Coping with COVID-19-related online English teaching challenges: teacher educators' suggestions

Although a number of studies have surveyed the challenges of remote English instruction imposed by COVID-19, a main research gap yet to be addressed is examining the relevant pedagogic experiences and suggestions given in language teacher educators' blogs. Through analysing fifty-one blogs posted by teacher educators on four well-known language education websites, this study attempted to identify their perceived COVID-19-related online English language instruction challenges and suggested coping strategies. Analysing the blogs revealed nine main perceived online English teaching challenges associated with the teacher, learner, and online instruction implementation. To overcome these challenges, the teacher educators suggested seventeen main coping strategies pertinent to planning for online teaching, managing online classrooms, supporting students' mental health, enhancing students' ability to use/access technology, fostering active language learning engagement and motivation, and promoting teacher professional practices and wellbeing.