Online Class Observation and Conduction in English during the Outbreak of Covid-19

Abstract

The outbreak of Covid-19 has affected educational systems worldwide. It has led to the near- total closures of schools, colleges, and universities. It seems that all the governments around

the world have temporarily closed educational institutions so that they can reduce the spread of Covid-19. However, the learning process must go on. That is why teachers and students are using an online platform to continue the learning process instead of wasting time at home. Many private universities like Daffodil International University are taking online classes, quizzes, and exams. The English language is an international language. Though many countries use the English language as a 2nd language, in Bangladesh it is still being used as a foreign language. Historically, the English language was in a state of rising and fall in Bangladesh since its independence in 1971 (Moniruzzaman, 2009; Rahman, 2005). The English language is the most used international medium of communication around the world. That is why learning English in Bangladesh is compulsory in almost every level of education. From schools to universities English is being taught to students. But still, it seems that English language teaching in Bangladesh is not effective. Though students are learning the English language from the beginning of their school life the output of learning English is not satisfactory. Most of the students are afraid of the English language. Students in Bangladesh learn English as a necessary subject from their first day of school till class twelve or higher level. They learn the English language for more than twelve years, and still the result is disappointing. The government has taken so many initiatives to improve English language learning from the earliest point of school life and such a significant number of activities have been taken to make English easy for the students. But Covid-19 made the government almost crippled because they don't have enough resources to conduct online classes in government

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Huda 3 schools and colleges. However, at the moment only private schools, colleges, and universities are taking online classes. They are trying their best to ensure a quality teaching environment but their supports are not well enough to fulfill the demands. A university has been selected for online class observation. On that university, 2 classes have been observed and a class has been taken. During observation of the class, a checklist provided by the supervisor has been used for evaluating the performance and teaching techniques of the teachers, and the outcomes of learning. After observing the classes, some problems have been found. To overcome those problems, some recommendations have been given that may help to make the English language teaching effective at that university.