Experiencing emergency remote teaching as an EFL educator in Chile at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic

Nicholas Scarlota
Universidad de Talca, Chile
Rocío Knipp
Universidad de Chile, Chile

In this qualitative study, we seek to explore the experiences of English as a foreign language (EFL) university teachers in Chile during the first semester of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in 2020. We conducted 17 semi-structured interviews and analysed them using qualitative content analysis. Emergent themes were divided into two general categories as perceived from the teacher's point of view, advantages and disadvantages. Among the results were a perceived decrease in participation and interaction, and time and health issues. Convenience, accessibility of information, increased flexibility and adaptability of teachers emerged as positive elements. This study sheds light on ERT and its repercussions for university EFL teachers during the early days of the pandemic. Ultimately, providing an in-depth look at what Chilean teachers experienced as Covid-19 pandemic shook up higher education with teachers at the forefront of this disruption.
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Authors: Nicholas Scarlota is currently a professor at Universidad de Talca, Linares, Chile. He holds a Master of Education from Cabrini University, United States, and has over ten years of English language teaching experience throughout Chile. His professional interests include teaching English to young learners. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9679-4903 Email: nicholasscarlota@gmail.com Rocío Knipp is a PhD candidate in Social Sciences at Universidad de Chile, Chile. She is a scholarship recipient from ANID Becas/Doctorado Nacional No21201525. Her current research interest is digitalisation of higher education. She holds a MA in Linguistics and Literature: English from KU Leuven, Belgium, and has worked as an English language instructor for over ten years. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2426-2518 Email: knipp.rocio@gmail.com Please cite as: Scarlota, N. & Knipp, R. (2022). Experiencing emergency remote teaching as an EFL educator in Chile at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Issues in Educational Research, 32(4), 1605-1622. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/scarlota.pdf