Author(s)

Jingshuang Sun ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Department of English, City University of Hongkong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Corresponding Author

Jingshuang Sun

ABSTRACT

At present, closure of campus has been a norm and implemented intermittently since the outbreak of covid 19 in 2020. Over two years, the majority of universities are going through the transition stage from ERT to taking online classes routinely. This is an opportunity to develop online teaching substantially. College English course is compulsory for all university students in China and learning online can pose threats to both instructors and students. The main problems of ERT includes instability of network platforms, lack of teacher-students interaction. Constructivism is of great significance in the field of pedagogy. It is student-centered and allows ambiguity and flexibility and enables leaners to establish a connection between old and new knowledge. This paper aims to clarify the difficulties in online foreign language teaching in universities in China from the perspective of students and teachers under the guidance of constructivist theory. Ten tertiary students were interviewed to find out the dilemma they experienced, and six remedies are put forward from the perspective of constructivism, so as to provide suggestions for dealing with the problems of ERT to develop it into well-designed online courses. 

KEYWORDS

ERT, online learning, English teaching, Constructivism, covid 19, China

CITE THIS PAPER

Jingshuang Sun, From Emergency Remote English Teaching to Online Courses: Challenges and Remedies under the Concept of Constructivism. Curriculum and Teaching Methodology (2022) Vol. 5: 89-95. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/curtm.2022.050713.

REFERENCES

[1] Adedoyin O B, Soykan E. Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: the challenges and opportunities. Interactive learning environments, 2020: 1-13.
[2] Aljohani M. Principles of "constructivism" in foreign language teaching. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 2017, 7(1): 97-107.
[3] Bao W. COVID‐19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking University. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2 (2), 113–115. 2020.
[4] Bozkurt A, Sharma R C. Emergency remote teaching in a time of global crisis due to CoronaVirus pandemic. Asian journal of distance education, 2020, 15(1): i-vi.
[5] Cui J. Research on High School Students' English Learning Anxiety. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 2011, 2(4).
[6] DeVries R. Vygotsky, Piaget, and education: A reciprocal assimilation of theories and educational practices. New ideas in Psychology, 2000, 18(2-3): 187-213.
[7] Gul A. Constructivism as a new notion in English language education in Turkey. Kent State University, 2016.
[8] Hodges C B, Moore S, Lockee B B, et al. The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. 2020.
[9] Hodson D, Hodson J. From constructivism to social constructivism: A Vygotskian perspective on teaching and learning science. School science review, 1998, 79(289): 33-41.
[10] Hu X, Zhang X, McGeown S. Foreign language anxiety and achievement: A study of primary school students learning English in China. Language Teaching Research, 2021: 13621688211032332.
[11] Huang M, Shi Y, Yang X. Emergency remote teaching of English as a foreign language during COVID-19: Perspectives from a university in China. IJERI: International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 2021 (15): 400-418.
[12] Liu M, Jackson J. Reticence and anxiety in oral English lessons: a case study in China. Researching Chinese Learners, 2011: 119-137.
[13] Liu Y, Liu H, Xu Y, et al. Online English reading instruction in the ESL classroom based on constructivism. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 2020, 48(4): 539-552.
[14] Nurunnabi M, Hossain S F A H, Chinna K, et al. Coping strategies of students for anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: a cross-sectional study. F1000Research, 2020, 9.
[15] Piaget J, Inhelder B. The psychology of the child. Basic books, 2008.
[16] Samson P. The coronavirus and class broadcasts. Educause Review, 2020, 3.
[17] Schcolnik M, Kol S, Abarbanel J. Constructivism in theory and in practice//English teaching forum. US Department of State. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs, SA-5, 2200 C Street NW 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20037, 2006, 44(4): 12-20.
[18] Shi J. The Application of Constructivism: Activities for Enlivening Comprehensive English Class. English language teaching, 2013, 6(2): 63-70.
[19] Vianna E, STETSENkO A. Embracing history through transforming it: Contrasting Piagetian versus Vygotskian (activity) theories of learning and development to expand constructivism within a dialectical view of history. Theory & psychology, 2006, 16(1): 81-108.
[20] Wang C, Zhao H. The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety in Chinese university students. Frontiers in psychology, 2020, 11: 1168.
[21] Wu W, Yao R, Xie Z. The relationship between university teachers' self-evaluation of online teaching and their background: based on the survey of 334 Chinese universities. Asian Education and Development Studies, 2021.
[22] Zhang W, Wang Y, Yang L, et al. Suspending classes without stopping learning: China's education emergency management policy in the COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of Risk and financial management, 2020, 13(3): 55.
[23] Zhou S, Zhou Y, Zhu H. Predicting Chinese University Students' E-Learning Acceptance and Self-Regulation in Online English Courses: Evidence From Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) During COVID-19. Sage Open, 2021, 11(4): 21582440211061379.
[24] Zurita G, Nussbaum M. A constructivist mobile learning environment supported by a wireless handheld network. Journal of computer assisted learning, 2004, 20(4): 235-243.

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology
  
  
• Transactions on Comparative Education
  
  
• Applied & Educational Psychology
  
  
• Advances in Vocational and Technical Education
  
  
• Adult and Higher Education