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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 330-348, February 2021
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.2.18

ESL Teachers’ Challenges in Implementing

E-learning during COVID-19

Brenda Anak Lukas and Melor Md Yunus

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi Selangor, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2892-8217
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7504-7143

Abstract. Education sector in Malaysia had put emphasis on the use of

online learning or e-learning with technology and devices as a mediator
of communication to replace face-to-face learning during the COVID-19
pandemic. Subsequently, with the improvement of learning
technologies, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers faced various
challenges in language teaching. In this regard, this study aimed to
investigate the challenges ESL teachers faced in implementing e-
learning during COVID-19. Using a qualitative approach, this research
was a case study which involved 20 primary ESL teachers. Data
collection was done through an in-depth interview to explore teachers’
e-learning experiences and challenges in teaching the English language.
Based on the findings, the majority of teachers expressed that the use of
e-learning was effective with various limitations such as teachers’
readiness to adopt e-learning, accessibility to mobile phones and
Internet connectivity, classroom management in term of low students’
participation and assessment. Thus, the researcher recommended more
studies to highlight teachers’ insight regarding the significance of e-
learning. ESL teachers, stakeholders, policy makers, and institutions can
benefit from the results of the study and come out with practical
strategies to utilize online sources for education in the pandemic
situation.

Keywords: E-learning; English Language; ESL Teachers; COVID-19;

Challenges

1. Introduction
Across the globe, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic had led to profound
changes, which affected social interaction and organization in general, and the
education sector in particular. The Malaysian government had enforced
Movement Control Order (MCO) and introduced pandemic precautions for all
which was called "social distancing" (Kamarudin, 2020). These actions were
taken to reduce close contact and minimise any community transmission that
could rapidly develop in crowded places like the university, as mentioned by

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Weeden and Cornwell (2020). Therefore, the government together with the
Ministry of Education (ME), came up with several measures to close all schools
and turn to e-learning initiative, marking the fast transition of the standard face
to face classes to virtual learning (Kamarudin, 2020). Online learning or e-
learning had been popular and flexibly used by teachers in teaching and
learning due the fast escalation of the Internet and accessible technological tools
(Huang et al., 2020). Other studies concerning e-learning during Covid-19 also
had been carried out by several reseachers; Verawardina et al. (2020), Basilaia
and Kvavadze (2020), Almaiah et al. (2020), and Dai and Xia (2020). Malaysian
researchers also conducted studies regarding e-learning mainly in tertiary levels
of education such as universities (Yusuf & Ahmad, 2020; Ismail et al., 2020;
Nassr et al., 2020). However, there was limited research focused on primary
schools and primary teachers’ practices in e-learning, though they are also
shifted to e-learning during this pandemic.

According to Mohammad (2018), technology had an essential role in improving

various learning tasks. It would help teachers improve their pedagogical skill,
and learners who participated in e-learning were more likely to perform better
than students who were learning traditionally, especially in teaching and
learning English. Mutambik (2018) stated that the popularity of technology
adoption in the domain of education had increased, especially since the
emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW). He added, some e-learning
applications permitted students learning English to readily access beneficial
language resources and communicate directly with native English speakers. It is
important to note that English is well known and spoken by many worldwide
and known as lingua franca (Yen & Mohamad, 2020), but in some countries,
English is the first or second language of its citizen (Breene, 2016). According to
Nishanthi (2018), about 1 billion people worldwide speak English, 67 countries
have English as their official language, and there are 27 countries have English
as their secondary official language. As supported by the English Proficiency
Index (EPI), English was taught and learned around the world and had a high
proficiency as a second language (Breene, 2016). Accordingly, in 2020,
Netherland scored the highest (652), followed by Denmark (632) and Finland
(631), while Malaysia made its spot at top 30.

Although many teachers believed how new technology can effectively benefit
the teaching and learning process, they did not fully embed it in their practices.
This is the initial stage how teachers should plan and prepare for their teaching
methodology in the classroom. In terms of language teaching, teachers need to
create a supportive environment where learners will have comfort if the
language is taught with the communicative language teaching approach (Al-
Sobhi & Preece, 2018). During this pandemic period, students who have been
struggling learning English in face to face meeting will face a more challenging
situation when they learned it virtually. Thus, this situation caused delay in
learning English. During the COVID-19 outbreak, all educational levels such as
schools, colleges, universities have been shifted to e-learning. Unfortunately,
institutions that had less or no experience with e-learning were subject to failure
when implementing it. Add to this, teachers are having difficulties to handle the

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online applications (Zaharah et al., 2020). These challenges range from ICT skills,
lack of motivation and training, and poor access to the Internet, resources and
materials, to name just a few. Research regarding education during the covid-19
pandemic, particularly in English language teaching was lacking and had not
been conducted thoroughly. Accordingly, more research is needed to identify
individuals' challenges about integrating technology into the teaching and
learning process especially in English language teaching. Therefore, this study
investigated the challenges faced by primary ESL teachers while implementing
e-learning during COVID-19. This study also sought to discover ESL teachers’
experiences of e-learning effectiveness during COVID-19.

2. Literature Review

2.1. E-learning
According to Verawardina et al. (2020), online learning or e-learning used
Internet technology that allowed teachers and students to conduct teaching and
learning in or out of the classroom. Teaching and learning materials presented
using this medium are visual, word, animation, video or audio-visuals so that
learning can occur flexibly anytime and anywhere. Aparicio et al. (2016)
mentioned that the e-learning was a concept of the use of computerised systems
to aid and help teachers and students with the learning process. They
determined other terms that were in the same concept such as online learning,
virtual learning, distance education, and other learning management systems. In
the same vein, Rodrigues et al. (2019) defined e-learning as an innovative web-
based system invented based the use of digital technologies and various choices
of learning resources and materials which aimed to give a conducive, learner-
centered, and interactive environment to students.

This online learning skill was one of the 21st century skills that every person
needed to master to succeed in this challenging age. In fully-online education,
learners and teachers only meet via virtual environments using the Internet and
its technologies. Hybrid teaching or the so-called blended learning took place
when there is a face-to-face interaction between educators and learners in online
learning. The web-assisted method of e-learning used synchronous well-
designed tools that are meant to enhance teaching and make learning effective.
Web-assisted learning included online discussions and interactions between the
learners and instructors, and varied information can be analysed, to improve
teaching quality (Gonzalez et al., 2020). Various online applications can be
accessed using mobile phones or laptops in this modern-day such as Zoom,
Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Edmodo.
According to Amry (2014), WhatsApp is considered as cost-effective, easy to
administer as it has low uploading and downloading rate. Thus, using
WhatsApp can lighten teachers’ burden and enable students to access in a short
time. It has been found out that WhatsApp was unique in promoting good
student-teacher relationships and a positive classroom environment
(Hershkovitz et al., 2019).

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2.2. Benefit of E-learning

Bailey and Lee (2020) stated some benefits of e-learning as compared to the
traditional modes of classroom learning, namely: (a) accommodated everyone's
needs, (b) learners can take lectures any time, (c) low cost, (d) offered access to
updated content, and (e) little environmental impact. Recently, there are many
alternatives which can suit the students' learning styles in language learning. By
instilling the interactivity in language learning, students will feel more attracted
to learn the language as their affective filter is lowered. E-learning improved
teachers’ pedagogical skills, offered varieties of instruction methods, relevant
curriculum design, and language learning tools (Mynbayeva et al., 2017).

Merç (2015) claimed that teachers’ beliefs about the usefulness of technology in
the second language classroom influenced their pedagogical beliefs, strategies,
procedures, and choice of materials to be utilised in their teaching. This aspect
provided us to better understand their actual practices. In this respect, Shifflet
and Weilbacher (2015) stated that teachers' beliefs about the technology for
teaching and learning might be the strongest factor in the classroom. Besides,
Halim and Hashim (2019) mentioned that teachers' way of engaging the lesson
can be improved, they would build self-confidence, and had an effective
interaction in the classroom. Students’ motivation can also be improved if they
were involved in e-learning activities that can attract and sustain their attention
(Morat et al., 2017). As supported by Pazilah et al. (2019) and Morat et al. (2017),
the use of authentic learning materials such as videos from YouTube can make
the online teaching and learning experience meaningful and purposeful.

2.3. E-learning in ESL Classroom

Various studies have been conducted to evaluate how e-learning impacted its
users (Mahlangu, 2018; Kintu et al., 2017). As for English language learning and
teaching, the widespread use of technology and the e-learning environment has
impacted the pace of learners’ second language learning. The rapid
developments and innovations in technology provided opportunities and new
features in language learning. For example, a combination of audio, visual and
animation effects made the e-learning more appealing and effective (Wijaya &
Helmi, 2018). Moreover, e-learning is also considered a cost-efficient and time-
saving tool in learning a language. It also provided massive forms of sources to
practice the language such as online educational applications.

Learning a second language is said to be challenging especially in semi-urban

and rural areas (Endriyati, 2019). Fortunately, in this modern technology, it
served second language learners in many ways. According to Foti (2020), e-
learning became an easy and affordable source for learners to access and interact
with others by sharing knowledge and information. It is claimed by many
researchers that advanced technological methods in teaching can spark interest
and boost the motivation of learners to learn the target language (Nadeak, 2020).
Despite its advantages in teaching and learning, many teachers did not fully
maximise the use of this technology in their classes due to the lack of facilities,
time, and poor ICT knowledge (Ghavifekr et al., 2016).

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In modern times with easy access to smartphones and the Internet, students are
likely to become more open to using technology and online resources as tools to
learn a language. Nowadays, many students have offline or online dictionaries
downloaded in their smartphones which can help them find the meanings of the
new words. Apart from that, ESL teachers also find those applications quite
useful when designing particular tasks for their students. As asserted by
Mohamad et al. (2017), electronic dictionaries were handy and time-efficient for
learners to search for the meaning of new words that they wanted to know. This
advanced application has promoted students' self-directed esteem to become
independent learners and take responsibility in their learning as they controlled
their own learning pace (Mohamad et al., 2017). Other online educational
platforms such as blogs, social media applications, and smartphones can
alleviate and enhance both teachers’ and students' language teaching and
learning.

Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) had always never been easy
especially for the remedial students who always needed teachers to monitor and
guide them during lessons. Some studies mentioned the difficulty to teaching
language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing during this
COVID-19. For example, teachers and students found it difficult to teach and
learn writing during the pandemic period (Yunus et al., 2019). Sayuti et al. (2020)
stated that the lack of confidence in speaking during the virtual class made
students uncomfortable compared to face-to-face meeting in the classroom
(Pazilah et al., 2019). Face-to-face teaching is different than online learning,
where teachers can address and give attention to almost all students' doubts and
queries (Dai & Xia, 2020). Furthermore, students were all different in terms of
learning styles, interest, and proficiency levels especially in learning English as a
second language is bound to be moderated by a wide array of linguistic,
contextual and individual difference (Pawlak, 2017).

Moreover, in Malaysia, ESL pupils also found it hard to learn during the
pandemic period (Yen & Mohamad, 2020). In the online classroom, peer
interaction during speaking class rarely happened making which resulted in
making students feel shy to practise compared to the traditional classroom
(Pazilah et al., 2019). Furthermore, in a study that was conducted in Hong Kong
by Moorhouse and Beaumont (2020), they mentioned that learners with mixed-
abilities were having problems in catching up with the rest of the class as
teachers were giving standardized-tasks to all of them. Although there was
slightly improvement in language learning using Learning Language Strategies
(LLS), their effectiveness was still not fully applied (Lestari & Wahyudin, 2020).

2.4. Challenges of E-learning

Even though e-learning was rapidly being used worldwide, it persisted as a
challenging problem for various levels of education. As asserted by Eltahir
(2019), universities’ readiness was one of the challenges in adopting e-learning
that led to failure in the system. He also mentioned several problems of e-
learning adoption; technology barriers and accessibility, self-competencies,
norm/cultural challenges, and course challenges. However, these challenges

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were very different for each country regarding their geographical location, norm,
and users' awareness. Ghavifekr et al. (2016) also stated that poor network
connection and the lack in the main development of infrastructure were the
significant challenges of e-learning system adoption in developing countries.
Another study also presented system features, Internet connection, and
computer skill that hindered the successfulness of the e-learning system. Despite
these efforts, none of these studies had investigated the actual challenges users
face during the e-learning system. However and according to Al-Khasawneh
and Obeidallah (2019), the e-learning challenges still exist, and that cause
learners to become reluctant to use it in Jordan.

Similarly, many researchers had stated few challenges in English language

teaching. During the COVID-19, the rush to use e-learning had caused teachers
and students to adopt the shift. Shahzad et al. (2020) mentioned that e-learning
environment had impacted teachers’ instructional methods and caused failure in
teaching and learning. According to Ko and Rossen (2017), the successfulness of
teaching activities is affected by teachers’ ICT skills and experiences, which was
considered as one of the challenges they face. Furthermore, Aliyyah et al. (2020)
mentioned other challenges of e-learning related to teachers’ lack of readiness to
tackle students to fully participate and complete their tasks. Senior teachers
found it difficult to adapt but those who master the applications and technology
tools approached it significant which can be implemented effectively and
smoothly especially during the COVID-19 (Reimers et al., 2020). Furthermore,
the learners showed less effort and responses during teaching and learning
session in switching off their video and audio throughout the whole online
lesson, thus effective engagement and interaction between students and teachers
could not be highly produced (Mohmmed et al., 2020). Alternatively, teachers
will need to find other alternatives to deliver the lessons using other available
platforms which in turn caused students to be delayed in learning (Kaden, 2020).

It is indeed that e-learning had plenty of benefits to education, however, its

challenges hindered the smoothness and success for learning. Students’
engagements can be distracted by other online content, and thus can cause the
lesson to become less meaningful (Yunus et al., 2019). Besides, technical issues
were there to arise, such as audio and video problems (Halim & Hashim, 2019).
Also, in terms of language learning, authentic communication was hardly
existing and less opportunities during e-learning lesson (Pazilah et al., 2019).
Furthermore, “one size fits all” approach is not suitable to use in e-learning
situation as it could restrict students with individual differences to participate in
the lesson (Gillett, 2017). Add to this, instructors who are not competent about
online delivery could make course design and planning useless and problematic.
Teachers should really plan and prepare their lessons beforehand so that
objectives of lessons can be achieved and aligned with the curriculum
framework. Despite the many challenges related e-learning with the rapid
widespread of COVID-19, teachers and other parties will have to create and
design innovative strategies that best suit educational needs so that no student
would be left behind.

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3. Methodology

3.1. Research Design

Using a qualitative approach, this research was a case study which involved 20
primary ESL teachers. It aimed to investigate their experiences and challenges of
e-learning implementation during COVID-19 pandemic. Creswell (2009)
mentioned that a case study is used to get a rich data from groups of different
people in a particular setting or scenario. The aim of using case study was to
identify a case in a thorough and comprehensive manner.

3.2. Research Participants

Table 1 presented a summary of the participants' demographic profile for this
study (n=20). The majority of the participants were females, n = 13 (65%). The
participants clustered towards the youngest group, at 23 to 30 years old (n = 11,
55%). The participants' school setting clustered towards rural (n = 12, 60%).
Participants were all degree holder in teaching English as Second Language
(TESL) and they taught one to three English classes a day from primary one till
primary six, respectively.

Table 1: Demographic Profile of Participants

Demographic Profile N Percent (%)
Gender
Male 7 35
Female 13 65
Age
23 - 30 11 55
31- 40 4 20
41 - 50 3 15
51 – 60 2 10
School Setting
Urban 3 15
Suburban 5 25
Rural 12 60

3.3. Research Instrument

This study employed an interview to obtain and achieve the study objectives.
Questions in the interview generally involved open-ended questions, semi-
structured, and closed-ended questions. Besides, the interview served as a
powerful and a useful data collection instrument to reach participants. In this
research work, the interview was used because it was suitable and relevant to
obtain data on teachers’ experiences in implementing e-learning and the
challenges they faced. They answered the interview questions completely
through online by means of WhatsApp application, wherein each interview
lasted for 10-15 minutes through audio and video calls. The interview consisted
of 11 questions adapted from Lie et al. (2020), and is considered as an important
tool for teachers to include their views and opinions about online teaching and
the use of technology during the hard circumstances like the present crisis.

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3.4. Research Procedures and Analysis

The data for the present study were collected from 28 November to 18 December
2020 through WhatsApp interviews with all the selected teachers who taught
English in primary schools. After describing the objectives and purposes of the
study, the teachers were then required to sign the consent form if they agreed to
participate in the interview. The latter was conducted via audio and video calls
with all the participants. Conducting an interview using WhatsApp was best
method to collect data as the pandemic was still actively spreading around the
world. Five-step data analysis model was used in the present research.

Figure 1: Five Steps Data Analysis Model

Based on Figure 1, the researcher transcribed and filtered the original data from
the interview. This was intentionally done to omit unnecessary data and retrieve
important details. The answers given by the interviewees were categorised into
several patterns or sub-themes using the Nodes function. Next, the list of themes
was then classified into few main themes. Lastly, the researchers proceeded with
the report by writing the interview results.

4. Findings and Discussion

Figure 2: Thematic Map

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From Figure 2, 11 nodes (themes) were created during the interview analysis;
Internet connection, family background, e-learning acceptance among teachers,
availability of mobile phones in students’ families, students’ attitudes and
behaviour, methods of teaching delivery, types of multimedia that suit students’
learning styles, working parents, teachers’ ICT skills, different proficiency levels
among students, and assessment and feedback. The nodes were then classified
into 4 nodes classifications (themes) depending on the answer to the research
questions. The themes were classified according to the number below:
1. Teachers’ experiences of e-learning effectiveness during COVID-19
2. Teaching methods for effective lesson
3. Challenges of e-learning implementation faced by teachers
4. Students’ participation and assessment

4.1. Teachers’ Experience of E-learning Effectiveness during COVID-19

Based on teachers’ e-learning experiences, they looked at online ESL teaching
from different degrees of agreement. The participating teachers had almost
similar experience of e-learning over COVID-19 when all of them were mainly
using WhatsApp application for their online teaching. Interestingly, WhatsApp
(75%) became particularly practical and convenient for their online teaching
during the closure of schools as they were able to reach their students. Other
online applications that they utilised were: Google Classroom (15%), Zoom
(10%), and Quizzes (25%). Figure 2 below represented teachers’ modes of online
applications.

Figure 2: Modes of Online Applications

The following were some excerpts manifested by some interviewees:
“I prefer to use WhatsApp for online teaching and learning. It is easy to
use and nowadays all parents who own smartphones has WhatsApp
application.” (Teacher 2)

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“Using WhatsApp is easy to upload and download materials as it does

not really require excellent Internet connection.” (Teacher 10)

According to Amry (2014), WhatsApp was cost-effective, easy to administer as it

had low uploading and downloading rate. Thus, using WhatsApp can lighten
teachers’ burden and enable students to access in a short time. Hershkovitz et al.
(2019) also supported this finding in their study mentioning that WhatsApp was
an application that facilitates and promotes good students-teacher relationship
and also creates an optimistic learning condition.

In terms of lesson plan preparation and implementation, 15 teachers prepared

their lesson plans according to the syllabus and Scheme of Work (SoW) and
implemented them accordingly during their online teaching. Another five
teachers otherwise expressed their uncertainty of their lesson plans
implementation as e-learning sometimes faced inconsistency in delivering the
intended knowledge. The factor to this problem was related to teachers’
unexpected situation during online teaching such as poor internet connection.
This finding also existed in other studies which presented system features,
internet connection, and computer skill that hindered the successfulness of the e-
learning system (Almaiah et al., 2020). Poor internet connection can be the main
factor behind the failure of e-learning which would result in frustration of both
teachers and students.

4.2. Teaching Methods for Effective Lesson

Despite having time to adapt to online teaching and learning, and at the same
time adhering to government initiatives to shift from the traditional classroom
teaching to e-learning, teachers still have to ensure that learning can take place.
There were various methods to utilise online teaching such as lectures, game-
based, task-based, problem-based learning projects, and discussion. In this study,
13 teachers gave worksheets to their students through WhatsApp, and the others
mentioned project-based, inquiry-based, online quizzes, and educational videos.

“I find it easier to send worksheet or task through WhatsApp, parents

easily can understand my instruction and let students complete the
worksheet given. Plus, I can easily send any related materials(notes) I
find in the Internet for the English lesson.” (Teacher 14)

“Giving worksheets is the best online teaching I can do for my students.

I list out the learning steps in a simple language and attach the
worksheet. Giving them time and ask them to send the pictures of their
work through WhatsApp.” (Teacher 15)

“I implement my online teaching sometimes using online quizzes. The

quizzes are related to their learning, and through its students become
more active and attracted to the leaning.” (Teacher 5)

Some of them also mentioned that they used various methods to reach to their
students including giving worksheet through WhatsApp, and sending pictures
or videos as extra support materials. For example, a combination of audio, visual

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and animation effects made e-learning more appealing and effective (Wijaya &
Helmi, 2018). Their choices of methods were strongly related to students’ home
area which had poor internet connection. This finding was in line with several
studies that presented technology barriers and accessibility which were
approached to be the main obstacles in adopting to online teaching (Eltahir, 2019;
Ghavifekr et al., 2016).

Notwithstanding teachers had to utilise various methods to teaching online

during Covid-19, some others liked the ideas of it as they can access to plenty of
English materials to share with the students on the spot compared to the
traditional classroom teaching. Based on this assumption and according to Foti
(2020), online teaching and learning became an easy and an affordable source for
the teachers and learners to access and interact with others by sharing
knowledge and information in the modern era. It provided plenty forms of
sources to practise the language significantly through online educational
applications.
“As time passes by, I find online teaching is effective as it has various
relevant materials and sources for teaching and learning English.
Teacher can adopt and adapt teaching materials based on students’
proficiency.” (Teacher 8)

“One thing that excites my students is the use of videos or animations

even in the face-to-face meeting, so in this period of online teaching I try
my best to get them attracted to my lesson by using pictures and videos
even though we cannot interact using the real time application like
Microsoft teams or Google Classroom.” (Teacher 12)

As supported by Pazilah et al. (2019), the use of authentic learning

materials like videos from YouTube can make the online teaching and learning
experience meaningful and purposeful. These optimistic views showed that
teachers accept the use of online teaching as it benefited their teaching and their
students. According to Merc (2015), teachers’ beliefs about the usefulness of
technology in the second language classroom influenced their pedagogical
strategies, procedures, and materials, and provided a better understanding
about their actual practices. Below statements showed teachers’ view on how
online teaching and learning was effective for their teaching practices.
“The advantages of online learning are making the learning to be
possible in everywhere and every time as long as the facilities are well
adequate as it is convenience and fun.” (Teacher 16)

“Students are able to explore more knowledge with Internet as

students are trained to look for information independently. Also,
teachers get to explore lots of strategies in teaching.” (Teacher 5)

4.3. Challenges of E-learning Implementation Faced by Teachers

In spite of their optimistic views about e-learning, teachers also mentioned few
of its limitations such as readiness to adapt to e-learning, technological barriers
in terms of internet connection and devices, and classroom management in term
of students’ participation and assessment. The participating teachers stated their

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anxiety and concern during the process of e-learning. Teachers' readiness in term
of technological experience and competence was one of the challenges
mentioned in the interview. Ko and Rossen (2017) also supported this by saying
that teachers who were lacking ICT skills found it challenging to implement e-
learning, and it determined whether the lesson can be delivered successfully or
not. They found it not convenient for them to conduct e-learning as they were
less competent with technology. This problem mostly impacted senior teachers
in which they regarded it difficult to run the advanced applications. When this
happened, teachers feel burdened, and online teaching and learning was not
optimal. However, it was different for young and those who master the
applications and technological tools, in which e-learning can be implemented
effectively and smoothly during COVID-19 (Reimers et al., 2020). In the
interviews, few of them mentioned their readiness in adopting online teaching
during the pandemic period.
“At first, I was so worry about what platform should I utilise and what
if my students do not understand the lesson. I am still anxious about
how my online teaching will be even until now, not so sure about its
effectiveness.” (Teacher 18)

“I have never taught online before, and I find it difficult, not confident
to catch up with the technology. But I use WhatsApp, which is doable
and easier than other applications.” (Teacher 4)

“I feel that e-learning is not easy to implement, especially now, and even
the parents face the same problems as mine.” (Teacher 6)

“I find it difficult to prepare my teaching materials for the online

teaching as I am not experienced and need longer time to adapt to this.”
(Teacher 19)

“I am teaching three classes; I am still struggling to adapt to the new

norm. I'm having difficulty in organising my classes' tasks, but I try to
put more effort.” (Teacher 9)

The transformation in the education to make use of e-learning had influenced

teachers’ working progression and education quality. Teachers who participated
in this study believed that e-learning needed to be effective and practical to
implement, and all related parties should cooperate and have the same goals
that align with the objectives of the government ensuring the notion that
education must take place no matter what situation we are in. Regarding
teaching strategies using e-learning, teachers emphasised that technological
readiness and skills, whether online or offline applications was essential for the
"new normal" approach, and it was necessary to support online learning success.
Dai and Xia (2020) mentioned that educators are recommended to attend regular
professional development workshops to utilise e-learning and high access to the
curriculum resources.

The second main challenge was technological barriers in term of accessibility to

internet and devices like mobile phones and laptops. The low-income family

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background where parents did not have access to the electronic devices and
poor network and also those who lived in the suburbs and rural area are subject
to be unsuccessful when in e-learning situation. It had been confirmed that
learning a second language can be challenging especially in semi-urban and
rural areas (Endriyati, 2019). Eltahir (2019) mentioned several problems of e-
learning adoption; technology barriers and accessibility, self-competencies, the
norm cultural challenges, and course challenges. These challenges determined
the successfulness of the instructional activities to be taken place. Also, student’s
participation was low, and learning was not optimal. These obstacles caused
some students to be left behind the lesson and led to procrastination and delay
in submitting their tasks. These technological impediments often faced by
students with poor access to internet who came from low economic level and
live rural areas as previously highlighted. The following statements covered
what had been claimed by the participating teachers:
“Poor Internet access and not all of my students have mobile phones to
follow e-learning.” (Teacher 1)

“The Internet coverage in my students' area is not supportive of them to

use e-learning as most of my students live in rural areas.” (Teacher 7)

“More screen time which may cause eye strain and worsen my eye
health condition.” (Teacher 20)

“Pupils use their parents' device. Sometimes, parents can only guide
or make time for online learning after working hours.” (Teacher 17)

In the implementation of online learning during COVID-19, teachers and

students must have enough internet quota and accessibility towards various
electronic devices. Owning this privilege will help students to follow online
learning smoothly. However, some teachers visited students at home, sending
homework to make sure that all students received the same materials.

4.4. Students’ Participation and Assessment

Some students were not familiar with online learning as they were so used to
face-to-face interaction with their teachers. Moreover, students struggled a great
deal with gadgets such as mobile phones as most of them did not own one.
Learners from the rural area which had poor or no internet connection and low-
income family could not access to online learning. Teachers will need to find
other alternatives to deliver the lessons using other available platforms which
again caused students to be delayed in learning (Kaden, 2020). Due to these
factors, students were gradually losing interest and motivation in joining online
classes. This is also felt with some interviewees as shown below:
“Remedial students that need guidance are sometimes left behind as the
good students conquer the lessons. I find it hard to monitor and guide
struggling students and that somehow demotivate them.” (Teacher 2)

“One of the disadvantages of online learning is I feel there is a wall

between me and my students that I couldn’t really feel their presence,
unlike in classroom. I might don’t know what is their problem because

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 343

in the screen I cannot see their body language and mimic for instance if
they apply display picture on their screen. Some of the students also
might lie to their teacher, by only joining in but they are doing
something else.” (Teacher 3)

“I cannot run from the fact that face-to-face interaction is still

imperative to be able to keep track of students’ progress (tasks or
performance) especially in the rural areas and it is hard to assess
students as their performances are inconsistent.” (Teacher 10)

“Parents were answering the quizzes instead of students which in turn

teachers can’t assess students’ performance.” (Teacher 13)

“Some students did not do their homework on their own, as some

answers seem dishonest. Plus, it is difficult to provide feedback
individually.” (Teacher 11)

Teacher can plan and prepare virtual classroom that both interesting and
effective at the same time. In order to appeal to students' enthusiasm and
motivation in online learning, teachers had to be creative to attract students’
attention. Teachers were required to maximise the use of varied instructional
methods to encourage more enthusiastic participation in online learning.
Involving students in a fun and engaging learning activities can also increase
their motivation to learn (Morat et al., 2017). During learning from home, several
teachers expressed that they were having hard time in getting students to be
interested and maintain students’ attention and motivation for learning. At the
beginning of online learning, students were excited about immerging themselves
with the "new normal" of learning, but the spirit was fading after a few months,
in which students became uninterested and less bothered to learn. Moorhouse
and Beaumont (2020) stated that learners with mixed-abilities were having
problems in catching up with the rest of the class as teachers were giving
standardised-tasks to all of them. Thus, feedback and assessment were not
consistent as pupils perform way better than at school. This condition was
highly due to major helps came from parents as they were the ones who did and
completed the task instead of their children.

All the aspects above have affected the achievement of instructional objectives
and teachers’ performance in delivering knowledge to students online, however
and according to Moorhouse and Beaumont (2020), challenges still existed. The
most significant obstacle teachers encountered when conducting e-learning was
students’ poor internet connection and little to no access to mobile phones or
laptops. Influential parties such as parents, teachers, and the government should
give unconditional support to ensure effective implementation of e-learning.
Collaboration from those parties will nevertheless help teachers to deliver the
knowledge successfully and motivate students at the same time. The findings of
this study indicated that educators and curriculum designers ought to prepare
online learning frameworks that catered to few conditions such as teachers'
perception of e-learning, accessibility to the technologies, students economic
background, and needs in implementing online learning during the COVID-19

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 344

pandemic. Thus, for successful e-learning implementation, several factors must

be considered. Importantly, teachers’ technology readiness must be polished and
improved so that fun, meaningful and purposeful lesson can be created.

5. Conclusion
In the findings on this study, the majority of teachers expressed that the use of
online teaching was effective but with various limitations. There were
limitations connected to teachers’ readiness to adopt online teaching,
accessibility to mobile phones and internet connectivity, classroom management
in terms of low students’ participation and assessment. The study found that it
was important for instructors to be prepared and flexible in utilising e-learning
to increase learning effectiveness. Hopefully, findings of this study will help
teachers, students, parents, and stakeholders to have a more depth
understanding of the online teaching efficacy and digital divide caused by the
pandemic in Malaysia. Collaboration and innovation from essential parties such
as government, teachers, parents, and schools were crucial to optimise the
efficacy and practicality of e-learning during this critical period. Based on the
current limitations of this research that covered a small number of ESL teachers,
future research needed a thorough and comprehensive research on the issue
with large population. Teachers’ personal experiences such as years of teaching
experience, age, and education level may lead to differences in their view about
e-learning in teaching English.

6. Implication
COVID-19 pandemic has caused a big crisis in all educational systems
worldwide. Many countries have come out with alternatives to make sure the
learning is still taking place. Eventually, the ministry of education put great
emphasis on e-learning implementation. Along with the shift, alterations were
necessary to employ effective instructional pedagogy, teachers' technological
readiness to conduct e-learning and giving constructive support to all needed.
This was to maximise e-learning potential, and no student would be left behind.

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Appendix 1

Interview Questions

1. What online applications (s) do you utilise for your e-learning?

2. Do you follow the lesson plans that you had prepared?
3. What methods do you use?
4. How do you provide assignment and assessment after each lesson?
5. How do you provide feedback to you students?
6. How would you describe your students’ response and participation to e-
learning?
7. Are your students able to use your e-learning platform? Justify your answer.
8. According to you, what are the benefits and drawbacks of e-learning?
9. How effective is your e-learning?
10. What have you learned about your teaching pedagogy during this pandemic?
11. What are other challenges you face in implementing e-learning?

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