Exploring the adaptive strategies in undergraduate English language courses at five Bangladesh private universities during the pandemic

Abstract

This research explores the adaptive strategies employed by ELT teachers in Bangladesh’s private universities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the shift from physical classrooms to online instruction became critical for continuing education. Integration of ICT tools at the tertiary level classrooms has been a phenomenon for many years. Therefore, the lockdown highlighted the need to investigate which strategies helped overcome the situational challenges of online English language classrooms and would also help in future disruptive situations in Bangladesh. Thus, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five undergraduate ELT teachers from five private universities, and then their responses were analyzed. The findings revealed the teachers’ “adaptive strategies” for successfully conducting their undergraduate courses. The teachers effectively adapted to online teaching and embraced technological tools, adopted the roles of ‘motivators’ and ‘mentors’, and integrated ICT tools, social networking platforms, and other LMSs. These strategies contributed to the enhancement of teaching materials, pedagogy, and methods, ensuring the successful delivery of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses.