Emergency Remote Teaching and Technology Comfort: Mapping Perceptions of English Teachers from Schools in Rural Areas of Rajasthan during COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

The present study explores the perceptions of English language teachers in rural areas of Rajasthan, India in terms of their teaching approach, their methodological and technological preparedness, and the kind of teaching materials they have been using and developing since lockdown 1.0 in March 2020 when they had to shift to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). The study also investigates the challenges faced by the language teachers for content delivery, assessments, and the students’ engagement during classroom interactions. Besides these, the technological challenges related to the accessibility and affordability of hardware and Internet services are also discussed. The data has been collected through surveys from 147 English teachers from various schools in rural areas of Rajasthan, India. The survey results indicate the need for a teacher training program in using technology for online pedagogy, exploring the possibilities of making education accessible in remote areas and new avenues of teaching-learning. The implication of this study also gyrates around a call for restructuring English language teaching in the Indian education ecosystem and curriculum design for the post-COVID-19 era.