A case study of tertiary level online english learning and assessment in Bangladesh during COVID-19

Abstract

The education system all over the world shifted to online mode due to COVID 19 pandemic circumstances. Though online education is convenient and flexible, both teachers and students are facing challenges in online classes and assessments. Thus, this study aims to determine the perceptions of students and teachers regarding online English classes and assessments in the department of English and Humanities (ENH), Brac University, a private university in an ESOL context such as Bangladesh. Alongside, this study explored the possible solutions to the challenges shared by the teachers and students. The study adopted a qualitative single case study approach and the researcher used the purposive sampling technique to collect data from ten tertiary-level English major students and four teachers of the department. Semi-structured interviews were conducted through the online Zoom platform and interviews were recorded and after transcribing, the interviews are analysed thematically. The results revealed that preparing video materials for flipped classrooms and providing feedback on time was difficult and stressful for the teachers. On the other hand, students shared that in online classes watching video lectures were convenient, yet live discussions and interaction with the teachers and peers made online learning more effective. They also informed that more timely feedback could have helped them in improving their performance in assessments. This study will help English teachers of an ESOL context such as Bangladesh to modify their way of teaching and assessing online.