Abstract:

Videoconferencing technology has been widely used more than any other relevant technology in ESL. Teaching delivery, in general, is rapidly changing from in-person to online teaching and learning to meet the recent educational needs of students. Additionally, the pandemic, however, changed the face of education and made online learning the first, and in some situations, the only option for many institutions. According to UNESCO (2020), the number of educational institutions closing their offices is rapidly increasing. Institutions are considering innovative delivery modes and among all online technologies, videoconferencing tools have become the core of distance learning. As Moorhouse (2020) has highlighted, English Language Teaching (ELT) institutions have designed their innovative methods of teaching online using videoconferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Videoconferencing tools are being used widely by ELT institutions around the globe. Among all relevant issues, students’ behaviour in front of their cameras in synchronous classes has been one of the controversial issues in ELT classes. The role of non-verbal communication in ELT classes is pedagogically important in learning a language. Various communication features in an ELT lesson are based on visual interactions between students and teachers. There are also various non-verbal features of the language such as facial expressions and gestures which ELT students need to learn; without visual interactions, students cannot learn them. Gregersen (2007) highlights the critical role of non-verbal communication in developing ESL communicative competence and why teachers need to incorporate this element into their lessons. Canale and Swain (1980) believe that students need to go beyond linguistic features of language learning and raise their awareness of non-verbal cues of their interlocutors to achieve discourse and sociolinguistic competencies. The reality of presence in videoconferencing tools such as Zoom is more prominent compared to more traditional media such as TV, film, and telephone. Current videoconferencing tools create a very real-life classroom environment for teachers and students to interact and communicate using audio and video tools, so the importance of using and developing non-verbal communication strategies in an online lesson is similar to an in-person classroom. This exploratory qualitative study explores the importance of using cameras by students in synchronous language learning classes and how online language teaching can be problematic when students do not use their cameras properly. It is not possible to develop non-verbal communication skills without face to face interaction via webcams in online classes. It will also identify ESL students typical “camera behaviour” and come up with a brief typology of ESL students’ emerging behaviours based on Social Presence Theory. Drawing on relevant literature, data from practising teachers and ESL weblog discussions, this study discloses the potential issues that students with various cultural background might experience during live online ESL lessons. The outcome of this study can be used by ELT policymakers who might need to plan online ESL courses using videoconferencing tools and by teachers and trainers who design online ELT training courses.

Keywords:

Videoconferencing, Social Presence Theory (SPT), Zoom, Teams, in-person learning, English Language Teaching (ELT), English as a Second Language (ESL).