Abstract:

Over a year the globe has been living through the challenges and hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic changing people’s habits, living conditions and working patterns. To keep up with the altering world events and novelties many professionals have had to reconsider their attitudes to digital technologies. Teachers as usual have been on the front lines. They have had to step out of their comfort zones, learn new skills and acknowledge the significance of digitalization, however hard they might have resisted it earlier.

The present research is the extension of that conducted in spring 2020 to analyse the initial teachers and students’ experience of converting the whole educational process from the brick-and-mortar to the point-and-click classroom. This time the focus of the analysis is on teachers’ self-perception in the new reality, their vision of their one-year experience of remote teaching. The research was based on a questionnaire and one-to-one interviews with language teachers affiliated mainly with higher education institutions. The comparative analysis of the responses collected has revealed a certain shift in teachers’ judgement of the benefits and shortcomings of remote teaching. Although the respondents point out some flaws and inconveniences of totally computer-based education, at present, they seem to be more positive about the feasibility of distance learning; they highlight its significant didactic potential and prove to be happy with the development opportunities for themselves.

The research findings temp the authors to make a conclusion about the emergence of a new professional paradigm where digital technologies are likely to be not only an occasional aid or entertainment in the classroom but have a firm place in the everyday teaching reality. The authors dare to assume that the research results may be of interest to curriculum planners who may consider the possibility of balancing two leaning modes.

Keywords:

Distance learning, new professional paradigm, digitalization, benefits and shortcomings of remote teaching.