Perceptions of ESL Teachers from Tamil Vernacular Type Schools (SJKT) About Online Teaching and Learning During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of ESL teachers in Tamil vernacular schools about online teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. While there are studies on teachers’ perceptions during Covid-19, less is known about ESL Tamil vernacular type schoolteachers’ perceptions on teaching and learning during the Covid pandemic, where Tamil is the medium of instruction, with the Malay Language as the second language and English as the third language. Purposive sampling was used to select 30 ESL teachers from different Tamil vernacular schools in the Johor Bahru region. Using an explanatory sequential mixed method approach to collect the data, in the first phase, a close-ended questionnaire was used as a quantitative instrument. As for the second phase, an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data. GNU PSPP software was used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was analysed through descriptive content analysis. The findings of the study showed the perceptions of ESL teachers about online teaching and learning, such as online teaching and learning tools, skills needed to conduct online teaching, challenges in online teaching and learning as well as positive aspects of online teaching and learning. The findings show that the challenges the teachers faced during online teaching outweighs the positive aspects stated. This calls for more research about vernacular-type schools. The findings can be a reminder for the school management to provide more training for teachers on how to help students be more interactive, motivated and  be less inhibited during online teaching and learning.