Abstract
This study adopts narrative inquiry to report five English teachers' online teaching experiences in a rural primary school in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. From a sociocultural theoretical perspective, this study shows how the participating teachers navigated the transition in instructional mode and developed familiarity with online teaching over time. Using thematic analysis, the findings of this study reveal that the teachers showed anxiety toward online teaching, that they formed a virtual community of practice, that they incorporated lived experiences into online teaching, and that they called for professional development centered on online teaching and spoke to the changing needs for English teaching in the post-COVID era. Implications are provided regarding how the teachers could transfer face-to-face ELT to an online setting and how they could be better supported professionally by the school and their colleagues.
TopIntroduction
Online teaching, the process to implement education via the internet on virtual platforms, is no longer a new concept to educators and students in the COVID-19 pandemic. In attune with the suggestions by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021), local health officials in China (e.g., National Health Commission of the PRC [NHC], 2020) recommended protective measures such as physical distancing, wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, limiting indoor gathering, frequent hands washing, and so forth, to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. Under this advisory, a nationwide lockdown was implemented that shut down all indoor venues and activities, including schools (CGTN, 2021). As a result, teachers were required to shift from teaching face-to-face to teaching online with short notice (Moser et al, 2020).
The present study focuses on the shift of the instructional mode during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how it exerted influence over English Language Teaching (henceforth, ELT) in a rural primary school in a western province in China. This study is situated in two main contexts: ELT in China and the COVID-19 pandemic. In what follows, the authors describe the education system in China with an emphasis on English as a mandated subject and provide a brief account of the COVID-19 mitigating policies in China.
English as a Mandated Subject in the 9-Year Compulsory Education in China
Education in China can be divided into five phases (see Table 1). Primary school and junior high school constitute the 9-year compulsory education system in China. The Compulsory Education Law of the People’s Republic of China passed in 1986 stated that attending the 9-year compulsory education is a civic obligation for all Chinese citizens (National People’s Congress, 2019). The initial mandated subject areas in the 9-year compulsory education included Chinese language and literature, mathematics (both algebra and geometry), moral education, physical education, and music education; English was a latecomer to this group (Cao, 2018).
In 2001, the Ministry of Education (MOE) (2001) recommended integrating English as a mandated subject starting from grade 3. This recommendation came at a time after China had adopted the Reform and Opening-Up Policy for two decades. The boosting economy and open market modernized China; hence, China’s education needed to keep up with this pace of modernization (Cao, 2018). According to the MOE (2001), “education should be geared to the needs of modernization, of the world and of the future” (para. 1). Therefore, English, a language spoken widely around the world, would enhance China’s communication with the world (Liao, 2004). Since then, ELT has become a big component in primary, junior high, and senior high schools.
Table 1. Education system in China
| Phase | Duration | Compulsory or not? |
| Kindergarten | 3 years | No |
| Primary school | 5 or 6 years | Yes |
| Junior high school | 3 or 4 years | Yes |
| Senior high school | 3 years | No |
| Colleges and universities | 4 years | No |
Source: (Cao, 2018)
The expansion of ELT in China brought about some issues. The first issue pertains to the shortage of qualified English teachers (Shu, 2004). When English first became a mandated subject, there was a nationwide shortfall of English teachers (Hu, 2005). To alleviate the situation, teacher training programs were provided to individual teachers who were interested in ELT; additionally, the enrollment capacity for English majors at the university level was expanded to recruit more ELT teacher candidates (Xiong & Xiong, 2017). Over the years, although more qualified teachers have joined the ELT team, the shortage of qualified English teachers remains salient in some rural areas in China (Chung & Mason, 2012; Li et al., 2020; Wei & Zhou, 2019).
The disparity in educational resources is another issue concerning the expansion of ELT in China. According to Hu (2003), “not all parts of China… have benefited equally from the efforts and resources invested in ELT” (p. 291). Consequently, “significant differences” in educational resources (e.g., instructional technology, textbooks, teaching strategies, etc.) exist “between major cities and small cities, between rural towns and countryside, between coastal and inland areas, between north and south, between key and non-key schools/universities” in China (Cortazzi & Jin, 1996, p. 61). In other words, compared to the schools in urban or coastal areas, the issue of disparity in educational resources impacts the schools in rural areas more negatively (Hu, 2002; H. L. Wong et al., 2014).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Instructional Mode: A term used to describe the way a class is delivered, for example, face-to-face class, online class, and so forth.
Professional Development (PD): A term used to describe the activity through which a person’s professional identity, knowledge, and skills are upheld, advanced, or (re)shaped.
Social Situation of Development: A sociocultural theoretical concept that suggests a person’s lived experiences and personal history in relation with the present contextual situation creates a social situation for a person’s cognitive and psychological development.
Community of Practice (CoP): A concept developed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger that describes a group in which people with a shared objective come together to work collectively to achieve that objective.
Mediating Artifacts: A Vygotskyan concept that regards an array of psychological and physical tools (e.g., language, textbooks, computers) as mediational tools for a person’s learning.
Lived Experiences: Lived experiences represent a person’s knowledge gained through interactions with and involvement in everyday activities, including social events, recreations, learning, working, and so forth.
Concept Development: A sociocultural theoretical construct that describes a person’s development in understanding a certain concept resulted from instruction and mediation that connect the person’s everyday experiences with scientific concepts.
Composite Narrative: An approach to presenting narrative data in which narrative from each individual participant is strategically interwoven to form a temporally and thematically coherent account.