In April, with the first wave of Covid-19, we had our first #eltworkerchat. Many teachers had lost hours, student numbers were down – and there was a strong push to go online.
Some teachers found this switch to online positive, though there were problems…
…while Calvin Johnson reminded us that for teachers outside Europe life can be difficult!
So a few weeks ago, in the middle of August, we decided to see how you language workers were doing, and ask Is this the #EndofELT?
This is what you said.
So the good news first. Not everyone was in the doldrums.
However several teachers noted the negative aspects – like the hit on student numbers…
…and the impact of students wanting courses nearer home.
There was also some ambivalence about the situation – noticeable in this exchange between Geoff Jordan and Martin Spivey.
And for some teachers, the whole turn of events was just … well … a real downer … something I’m sure a lot of us can relate to!
Alberto Bruzos, co-author of the excellent article ‘Who Pays for Cheap Language Instruction‘, raised an important point about institutions that teach other languages, how language learning intersects with other economic sectors…
…and the long-term effect all this economic disruption will have on teacher precarity.
So all in all it’s an ambivalent picture – but one thing we can be sure of is change, and perhaps some of that change will be good.
So will Covid spell the end of ELT?
What do you think?
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