Exploring the challenges with motivating, engaging, and instructing English language learners remotely online during a global pandemic

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative research was to seek an understanding of the challenges general education teachers faced when motivating, engaging, and instructing English Language Learners (EL) remotely online during the global pandemic of COVID-19. The data derived from individual interviews and focus group interviews revealed that the challenges teachers faced resulted from having the lack of pedagogical skills needed to teach remotely. The data from the interviews also revealed that the challenges teachers faced were depended upon the amount of parental support they received. The participants accounting of their experiences with teaching EL learners in an emergency remote situation revealed three emerging themes (1) unprepared to teach, (2) a shift in focus and approach, and (3) participants' recommendations. The themes captured the challenges of the participants with motivating, engaging, and instructing EL learners, as well as explain what strategies participants put into place to ease the challenges they faced remotely with their students. The themes also captured participant's beliefs on what could be done in the future to reduce those challenges. The implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to classroom teachers, school district leaders, EL parents, policy decision makers, colleges, and universities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)