pedagogy It is crucial for fostering engagement, collaboration, and learning outcomes in the online learning environment (Sharoff, 2019) Besides, the preparation of teaching plans in online English classes requires careful consideration of instructional objectives and the unique features of digital platforms Hughes (2003) argued that effective teaching plan preparation involves a thorough understanding of curriculum goals, learner needs, and the integration of diverse resources to create a roadmap that aligns with the nature of online learning environments
Organizing in-class activities is also a crucial element in online English classes Integrating multimedia resources with collaborative tasks and interactive discussions is one of the effective strategies to promote active engagement and acquisition in online classes (Warschauer & Meskill, 2013) Meanwhile, classroom management takes on a distinct form in online English classes Palloff and Pratt (2013) supported the establishment of clear expectations, the promotion of student self-sufficiency, and the use of technology for seamless communication Managing discussions, providing timely feedback, and addressing technical issues emerge as critical components of effective classroom management in the online environment (Riel & Polin, 2004) Assessing student performance in online English classes necessitates the implementation of thoughtful evaluation strategies Lee and VanPatten (1996) stressed the importance of formative assessment, self-assessment, and peer evaluation to gauge language proficiency Online quizzes, written assignments, and oral assessments are identified as valuable tools for comprehensive student evaluation in the online learning space (Conole & Warburton, 2005)
Online teaching technology refers to the diverse range of digital tools and platforms employed by educators to facilitate effective and engaging English language instruction in online settings This encompasses a variety of resources such as learning management systems, video conferencing applications, interactive multimedia, and collaborative platforms (Ko & Rossen, 2010) Ko and Rossen (2010) emphasized the dynamic integration of technology to enhance pedagogical approaches and provide a platform for interactive and efficient teaching
One primary benefit of incorporating digital tools in online English classes is the ease and speed with which teachers can access teaching applications and tools Therefore, the online classroom can provide teachers with the flexibility to create a comfortable and personalized teaching space (Palloff & Pratt, 2013) Another notable advantage is the ability to save time and reduce costs when online teaching eliminates the need for commuting, allowing teachers to allocate more time to lesson planning, interaction with students, and professional development (Bates, 2015) Besides, digital tools offer a repository of materials that can be quickly navigated, allowing teachers to adapt their lessons to meet the diverse needs of learners efficiently (Means, 2010) Online teaching technology enables EFL teachers to design interactive and captivating lessons with various digital tools enhancing student engagement and fostering a more dynamic learning environment (Beaven, 2013)
Conversely, a significant drawback is the lack of digital devices where some students may lack access to the necessary learning devices In cases where students do not have internet access or personal devices, the potential for unequal access to educational resources becomes a concern (Warschauer, 2006) Besides, technical issues, ranging from Internet connectivity problems to software glitches, can disrupt the flow of online classes Teachers may face challenges in delivering seamless lessons, and students may encounter difficulties in participating fully in the learning process (Tallent-Runnels et al., 2006) Another drawback involves the complexity of certain digital tools Not all teachers may be familiar with the intricacies of digital applications, leading to potential barriers to their effective use (Badge et al., 2008).
The Manifold Requirements of Online Teaching
Online teaching is a process that requires to be conducted partially or fully through the Internet connection (Ko & Rossen, 2010) Specifically, everything seems new in the context that all the classes have to switch to full online teaching (Ko & Rossen, 2010) Hockly and Clandfield (2010) mentioned that many teachers admitted that online teaching was a challenging experience However, some of them perceived this new form of teaching as an opportunity, and it had advantages for their students to some extent
Firstly, communication and interactions between student-teacher and student- student are believed to be affected during the online delivery mode, while these are critical factors in foreign language learning success (Hyland, 2007; Kwee, 2021;
Skehan, 2003) In the same light, Li et al (2021) stated that students could determine their learning goals and improve their motivation in online learning if they connected with teachers and friends through communication and interaction However, according to Othman Othman (2022) and Demirm and Sửnmez (2021), online learning caused many obstacles for students and teachers to have necessary interactions and reduced teamwork in the classroom
Secondly, adjusting teaching plans is extremely important in a fully online learning environment (Li et al., 2021) The sudden change in learning from face-to- face to online challenges teachers as it takes longer to prepare (Ahmmed et al., 2022; Muharikah et al., 2022) Specifically, to design a suitable lesson plan, teachers have to invest a lot of time in preparation to bring exciting lessons to attract student’s attention (Iivari et al., 2020; Kwee, 2021; Long et al., 2017; MacIntyre et al., 2020; Morina et al., 2021) Combining technology tools to design lessons provides teachers more power to catch students’ interest (Kwee, 2021; Ahmad & Hashim, 2018) Louwrens and Hartnett (2015) indicated that students tend to be more engaged when there are enjoyable activities in online classes Therefore, reflecting on the teaching process and students’ interactions in these activities helps teachers make appropriate adjustments (Dinh & Dao, 2021) Although having interactive learning activities is thought to be effective, Morina et al (2021) and Othman Othman (2022) stated that it is difficult to organize these activities in an online learning environment because the teaching time cannot be guaranteed (Alavi & Taghizadeh, 2013)
Thirdly, the online delivery mode needs significant components such as a device, an Internet connection, and skills in using technology tools However, not all students have the conditions to prepare the necessary equipment and a strong Internet connection (An et al., 2021) Besides, the lack of technology skills is a barrier for teachers when they encounter problems related to setting up an online class (Ahmmed et al., 2022; Jiew et al., 2022; Doll et al., 2021; Hasan, 2021), especially for aged teachers when they do not have much experience in using digital tools compared to other younger colleagues (Putri et al., 2020)
The importance is that online classes have to be taught by qualified teachers interested in online teaching to maintain the connection between online and traditional classroom values (Feenberg, 1989) A successful online teacher is defined as one who
“promotes the achievement of learning objectives by facilitating engagement to empower students” (Dawley, 2007, p 4) Moreover, the teachers’ responsibilities become more difficult when online learning requires communication and interaction between students and many individuals Feedback, interaction, learning content, and an in-depth understanding of learning styles need to be emphasized to promote student self-learning and to be able to deliver online classes effectively (Dawley, 2007) Thus, it can be seen that “online learning should not be an isolated, independent activity but rather one in which students and instructors are partners in learning” (Young, 2006, p 73).
The Importance of Student Engagement in Online Classes
Active engagement is crucial to the efficiency of the educational process, and this is especially true when it comes to learning foreign languages like English The importance of student engagement in online classes can include the extent of students’ learning interest, the participation and interaction of students, and the enhancement of learning achievement Student engagement refers to students’ enthusiasm for their learning, which can motivate them to continue to enhance and learn as they go during their educational experience (Anita & Susilawati, 2018) Student engagement is a challenge in online teaching because it relates to how students engage with the lessons, teachers, and peers
The online setting has only a small effect, while the lack of online teaching experience and positive interaction from teachers or society is found to have more influence on student engagement (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011; Meyer, 2014) According to the findings of a study conducted by Esposto and Weaver (2011), when students are unwilling to attend class because of reluctance, this can lead to poor academic performance, and there is even the potential that the student would drop out of school Therefore, student engagement is perceived as a crucial component of enhancing learning quality and student interaction (Banna et al., 2015; Dawley, 2007; Everett, 2015; Reeve et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2010) To effectively improve student engagement, teachers are suggested to “be willing to ‘let go’ of traditional concepts and also give up some control” to empower the students in online classes (Dawley,
2007, p 5) This can lead to the need for developing guidelines for the effective implementation of online learning (Roblyer, 2000).
The Factors Influencing Student Engagement in Online Classes
A variety of factors influencing student engagement in an online learning environment have been determined, typically the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer in 1999, which includes cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence (Louwrens & Hartnett, 2015)
Cognitive presence reflects the higher-order thinking processes of students, such as their creativity, insight, and the way students solve a problem (Shea & Bidjerano, 2009; Zhu, 2018) Zhu (2018) stated that the contribution of cognitive presence to the assessment of standardized thinking processes could indicate the quality of critical thinking processes in the online learning environment According to Rubin and Fernandes (2013), cognitive presence is both an individual and a part of the community due to the learning activities and the interaction of students with teachers and peers in learning Gozali et al (2022) also argued that students should be given a certain degree of freedom in learning such as actively exploring knowledge, so online classes are not just dry theoretical lessons Therefore, many factors influence cognitive presence, such as the differences of each student in motivation, time for study, course design, teachers, and peers
Social presence is defined as the student’s ability to show characteristics and communicate with “real people” in an online environment (Dixson, 2015; Garrison et al., 1999) This presence relates to two concepts, including intimacy and immediacy (Franceschi & Lee, 2008; Ngoyi et al., 2014) According to Ngoyi et al (2014), the level of intimacy, such as physical distance, eye contact, and smiling, can potentially improve student engagement in online learning when students receive knowledge effectively through teacher interactions and gestures On the other hand, “immediacy is a measure of the psychological distance, which exists between a communicator and the object of communication” (Ngoyi et al., 2014, p 242) Even without the teacher’s presence, students can feel like the teacher is around thanks to their immediate support and feedback Although social presence has been discovered to be a necessary component of student engagement, it is insufficient (Dixson, 2015) This presence is
“the intermediate variable between instructional and perceived presence” (Kilis & Yıldırım, 2019, p 179)
The concept of teaching presence in an online teaching environment is effectively reflected through course design and organization, direct instruction, and assessment (Shea et al., 2010) Designing a learning activity at a difficult level can boost the students’ interest and enhance the activity’s purpose; in contrast, creating activities at an easy level can cause the students to disengage (Louwrens & Hartnett, 2015) The teacher encourages class participation in an online class by providing students opportunities to reflect on their learning (Louwrens & Hartnett, 2015) Besides, to bring the online delivery mode towards desired goals, the teaching presence is not only directly related to the teaching problems or the responsibility of only teachers but also of all parties, including the school, parents, and students (Thi
& Minh, 2021) Teaching presence positively influences student engagement and satisfaction in an online learning environment, especially when it is established effectively (Ladyshewsky, 2013; Pawan et al., 2016)
Using classifications drawn from the themes within the literature review above, the researcher proposed a conceptual framework as shown in Figure 1, which was developed specifically for online student engagement in high schools This framework consists of three key conceptions: the online student engagement based on the student engagement concept of Fredricks and McColskey (2012), including behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and emotional engagement; the factors that influence online student engagement, including the student’s online learning experience based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model of Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (1999); and the aspects of online teaching based on some of the previous studies such as Anita & Susilawati (2018), Conrad & Donaldson (2011), Dawley (2007), etc With the focus of this research on investigating EFL teachers’ perspectives on student engagement in online classes, I used these three key components to design the research instruments which will be described further in Chapter 3
Figure 1 A Conceptual Framework of the Factors Influencing Student
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The study was designed with a qualitative approach to address the two research questions Although I used a survey on 15 participants and analyzed it quantitatively,
I would define this study as quantitative because the survey data only helped to enhance the interview data In the first phase, the participants from three different contexts completed the same survey investigating teachers’ perspectives on student engagement and online teaching experience According to Crewell, “surveys help identify important beliefs and attitudes of individuals” (2012, p 376) The advantage of this approach is to provide the researcher with helpful information to evaluate what EFL teachers perceived about student engagement and their teaching experience in online classes In the second phase, I selected three convenient participants from each school to participate in a focused group interview because they could be available to join and provide helpful information to answer the research questions (Cresswell,
2012) I decided to conduct focused group interviews, which is the process of collecting data through an interview with a group of people, because it was advantageous when the interaction between the interviewees was likely to yield the best information (Cresswell, 2012) When conducting the interview, I asked some general questions and prompted answers from the individuals in the group (Cresswell, 2012) This method was helpful when my data collection time was limited, and individuals felt hesitant to conduct a personal interview Therefore, the focused group interviews were carried out to explore further understanding of EFL teachers’ online teaching experience, their challenges, and their suggested improvements for a more efficient online teaching experience
The focus group interviews were conducted online via Zoom software I contacted the coordinators of teachers teaching the English subject within each school to exchange interview schedules It was a problem to arrange interview schedules because teachers had different teaching schedules and were busy with many other household chores Fortunately, the teachers were interested in my research and tried to schedule the interview conveniently After finalizing the interview schedules, I created meeting rooms on Zoom and sent invitations to the participants with information to access the meeting room via Zalo, the most popular Vietnamese messaging application All interviews were conducted in Vietnamese to give participants a comfortable atmosphere to communicate truthfully and generate valuable data (Elhami & Khoshnevisan, 2022) The interviews were recorded with the participants’ consent and saved as audio files After completing three focus group interviews, I transcribed significant quotes into text and translated them from Vietnamese to English These transcriptions also included captions describing the participants’ emotions, so I could recall and relate to their non-verbal messages when analyzing the issues To ensure the subjectivity, I had my transcriptions and translations double-checked by a university lecturer of English The lecturer was required to sign a confidentiality agreement (Appendix D) to control the disclosure of participants’ private information (Davidson, 2009).
Context of the Study
The study was conducted at three high schools in three different districts of Ho Chi Minh city, including Tran Hung Dao (hereinafter abbreviated as THD), Nguyen
Du (abbreviated as ND), and Tran Phu (abbreviated as TP) The desired target for this study could not be satisfied because the total number of English teachers in a high school is often small Therefore, I selected the three high schools to conduct the study because I had a good relationship with some of the teachers who had been teaching in the schools It was advantageous for me to invite the participants to take part in the study
Table 1 below summarizes the digital tools that the three schools used for implementing online classes At THD in Binh Thanh District, two main software were used: the learning management system (LMS) provided by the Department of Education and Training (DOET) and Azota LMS was used to conduct teaching activities and classroom management, while Azota was used for teachers to organize assessment examinations Teachers also used PowerPoint to design and present the lessons to students At ND in District 8, teachers mainly focused on teaching through Google Meet and uploading lessons for students through DOET’s LMS To support the teaching process, teachers combined various tools such as PowerPoint to design lessons, Rocket to create games, and Quizzi or Kahoot! to test the student’s knowledge In the context of TP in Binh Tan District, teachers also used Google Meet similar to ND However, instead of using DOET’s LMS, teachers used Google Classroom to manage classes, assign homework, and raise discussion questions for students In addition, teachers organized tutoring classes via Zoom for students to have the opportunity to practice the lessons that had not been kept up in class Teachers combined several applications to engage the class, such as Padlet, Quizzi, and Kahoot! Particularly, to create more convenient online teaching and communication with schools, students, and parents, teachers of all these schools created interactive groups through social media such as Zalo and Facebook
Table 1 Digital tools used for implementing online classes
Participants
The participants in the study were EFL teachers from the abovementioned schools A total of 15 EFL teachers, including five teachers from each school, were selected by convenience sampling to participate in the online survey, as shown in Table 2 The actual names of the schools and the participants were replaced with pseudonyms throughout this study to maintain confidentiality To help the participants understand this research, I sent the teachers an open letter and a consent form with detailed information (Appendix A) In the open letter, all of the information related to the research was presented in detail so that the participants could get the purpose of the research, the privacy regulations, and the rights of participants The consent form included items that require participants to agree to the terms when participating in the study They could choose to participate in the survey, interview, or both After confirming their participation by filling in personal information and signing the form, the participants saved it as a PDF file The lead teachers compiled and locked the file with a password before sending it to me via Zalo
Table 2 Demographic profile of the participants
Tran Hung Dao High School
Table 3 summarizes the key characteristics of the participants of the study The majority of the participants were females (n; 93.3%), had one to five years of teaching experience (n=9; 60%), and had about a year of online teaching experience (n=8; 53.3%) To collect the qualitative data, focus group interviews were conducted with three participants from each school who had taken part in the online survey They were selected by convenience sampling to ensure all the participants were available during the data collection procedure After all participants of each school completed the survey, the researcher contacted each person to invite them to participate in the interview because the number of people who agreed to participate in the interview in the consent form was not enough as originally expected The most challenging thing in convincing participants was to arrange a time frame that was suitable for everyone because they were busy preparing for the semester exams at school at that time Fortunately, I was able to invite three participants at each school to join in the focused group interview
Table 3 Key characteristics of the participants
Research Tools
The online survey consisted of three main parts (Appendix B) The first part inquired about the teachers’ background information, which included their gender, age, teaching experience, and online teaching experience The second part of the online survey was a 19-statement scale composed of three dimensions of student engagement in online classes It included eight statements of behavioral engagement, six statements of emotional engagement, and five statements of cognitive engagement In this second part, the survey was adopted from the Math and Science Engagement Scales by Wang et al (2016), and a set of structured questions adopted from the study of Sulaiman et al (2020) to measure the extent to which EFL teachers perceived student engagement in online classes The third part was a 14-statement scale that consisted of a set of statements adopted from the study of Jelin ́ska and Paradowski (2021) to measure the teachers’ online teaching experience
In this study, the researcher chose a five-point Likert scale to build the questionnaire because it can assess the respondents’ opinions well With the purpose of collecting data for analysis of the first research question, using the Likert scale can be easier to tabulate and analyze In addition, using the Likert scale instead of open- ended questions to assess respondents’ perceptions can save them time doing the questionnaire, and they will not feel overwhelmed or tired (Charbonneau, 2007)
The interviews were conducted to explore a further understanding of teachers’ challenges in improving student engagement and possible solutions to overcome those difficulties The interview questions (Appendix C) were composed of 13 open-ended questions and adapted from the research by Alwehebi (2021) However, Alwehebi’s investigation was conducted in a university context, so I adjusted the interview questions to suit the context of my research The interview questions related to how teachers organized online teaching activities, how they managed and evaluated the students, and what solutions and recommendations they suggested for a better online delivery mode in the future Before conducting the official focused group interviews,
I prepared, revised, and piloted the interview questions by reviewing all the collected data from the participants’ survey questionnaire to get an overview of the existing data and identify what information was needed to understand deeper I invited the EFL teachers who had participated in piloting the survey questions to pilot the interview questions This process helped to review the interview questions carefully and prepare well for the official focused group interviews.
Ethical Considerations
One of the most significant ethical considerations is ensuring all participants fully comprehend, voluntarily participate, and sign the consent forms (Mucundanyi, 2019) According to Stanley and Sieber (1992), the term “informed consent” emphasizes the notion that an individual “voluntarily agrees to participate in a research project, based on full disclosure of pertinent information” (p 128) The researcher is responsible for explaining the study’s aims, objectives, benefits, and risks (Mucundanyi, 2019) Therefore, I prepared the consent forms for all the participants with a full explanation of the study, commitment to respect, and confidentiality of all information in the survey and the interviews Although the participants’ identities were required in the consent forms and surveys, this information was encrypted and confidential The collected data was also kept confidential and not used for personal purposes In addition, I prepared a consent form for the translator with the requirement to keep the identities of all participants confidential; to not be allowed to copy any content from the data sources; to store all data sources in a safe and secure location; and to delete all data sources from the computer hard drive and any backup devices after completing the translation and handing the work back to me.
Data Collection and Analysis Procedures
There were two phases of data collection in this study In the first phase, the online survey was constructed by using Google Forms The introductory section of the online survey indicated the purpose of the study and the protection of confidential data The survey was translated into Vietnamese and checked by an EFL teacher instructing at a University It was then piloted with three EFL teachers who were not in the sample After that, I sent the official survey link to all participants, and the data was saved automatically in an Excel spreadsheet It was then imported to SPSS version 22.0 for analysis Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the demographic data obtained and to answer the first research question using percentage, mean, and standard deviation The interpretation of the mean scores used to determine teachers’ perceptions of student engagement and their online teaching experiences was based on the study of Sulaiman et al (2020), as shown in Table 4
In the second phase, three focus group interviews were conducted, and each group took approximately 45 to 60 minutes The interviews were conducted via Zoom and recorded throughout It included 13 open-ended questions, and all the participants were interviewed in Vietnamese so they could comfortably share their stories According to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), the interview includes open-ended questions that would allow more flexibility to answer the specific problem and encourage new opinions The researcher then manually transcribed, encrypted, and analyzed the collected data for similar themes by using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets This data helped me to clarify the first question and to answer the second question of this research.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Results and Findings
This section illustrates the analyses of collected data from the questionnaire and the interviews Four sub-sections are included, namely: (1) EFL teachers’ perceptions toward student engagement in online classes, (2) EFL teachers’ online teaching experiences, (3) EFL teachers’ psychological perspectives toward online teaching, and (4) supports and suggested solutions for EFL teachers to overcome the challenges in online classes Specifically, the first two sub-sections present the data collected from the questionnaire, and the other two present the data collected from the focused group interviews with the teachers
4.1.1 EFL Teachers’ Perspectives toward Student Engagement in Online Classes
Behavioral engagement refers to students’ involvement in learning and various activities outside the classroom (Anjarwati & Sa’adah, 2021; Fredricks et al., 2004) For instance, following school rules, following the established standards of the class, performing abnormal performance, performing assigned activities with perseverance and cautiousness, etc (Fredricks et al., 2004; Nguyen, 2021)
Table 5 illustrates the teachers’ opinions about students’ behavioral engagement in online classes As shown in this table, the average mean score of behavioral engagement is 3.28 (with SD=.837), which means that teachers had neutral opinions about this element In particular, Statement 8 with the highest mean score (M=3.87, SD=.640), can be interpreted that the participants agreed that their students often showed signs of doing something else instead of focusing on the lessons Therefore, when asked about students’ concentration in online classes, teachers expressed neutral opinions because they could not determine what their students were doing behind the computer screen, which is shown in Statement 1 (M=3.13, SD=.834) The participants also agreed that students often kept silent when they could not keep up with the lessons, which is reflected in Statement 5 (M=3.80, SD=.676) In addition, Statement
7 (M=3.67, SD=1.047) shows that participants agreed when they found that students were frequently late for class Statement 6 records the lowest mean score (M=2.60, SD=.737), which means that the participants were not well aware of whether their students were actively raising their hands in response to a question
Table 5 Level of behavioral engagement based on teachers’ perspectives
1 My students often stay focused in online classes 2 4 3.13 834
2 My students often put their effort into online learning 2 4 3.00 756
3 My students often ask questions related to the lesson 1 4 3.00 1.069
4 My students often complete their assignments on time 2 5 3.20 941
My students often keep silent when they do not keep up with the lesson
My students often actively raise their hands to answer the question
7 My students are often late to class 1 5 3.67 1.047
My students often do other things in online classes when they are supposed to be focused
Emotional engagement refers to the students’ positive emotions toward their teachers, peers, school, and learning practice (Fredricks et al., 2004; Harris, 2008) It also includes the students’ interests and whether they find the lessons worthwhile (Fredricks et al., 2004)
Table 6 describes in detail the statements for the emotional engagement element The results showed that participants had neutral opinions about this element’s given statements Based on the table, the participants had neutral opinions when asked about their perceptions of students’ emotional engagement, with an average mean score of 2.97 (SD=.810) Specifically, with the highest mean score (M=3.27, SD=.704), Statement 12 indicates that teachers found their students did not care too much about online learning Meanwhile, Statement 10 and Statement 11 (M=3.13, SD=.915, and M=3.13, SD=.834, respectively) show that teachers felt their students were interested and comfortable when experiencing a new form of learning Despite the difficulties during online learning, students often expressed calm and confident emotions to adapt to this new learning method This makes more sense when Statement 14 (M=2.67; SD=.724), with the lowest mean score, shows that students did not feel too nervous about online learning
Table 6 Level of emotional engagement based on teachers’ perspectives
My students are often actively involved in discussions in online classes
My students often show their interest and feel comfortable in online classes
My students often show their confidence when facing difficulties in online classes
My students often do not care much about learning in online classes
13 My students often feel bored with learning online 2 4 2.73 884
14 My students often get worried about learning online 2 4 2.67 724
Cognitive engagement refers to the student’s effort and contribution to their learning, such as focusing on learning, striving to comprehend the lessons, being flexible in solving problems, and attempting to understand the significance of learning (Anjarwati & Sa’adah, 2021; Fredricks et al., 2004) It also includes how students invest in their learning, self-regulate, and follow their learning goals (Harris, 2008), their psychological concentration in learning, their readiness to achieve the requirements, and their desire for a challenge (Connell & Wellborn, 1991)
An analysis of teachers’ perspectives on the last element of student engagement is given in Table 7 It can be seen in the table that the average mean score is 3.13 (SD=.858), which suggests that teachers showed their neutral opinions when asked about the perception of students’ cognitive engagement Statement 17, with the highest mean value (M=3.60, SD=.828), indicates that teachers agreed that students often showed signs of waiting for excellent students to answer the question first instead of actively looking for the answer Meanwhile, teachers disagreed with the idea that students tried to complete the tough exercises given in Statement 18 (M=2.53, SD=.834) In addition, teachers showed their neutral opinions with the idea that their students often tried to complete assignments carefully and chose easy tasks to do over difficult ones, which are mentioned in Statement 16 (M=2.93, SD=.799) and Statement 15 (M=3.13, SD=.915)
Table 7 Level of cognitive engagement based on teachers’ perspectives
15 My students often choose easy tasks to do over difficult ones 2 4 2.93 799
My students often try to complete their assignments carefully
My students often wait for the excellent students in the class to answer the questions first instead of actively looking for the answer
My students often try to complete the challenging assignments
My students often lose their concentration which affects other students in online classes
4.1.2 EFL Teachers’ Online Teaching Experiences
Experiencing online teaching was a challenging experience for teachers in the context of the complicated COVID-19 pandemic My participants were asked to give their opinions about their online teaching experience to further investigate this matter
Table 8 describes a detailed analysis of the statements related to the teachers’ online teaching experience The data indicates that the participants agreed with the statements with an average mean score of 3.88 (SD=.609) Specifically, Statement 5 with the highest mean score of 4.47 (SD=.834) points out that teachers agreed that they could not control whether their students were concentrating on studying or doing something else In addition, with the same highest mean score of 4.47 (SD=.516), teachers felt worried about assessing students’ scores when they could take advantage of the online learning situation to cheat on the examinations or tests Meanwhile, Statement 9 with the lowest mean score of 2.80 (SD=.862) shows that teachers had neutral opinions about how they felt their students responded positively to online learning Teachers also reported that they had neutral opinions on the fact that students often adapted well to online learning in Statement 8 (M=3.07, SD=.884)
Table 8 Teachers’ online teaching experiences
I often have to adjust my lesson plans for online teaching
2 I often have to loosen the assessment and grading 4 5 4.20 414
Besides changing the teaching method, I often have to adjust the lesson to suit the online teaching
I often find it difficult to assess students’ activities in online classes
I often find it difficult to check whether my students are studying or doing something else
I am often concerned that some students will take benefit of online learning to cheat on tests
I often feel some of my students are not keeping up with the lessons
8 I often feel my students adapt well to online learning 2 4 3.07 884
I often feel my students respond positively to online learning
I often feel calm and confident when I encounter problems in online classes
I often feel confident using new tools and technologies for online teaching
I often improve my knowledge and update my teaching skills to apply for online teaching
I often have to prepare more for online classes than for face-to-face ones
I can do and manage more things at the same time on the computer than when teaching face-to-face
4.1.3 EFL Teachers’ Perspectives toward Online Teaching
This sub-section provides the findings of the participants’ psychological perspectives toward their teaching in online classes Through the data collected from the focused group interviews, the findings are classified into three main categories, including (1) teaching technology, (2) teaching methodology, and (3) teaching procedures
4.1.3.1.1 The Benefits of Using Digital Tools
In online teaching, digital tools such as technology devices and applications are applied thoroughly to create the most effective learning environment possible Digital tools bring many benefits to online teaching when they can facilitate students and teachers to have more access to technology, create a convenient learning environment, save time and costs, and support teaching activities
From what can be seen in Table 1, each school had various options to use and combine multiple digital tools depending on their purposes To interact directly with students, teachers at THD used LMS software Meanwhile, teachers at ND and TP used Google Meet To upload lessons and materials, teachers at THD and ND used Azota software, and sometimes they combined it with LMS software, and teachers at
TP used Google Classroom Besides, to create exciting lessons for students, teachers of the three schools used many applications such as PowerPoint, Quizzi, Kahoot!, etc
When I asked about the advantages of online teaching, all three teachers from
TP agreed that online learning gave them a comfortable space where both students and teachers could maintain their learning environment right at home Six out of nine participantsfound that online learning helped them save more time and money than traveling to school to teach in person While students and teachers saved time not traveling to school or moving between classes, parents saved time not picking up and dropping off their children Therefore, online learning was an optimal alternative when traveling was restricted during the pandemic (Ms Anh, Ms Oanh, & Ms Uyen, TP)
When teaching at school, some classes were not fully equipped with qualified equipment such as projectors, internet connections, or converting cables Ms Tam (THD) shared that she did not need to spend as much time preparing the devices as in online teaching Having the same idea, Ms Thao (ND) mentioned that online teaching was more convenient because she did not need to register for a lab room and take students there like when teaching face-to-face Accessing learning tools was much more convenient Especially when teachers shared and presented lessons or any information, it happened quickly with just one click, as Ms Quynh (ND) confessed For students, looking up the dictionary was almost instantaneous when they had new vocabulary (Ms Nhi, ND)
Discussion
This section will discuss the results and findings in the previous section to highlight the results’ implications and relate these findings to the reviewed literature in Chapter 2 This research aimed to explore the EFL teachers’ perspectives toward student engagement and the challenges in improving student engagement in online teaching and then propose some solutions for online delivery mode To answer the two research questions, (1) To what extent are teachers aware of student engagement in online classes? and (2) What challenges are the teachers dealing with in enhancing student engagement in online classes, and what recommendations are proposed to improve in the future?, the researcher categorized the discussion into two themes The first theme discusses the EFL teachers’ perception of student engagement and the factors influencing student engagement in online classes The second theme discusses teachers’ challenging experiences with online teaching and the recommendations suggested by the teachers to improve online teaching in the future
4.2.1 EFL Teachers’ Perspectives towards Student Engagement in Online
In this first theme, I discuss three types of student engagement that EFL teachers perceive in their online classes and then continue to discuss the factors that influence student engagement in online classes
The results of this study showed that teachers’ awareness of behavioral engagement was highest compared to the other two elements; however, this level was only at a medium level Teachers noticed that students did not have an engaged learning sense and were not highly disciplined in online learning This finding did not support the study of Li et al (2021) in which teachers reported that students actively interacted with teachers and showed high self-discipline in completing homework However, the survey results revealed that teachers were highly aware that students had not complied with the class regulations when some students were late for class, worked on personal things, and had dishonest behavior while taking an online test Besides, whether students participated in class or not was an issue that teachers could hardly determine when students easily fell into a state of distraction Disciplines were
“looser” than when learning in face-to-face classes due to the lack of observation and timely support from teachers This finding was in line with the results of Li et al (2021)’s study in which limited face-to-face presence, lack of effective observation, and low student engagement made teachers feel powerless
Meanwhile, the study by Jelińska and Paradowski (2021) highlighted the importance of teacher support in the online classroom as it was positively related to student behavioral engagement, such as increasing student participation in classroom activities and improving learning motivation However, student engagement in extracurricular activities that Fredricks et al (2004) and Anjarwati and Sa’adah (2021) mentioned was difficult to relate to because the context of this study was conducted during the pandemic According to Fredricks et al (2004), behavioral engagement was a significant factor in achieving expected learning outcomes However, with the teacher’s medium level of awareness of students’ effort in learning, this emphasized that achieving desired learning outcomes was hard to gain and online learning was not effective The findings of this study gave me a foundation to believe that teachers could notice students’ negative expressions or attitudes more easily than positive ones
The results of this study showed that teachers’ perceptions of their students’ cognitive engagement in online classes were only at a medium level, ranking second after behavioral engagement Teachers were most aware that some students with low academic performance had not participated actively or spoken up in the lesson A possible explanation for this might be that students did not know the answer, or they even feared that they would give the wrong answer The teachers in this study commented that some students did not pay attention which affected the rest of the students who were following the lesson They text-messaged each other or shared something unrelated to the task with their class group, and it influenced others’ concentration This finding resonated Li et al (2021)’s study in that their teachers complained about students often not paying attention in their online classes Although teachers observed students’ behavioral engagement by seeing them sitting in front of the computer and listening to the lesson, the students were not cognitively engaged
As mentioned in the literature review, Anjarwati and Sa’adah (2021) and Fredricks et al (2004) stated that cognitive engagement refers to the effort that students put into their learning, such as being flexible in solving problems, being confident to face challenges, and seeking to comprehend the lessons However, the results from this study showed that teachers could not recognize the cognitive engagement of their students, claiming that their students were not trying hard when assigned tough exercises It was difficult for these teachers to directly observe so that students had the mood to do homework just to deal with the teachers To improve the initiative and motivate students to put more effort into learning, teachers changed their teaching methods by creating opportunities for students to develop their abilities and contribute more in class A specific example is that the teachers in this study gave students the “power” to choose group members, freely select topics related to the lesson, and perform their presentations in front of the class This activity not only helped students become more conscious of self-study ability and knowledge exploration but also created opportunities for students to interact and discuss with friends and teachers
The results of this study showed that emotional engagement, which is related to students’ positive attitudes and feelings towards teachers, peers, and enjoyment of learning (Fredricks et al., 2004; Harris, 2008), ranked in last place, specifically just at the medium level This means teachers were not aware of students’ emotions and learning sense during online teaching Although the students were all excited about online learning, the lack of teachers’ direct observation would be a “favorable” condition for the students to become too comfortable Students felt excited when they first joined online classes; however, their reactions and feelings gradually changed
Students inevitably had negative emotions such as boredom and separateness when studying in an environment far away from teachers and peers This finding was in line with the study of Li et al (2021) in which students’ negative sentiments appeared mainly because of the lack of interaction and communication with everybody Gradually, students would become lazy, unmotivated, and distracted in learning Although students faced difficulties in the learning process, the interesting in this study was that teachers found that their students revealed confidence when finding ways to solve problems related to online learning devices and applications They even supported their teachers enthusiastically when the teacher had issues
4.2.1.2 Factors Influencing Student Engagement in Online Classes
Three factors including cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence were found to influence students’ behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in online classes
Firstly, cognitive presence is related to the higher-order thinking processes of students, such as creativity, insight, and the way students solve a problem (Shea & Bidjerano, 2009; Zhu, 2018) The literature review mentioned that cognitive presence is both an individual and a part of the community (Rubin & Fernandes, 2013) Learning takes place in the consciousness of each student, but at the same time, interaction and partnership are essential factors in promoting cognitive learning (Louwrens & Hartnett, 2015) To increase student awareness, most of the teachers in this study changed their teaching methods that they had not tried in face-to-face classes Instead of being the main lecturers, teachers switched to a student-centered approach by adjusting teaching plans and designing more activities to create opportunities for students to develop their ability to self-study, critical thinking, and creativity The teachers discovered that their students found online learning more engaging than traditional classrooms when teachers used technology applications, such as Kahoot!, Quizzi, etc., to create activities and games integrated with knowledge in lessons My participants also organized a group presentation activity by asking their students to prepare their performance at home and present it in the next class Students were encouraged to actively choose their desired group and topic, search for resources, and freely prepare their performance This finding reflected Gozali et al (2022)’s argument in that teachers should give students a certain degree of freedom in actively exploring knowledge so that online learning is not limited to pure theoretical knowledge However, the organization of such activities was considered by teachers as not guaranteeing the time to deliver the lesson and ensuring the schedule with the teaching plan, which is similar to the study of Alavi and Taghizadeh (2013)
The second factor is social presence, which is related to the ability to express personality and interact with surrounding relationships such as teachers, friends, and parents According to Franceschi and Lee (2008) and Ngoyi et al (2014), social presence is associated with two concepts: intimacy and immediacy Since the context of this study was online learning, no data were found to analyze the level of intimacy between teachers and students or between students and students through the expression of eye contact, smile, or physical distance, as Ngoyi et al (2014) mentioned Therefore, this study could not demonstrate that intimacy could effectively enhance student engagement as the teachers could not clearly recognize their students’ interactions and gestures in online classrooms On the contrary, I found that the teachers were aware of the effectiveness of immediacy when it had a definite effect on student engagement in online learning, which echoes the research conducted by Yao et al (2020) in that teachers and students recognized that their interaction was a significant factor in promoting student engagement Due to the lack of interaction, students’ concentration, motivation, and personal relationships were affected negatively without immediate support Specifically, communications via Zalo application could be considered as a type of social presence in which the teachers had actions such as showing concern about students’ learning, sharing knowledge, and responding to students’ questions quickly This helped students avoid the feeling of isolation when knowing that teachers and friends were always around, like when studying face-to-face at school
Finally, when it comes to teaching presence, this presence effectively reflects the teachers’ teaching plan design, classroom organization, direct instructions, and student assessment (Shea et al., 2010) In this study, I found that designing lesson plans and delivering lessons were the top challenges my participants experienced in online teaching, which was also in line with the research conducted by Muharikah et al (2022) Changing teaching methods and adjusting lesson plans are part of the teaching presence, and this also influences student engagement and students’ ability to acquire knowledge (Le et al., 2021) Teachers shared that they could not apply the teaching methods and lesson plans that were used for face-to-face classes because they were inappropriate and ineffective Teachers applied different teaching methods with a student-centered goal, designed various activities and games to integrate with the lesson, and created opportunities for students to participate together to improve their English skills In addition, the lack of teacher presence and supervision, as shown in this study, resulted in the feelings among teachers when they could not ensure student engagement
Whether in any form of learning, student engagement is critical to student academic success Although the teachers’ perceptions of student engagement in online classes were only at the medium level, the qualitative findings broadly supported the study of Dawley (2007) in which teachers made changes in the teaching process to improve student engagement as they were ready to “put aside” traditional teaching concepts, create opportunities for students to develop self-study ability, and empower students to be more active in learning However, I found a case where a teacher could not provide her students with an effective and engaging online class There are two reasons: firstly, she was familiar with the traditional form of teaching and felt that the use of digital tools was complicated, so she could not create many activities to bring interesting lessons; secondly, her students did not have much interaction and had a non-active learning sense, so she almost only focused on imparting knowledge in a one-way teaching Therefore, this remarkable case highlighted how essential student engagement can be to enhance learning quality and improve student interaction and learning sense in the classroom
4.2.2 EFL Teachers’ Challenging Experiences with Online Teaching and Their
Recommendations for Future Online Classes
The overall findings of the analysis revealed that teachers were highly adaptable to the sudden change in online teaching; however, they were well aware of the challenges in their online classes Communication and interaction are essential for language learning, specifically in English (Hyland, 2007; Kwee, 2021; Skehan, 2003) Therefore, a learner-centered approach is believed to benefit students as they can express themselves without pressure during online learning (Kwee, 2021) This finding supported the previous studies (An et al., 2021; Li et al., 2021; Lin & Zheng, 2015) that the student-centered approach gave students more opportunities to perform their learning ability and English skills in online classes However, I noticed that not all teachers could successfully adopt a student-centered approach when their students were not actively providing feedback in the classroom Although only one teacher responded to this case, this could also be seen as a reason for teachers to change and apply different teaching methods in online classes Teachers should provide various activities that bring aspects of social learning and maximize students’ learning by implementing task-based exploratory learning to help students complete specific learning goals (Li et al., 2021) In addition, teachers need to observe their teaching process and students’ reactions to student-centered activities to make appropriate adjustments This finding was also in the same line with the study result of Dinh and Dao (2021)
Adjusting a lesson plan suitable for online learning is essential in a fully online learning environment (Li et al., 2021) However, the teachers shared that redesigning the lesson plans took them more time than in a face-to-face class, and they were unable to keep those same lesson plans for online classes This finding supported the research results of Iivari et al (2020), Kwee (2021), Long et al (2017), MacIntyre et al (2020), and Morina et al (2021) in which it took a lot more time to design a lesson plan that was suitable for online learning than for a face-to-face class Teachers used various eye-catching images and effects, combined many activities with games, and applied digital tools in the lesson to create an engaging online classroom Louwrens and Hartnett (2015) claimed that students tend to be attracted to enjoyable activities, and the teachers in this study showed that their student engagement was better with this way of lesson design In addition, teachers referred to different sources to update new knowledge and “hot” news so that the lesson could be more realistic and meaningful
CONCLUSION
Conclusion
The current study aimed to answer two research questions about (1) EFL teachers’ perspectives toward student engagement in online classes and (2) the challenges EFL teachers encountered in improving student engagement while teaching online Based on a qualitative analysis of students’ engagement, EFL teachers at the three high schools in this study were more aware of behavioral engagement than cognitive and emotional engagement Overall, the level of teachers’ perspectives was only medium in all three elements of student engagement In addition, the findings indicated that EFL teachers encountered many challenges, including problems related to the lack of experience in online teaching methodology, using technology devices and digital tools, managing classrooms, and assessing student learning quality
When it comes to student engagement, online learning was considered to influence all three main components of student engagement Teachers and students lost their natural learning environment when there was no face-to-face presence, fundamental interactions, and communication between both sides For behavioral engagement, it was easy for teachers to recognize negative behaviors because it was clearly shown in cases where students were late for class, lost concentration, did personal things in class time, and cheated in online exams For cognitive engagement, the teachers in this study shared a common feeling that students tended to be passive in class, had a low sense of learning, and did not make much effort in learning Low- achieving students had the habit of depending on their peers who had better academic performances and did not make much effort in learning Moreover, the psychology of underestimating the importance of online learning when this form of learning was just deployed had partly affected students’ learning sense Finally, emotional engagement was the component that teachers were not aware of their students because understanding students’ emotions was truly a challenge for teachers when computer screens limited all interaction
In online delivery mode, encountering many challenges was inevitable While teaching methodologies and plans were no longer appropriate for online learning, teachers were forced to make significant changes by being willing to cast aside the traditional teaching methods and focus on putting students at the center of the lesson Teachers applied the practices to provide an effective online classroom by empowering students to contribute to lessons actively and creating more opportunities for students to interact with classmates through activities combined with technology applications However, digital tools were a factor that caused many obstacles for teachers, especially for elderly teachers when they were already too familiar with the traditional classes Even so, they gradually became more familiar with the flow of online teaching as they always had timely and enthusiastic support from their colleagues, school, and students
Last but not least, online classroom management and student assessment became significant issues for EFL teachers Teachers could not control the entire learning process of students directly, so it was difficult for teachers to prompt their students Furthermore, the organization of online tests made assessing students’ academic performance ineffective and unobjective when teachers and schools could not avoid situations where students cheated on online examinations
To sum up, teachers evaluated that online learning met the needs and urgent situations during social distancing due to COVID-19, but it did not significantly affect their teaching as well as their students’ learning “There is no other form of learning that can compare to face-to-face learning” - quoted a teacher in an interview, I think this statement clearly showed the perceptions of the teachers in this study about online teaching Nevertheless, there were many positive sharings and strengths that EFL teachers recognized when experiencing this new form of teaching.
Implications
The shreds of evidence from this study suggested that there should be support for teachers from all parties so that they could confidently overcome difficulties, focus on their teaching work, and become more aware of student engagement at the same time Online learning was just a temporary alternative to face-to-face learning at schools; however, the challenges in online teaching showed that it affected student engagement
Firstly, for the MOET, the teachers in this study believed that using scores in online tests to estimate students’ learning was not objective The lack of teachers’ direct observation and the low discipline of students could increase the risk of cheating in online exams Therefore, the teachers suggested that the MOET should assess students’ learning progress combined with online tests to provide the most objective and accurate results
Secondly, for the schools, the teachers believed that it was necessary to organize training sessions on how to conduct online classes and instruct the use of technology tools The schools should also prepare manuals for using online teaching devices and applications, assigning a team including informatics teachers and IT specialists to support the teachers In addition, the teachers suggested that there should be online meetings so that everyone could discuss their work to improve the quality of online teaching Online teaching forced teachers to use different applications to design lessons, so they also expected schools to support paid accounts because free accounts were often limited to certain tools
Thirdly, improving technology skills was proposed for EFL teachers as a crucial need for online teaching Teachers should practice regularly to get used to the operations of teaching applications to organize online classes smoothly and quickly create interesting activities for students without spending much time tinkering with each operation Besides, teachers need to reflect on their teaching to draw out their limitations so that they can adjust lesson plans and teaching methods to be more appropriate
Lastly, parents were considered to play an important role because they were closest to the students Teachers and schools should build communication channels with parents to exchange information about student learning because connecting with parents will bring timely encouragement to students Furthermore, students would also feel the care and affection of their parents when face-to-face interactions with friends and teachers were limited by online learning.
Limitations of the Study
There remain some limitations in recruiting participants Firstly, the researcher could only contact the participants via social networks because the study was conducted during social distancing, so it was challenging to build a direct relationship with them during the period of recruitment as well as data collection Secondly, only fifteen teachers agreed to participate in the survey, and nine teachers arranged to join the group interviews Some teachers were busy with their teaching schedules and preparing for the semester exam, and some were unjoined for some unexpected reasons Therefore, EFL teachers’ perceptions of student engagement and factors in promoting it can be better understood if investigated in different contexts and involving a wide range of EFL teachers Another limitation is that this study only included teachers’ perspectives It is expected that this study would make more sense if it included students’ and parents’ involvement to gain a comprehensive understanding of student engagement and challenges in online learning.
Recommendations for Further Studies
It cannot be denied that the current study has certain limitations in sampling Thus, further studies are expected to be conducted with a larger size in a different context or include students because this is one of the primary learning objects Other studies may investigate whether there is a cognitive mismatch between teachers and students by exploring students’ views on their engagement and expectations for the online classroom Last but not least, future studies may consider observing online classes to have more detailed and specific views of teachers’ and students’ teaching and learning processes and student engagement
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Appendix A: Letter of Information & Invitation and Consent Form
1 During social distancing, how did you organize your online class? What platforms or software did you use to organize those online classes?
(Trong thời gian giãn cách xã hội, Thầy/Cô tổ chức lớp học trực tuyến của mình như thế nào? Thầy/Cô sử dụng những nền tảng/phần mềm nào để tổ chức các lớp học trực tuyến?)
2 What do you like about teaching online?
(Thầy/Cô thích việc dạy học trực tuyến ở những điểm gì?)
3 What are the advantages of online learning compared to face-to-face learning?
(Theo Thầy/Cô, việc dạy học trực tuyến có những điểm thuận lợi nào so với giảng dạy trực tiếp?)
4 Besides the advantages, do you have any difficulties when teaching online? For example, in using technology devices, conveying knowledge, managing students, allocating schedules, designing lessons, interacting with students, etc
(Ngoài những điểm thuận lợi, Thầy/Cô có gặp khó khăn nào trong việc dạy học trực tuyến không? Ví dụ, sử dụng thiết bị công nghệ thông tin, truyền tải kiến thức, quản lý học sinh, sắp xếp thời gian biểu, thiết kế bài giảng, tương tác với học sinh, v.v.)
5 In online classes, do you often organize group discussions for students? And what difficulties did you encounter when organizing those activities?
(Thầy/Cô đã gặp những khó khăn nào khi tổ chức các hoạt động học tập cho học sinh trong lớp học trực tuyến? Chẳng hạn như thảo luận nhóm, làm bài tập nhóm, luyện tập, v.v.)
6 For students who have weak academic performance or are not able to keep up with the lesson, do you often organize additional tutoring sessions outside of the online classes that the school has arranged?
(Thầy/Cô có tổ chức thêm các lớp dạy kèm riêng cho những học sinh còn yếu kém ngoài giờ học trực tuyến mà nhà trường đã sắp xếp không?)
7 Did you receive training sessions for online learning prepared by the school before or during the online teaching process? If yes, what were the training sessions about, and were they helpful to you?
(Nhà trường có tổ chức các buổi đào tạo về chuyên đề giảng dạy trực tuyến cho Thầy/Cô trước hoặc trong quá trình giảng dạy trực tuyến không? Nếu có, các buổi đào tạo có nội dung gì và chúng có giúp ích cho Thầy/Cô không?)
8 Besides those training sessions, what have you equipped yourself with to improve your online teaching skills?
(Ngoài các công tác tập huấn được nhà trường chuẩn bị cho giáo viên thì Thầy/Cô đã tự trang bị cho mình những gì để nâng cao kỹ năng dạy học trực tuyến?)
9 Do you think updating technology skills is significant in teaching online? Why?
(Thầy/Cô có nghĩ rằng việc cập nhật các kỹ năng về CNTT là quan trọng trong việc giảng dạy trực tuyến không?)
10 Have you changed or updated much in your teaching methods and classroom management compared to face-to-face classes? If yes, how did you do that?
(Bên cạnh kỹ năng về CNTT, Thầy/Cô có những thay đổi hay cập nhật gì trong phương pháp giảng dạy và quản lý lớp học so với lớp học trực tiếp thông thường của mình không? Và Thầy/Cô đã thực hiện những điều đó như thế nào?)
11 Do you often need support from the school (eg teaching materials or professional development) to improve the effectiveness of your online teaching? If yes, what is it about?