Abstract:

In our professional activities as well as in our personal lives we are confronted with numerous stressful situations caused by changes that require us to react mentally, physically, emotionally and to adjust to the new conditions. These changes have multiplied lately due the Covid-19 pandemic that has radically transformed the ways we work, learn, travel and even the way we relate to the others around us.

Specialists discuss about two main forms of stress: good stress ("eustress") and bad stress ("distress"). [https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/effects-of-stress-on-your-body] The latter type of stress is the one that has been studied extensively as it can have extremely damaging effects on the physical and mental health of a person. It is important to learn to identify it and to take timely measures to combat it. Psychologists and psychiatrists that have studied job related stress have discovered that some professions entail a higher level of stress than others, teaching being considered one of the most stressful owing to the work that has to be done in order to prepare the lessons, the multitude of changes that occur in the field of education, the responsibility for the results of the learners, etc. The Covid-19 Pandemic exacerbated these stress factors and also added new ones.

The present paper draws on the experience of the author in the field of teaching and focuses on the stress experienced by the foreign language teachers at the “Nicolae Balcescu” Land Forces Academy of Sibiu, presenting some modalities that were used in order to cope with stress during the online teaching period.

Keywords:

Teaching, stress, Covid-19, “Nicolae Balcescu” Land Forces Academy.