Teachers’ perceptions of teaching English language via zoom in a selected secondary school in Kampala district

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced all education institutions around the world to close. Consequently, teachers were encouraged to use technology to ensure continuity of students’ learning. Therefore, traditional face to face classes were replaced by technology mediated classes. However, the transition was sudden, so most of the teachers were underprepared. Drawing on the technology acceptance model (TAM) as well as the communicative language teaching approach (CLT) this study examined how teachers came to accept and use Zoom technology. In particular, the study examined teachers’ perceptions of teaching English via Zoom. The study objectives were; to establish the teachers’ attitudes towards teaching English via Zoom, how teachers used Zoom to teach English language and the challenges they faced. The study adopted a single case study research design and followed a qualitative approach. It was conducted in one of the secondary schools which utilised Zoom to ensure continuity of students’ learning during the school closures. The study participants included five teachers and two administrators: the head teacher and the school ICT specialist. These were purposively selected basing on their involvement in the implementation of Zoom lessons. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and observation. It was analysed by thematic analysis techniques. The study findings revealed that teachers had mixed perceptions towards teaching English via Zoom because they were underprepared. The mixed perceptions were portrayed through the negative and the predominantly positive attitudes exhibited by the teachers. It was established that the teachers’ attitudes affected the way they actually used Zoom to teach English language. It was also established that though Zoom enabled teachers to integrate the four skills of language while teaching grammar, they encountered challenges especially with assessment. The study concluded that acceptance and actual use of technology, in this case Zoom, is influenced by teachers’ perceptions. The study recommends that to effectively support teachers to integrate technology, they should be supported to change their perceptions and also trained to use technology while drawing on relevant language learning theories.