Online EFL Teaching During The Covid-19 Crisis: Changes In Trainee-Teachers’ Planning And Teaching Approaches

The article deals with the changes in planning and conducting EFL lessons which resulted from the transition to online teaching due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The data on which the present discussion is based were obtained from three sources: lesson plans prepared by trainee-teachers’ (both novice and already practicing) enrolled in an MA course in a Bulgarian state university, oral discussions of the same lesson plans between the trainees and the university supervisor, and video clips of lessons recorded by trainees who at the time of the study worked as teachers in schools. The analysis showed that there were a number of changes in planning for online teaching, and these changes were duly reflected in the teaching the lessons, the evidence of which can be found in the videos submitted together with the plans. The changes in the teaching approach, classroom management and the use of teaching materials were made by the trainees in an attempt to adjust their approach to the modifications of the online learning environment. The analysis helped us identify some features of online teaching which shed light on the processes of adjustment the trainees went through, and the way this transition affected the nature of their teaching. Some of the most symptomatic changes involved increased teacher-centredness in both planning and teaching, and preference for deductive approaches in presenting grammar and vocabulary, which resulted in fewer opportunities for students’ active involvement and participation in the lesson.