Students’ perceptions towards the roles and competencies of online English instructors

Abstract

This study aimed to discover the roles and competencies of online English instructors as perceived by their students. Participants consisted of eight students enrolled in a basic English course in Turkey, who were taking the course online. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data, which were analyzed using the content analysis technique with the help of Nvivo software. As a result of the study, roles of facilitator and leader; and competencies of delivering the content effectively, using varied teaching methods, activities and materials, fostering interaction, ensuring participation, having basic ICT skills, integrating technology into teaching effectively, offering and getting feedback, attracting attention, creating open and friendly environment, adjusting tone of voice, pre-class preparation, being aware of student profile and teaching accordingly, giving and checking assignments, motivating, being accessible, classroom and time management, evaluating effectiveness of the course, seeking ways for professional development, and adopting a favorable attitude towards teaching online were addressed by the students. However, the students asserted that their instructors do not perform most of these roles and competencies because of the challenges such as poorness of technical and technological infrastructure, interaction problems, lack of teacher readiness, and student profile. The students highlighted the necessity of a solid technical and technological infrastructure, and teacher development trainings on online teaching issues.

Keywords

• Online teaching and learning
• roles and competencies
• Online teacher competencies
• Online English instructors
• Online English learners

References

1. Abdulla, A. G. (2004). Distance learning students’ perceptions of the online instructor roles and competencies (Doctoral Dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and theses Database. (UMI No. 3137394)
2. Ally M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning (3-33). Athabasca: Athabasca University.
3. Alvarez, I., Guasch, T., & Espasa, A. (2009). University teacher roles and competencies in online learning environments: A theoretical analysis of teaching and learning practices. European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(3), 321-336. doi:10.1080/02619760802624104
4. Anderson T. (2008). Teaching in an online learning context. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (343-365). Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Athabasca University Press.
5. Aydın, C. H. (2005). Turkish mentors’ perception of roles, competencies and resources for online teaching. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 6(3), 58-80.
6. Baran, E., Correia, A. P., & Thompson, A. (2011). Transforming online teaching practice: Critical analysis of the literature on the roles and competencies of online teachers. Distance Education, 32(3), 421-439, doi:10.1080/01587919.2011.610293
7. Bates, A.W. (2015). Teaching in the digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning. Vancouver BC: Tony Bates Associates Ltd. ISBN: 978-0-9952692-0-0
8. Baumann, U., Shelly, M., Murphy, L., & White, C. (2008). New challenges, the role of the tutor in the teaching of languages at a distance. Distances et Savoirs, 6(3), 365-392. doi:10.3166/ds.6.365-392

9. Bawane, J., & Spector, J. (2009). Prioritization of online instructor roles: Implications for competency-based teacher education programs. Distance Education, 30(3), 383-397. doi:10.1080/01587910903236536
10. Bennett S., & Lockyer L. (2004). Becoming an online teacher: Adapting to a changed environment for teaching and learning in higher education. Educational Media International, 41(3), 231-248, doi:10.1080/09523980410001680842
11. Briggs, S. (2005). Changing roles and competencies of academics. Active Learning in Higher Education. 6(3), 256–268. doi:10.1177/1469787405057753
12. Chang, C. Shen, H. Y., & Liu, Z. F. (2014). University faculty’s perspectives on the roles of e-instructors and their online instruction practice. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(3), 73-92.
13. Christensen, L. B., Johnson, R. B., & Turner, L. A. (2015). Research methods, design, and analysis. (12th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.
14. Craig, A., Goold, A., Coldwell, J., & Mustard, J. (2008). Perceptions of roles and responsibilities in online learning: A case study. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects. 4, 205- 223.
15. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison K. (2009). Research methods in education (6th ed.). London: Routledge Falmer.
16. Compton L. (2009). Preparing language teachers to teach language online: A look at skills, roles, and responsibilities. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 22(1), 73-99. doi:10.1080/09588220802613831
17. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.
18. Denis, B., Watland, P., Pirotte, W., & Verday N. (2004). Roles and competencies of the e-tutor, Networked Learning Conference, 5-7 April, England, UK.
19. Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
20. Egan, T. M., & Akdere, M. (2005). Clarifying distance education roles and competencies: Exploring similarities and differences between professional and student-practitioner perspectives. American Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), 87–103. doi:10.1207/s15389286ajde1902_3
21. Everitt, B. (1996). Making sense of statistics in psychology: A second-level course. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
22. Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2005). Applying educational research: A practical guide (5th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
23. González-Sanmamed, M., Muñoz-Carril, P., & Sangrà, A. (2014). Level of proficiency and professional development needs in peripheral online teaching roles. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(6), 162- 187.
24. Goodyear, P., Salmon, G., Spector, J. M., Steeples, C., & Tickner, S. (2001). Competences for online teaching: A special report. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 49(1), 65-72.
25. Gülbahar, Y., & Kalelioğlu F. (2015). Competencies for e-instructors: How to qualify and guarantee sustainability. Contemporary Educational Technology, 6(2), 140-154.
26. Güneş, H. (2017). Perceived roles and competencies of English language instructors in online learning environments (Unpublished master’s thesis). Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Turkey.
27. Güneş, H., & Adnan, M. (2023). Online instructor roles and competencies: Voices of EFL instructors. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 10(2). 892-916.
28. Hampel, R., & Stickler, U. (2005). New skills for new classrooms: Training tutors to teach languages online. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 18(4), 311–326.
29. Hauck, M., & Hampel, R. (2005). The challenges of implementing online tuition in distance language courses: Task design and tutor role. In B. Holmberg, M. Shelly & C. White (Eds.), Distance education and languages: Evolution and change (258-277). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
30. Hauck, M., & Stickler, U. (2006). What does it take to teach online? Towards a pedagogy for online language teaching and learning. CALICO Journal, 23(3), 463-475.
31. Huang, Q. (2019). Comparing teacher’s roles of F2f learning and online learning in a blended English course. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 32(3), 190-209.
32. Hubbard, P. (2007). CALL and the future of language teacher education. CALICO Journal, 25(2), 175-188.
33. Kavrat, B. (2013). Determination of instructors’ competencies in online learning (Unpublished master’s thesis). Fırat University. Elazığ.
34. Lee, D. Y. (2011). Korean and foreign students’ perceptions of the teacher’s role in a multicultural online learning environment in Korea. Education Tech Research Dev. 59, 913-935. doi:10.1007/s11423-011-9219-0
35. Michalopoulou, T. (2020). Learning to adapt, adapting to learn: redefining online EFL teachers’ roles. In K.-M. Frederiksen, S. Larsen, L. Bradley & S. Thouësny (Eds), CALL for widening participation: short papers from EUROCALL 2020 (pp. 221-226). Research-publishing.net.
36. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
37. Moore, M. G. (1973). Toward a theory of independent learning and teaching. Journal of Higher Education, 44(9), 661-679.
38. Muñoz Carril, P. C., González Sanmamed, M., & Hernández-Sellés, N. (2013). Pedagogical roles and competencies of university teachers practicing in the e-learning environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14(3), 463-487.
39. Richards, L. J., Dooley, K. E., & Lindner, J. R. (2004). Online course design principles. In C. Howard, K. Schenk, & R. Discenza (Eds.), Distance learning and university effectiveness: Changing educational paradigms for online learning (99-118). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing.
40. Ritchie, J., Lewis J., & Elam G. (2003). Designing and selecting samples. In J. Ritchie & J. Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers (77-109). Thousand Oaks, London: Sage.
41. Rosell-Aguilar, F. (2007). Changing tutor roles in online tutorial support for open distance learning through audio-graphic SCMC. The JALT CALL Journal, 3(1-2), 81-94.
42. Salmon, G. (2004) E-moderating: The key to teaching and learning online (2nd ed). London: Routledge Falmer.
43. Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright M., & Zvacek, S. (2008). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
44. Tuzun, H. (2004). Metodyka ksztalcenia online (Methodology of online learning and teaching). E-mentor E-zine, 2004(2), 9-10.
45. Wang, Y. (2004). Distance language learning: Interactivity and fourth-generation Internet-based videoconferencing. CALICO Journal, 21(2), 373-395.
46. White, C. (2003). Language learning in distance education. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
47. Williams, P. E. (2003). Roles and competencies for distance education programs in higher education institutions. American Journal of Distance Education, 17(1), 45-57. doi:10.1207/S15389286A JDE1701_4
48. Yin, R. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). United States of America: SAGE Publications.