"IT'S LIKE STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN": MENTORING NOVICE TESOL TEACHERS IN EMERGENCY ONLINE TEACHING

ABSTRACT

When the COVID-19 outbreak was announced to have become a pandemic, Argentina declared a national lockdown and schools closed at the start of the academic year. The shift from face-to-face to remote learning occurred with little or no formal preparation or support and with the awareness that not all learners or teachers had reliable Internet access or a computer at home. Drawing on current notions of mentoring, continuing professional development, and online teaching and learning, this article describes a case study consisting of seven novice TESOL teachers engaged in emergency online teaching at a public secondary school. The article discusses the teachers' concerns and strategies deployed to overcome such worries and the effects on online mentoring on their professional development drawing on data collected through a group chat and whole group discussions. Findings show that teachers (1) relied on previous knowledge about learner autonomy and sociocultural theory in language learning to make informed decisions, (2) planned and delivered teaching having in mind this was a transitory emergency, (3) employed new or familiar digital tools in ways which were context-sensitive, and (4) developed teacher reflection and agency as a result of online mentoring.