Novice Online ESL Teacher Training

Project Info


Audience: Novice ESL teachers who teach adults online

Responsibilities: Instructional Design, eLearning Development

Tools Used: Articulate Rise, Mindmeister

Year: 2021

Overview

This project is a two-hour, free online self-training session to equip novice online ESL teachers with academic knowledge of the affective filter theory, multimedia learning, and andragogy. It also provides participants with strategies and approaches to host an engaging online ESL class. Furthermore, the self-training session introduces technical resources to participants. This online self-training session is expected to be a good model of online teaching for novice online ESL teachers who teach adults.

A surge in adult learners in online learning courses/programs/platforms is being noticed during the Covid-19 pandemic, which provides more career opportunities for ESL teachers. However, it requires ESL teachers to equip themselves with both language teaching and technological skills in order to meet the requirements of teaching second languages online. Many ESL teachers urge to start their online teaching career, but few resources provide practical, reproducible, and adaptable guidance at the beginning of the pandemic. Given that training online ESL teachers was regarded as a time and money-consuming project by most schools, institutions, and learning programs, there was no integrated instruction for teachers who wanted to explore how to integrate their instructional skills with technological tools. Furthermore, there is an argument that technology can replace teachers, which indicates that teachers’ value is being compromised. However, in some learning activities, such as second language education, technologies are only tools or strengtheners. The core of language teaching is still instructors who can clarify misunderstandings, monitor learning procedures, and be flexible with varied students. Therefore, teachers, especially online ESL teachers who teach adults, deserve and need a practical e-learning training solution to lead them to the right track.

Problem & Solutions