Assessing the efficiency of E-teaching at tertiary level in Algeria during Covid-19 pandemic: The case of EFL teachers

Abstract

In Algeria, adopting e-teaching at the tertiary level could be quite challenging especially in the EFL context. In Fact, English courses in the different specialties - except English departments had been delivered exclusively online during both the first and second wave of the pandemic. This paper aimed to shed light on the efficiency of the online English courses from three angles: a. identifying the obstacles faced by the EFL teachers in course delivery, b. analyzing the students’ involvement, c. measuring the teaching achievement. In order to collect data, an online questionnaire was destined to 42 EFL teachers in Algeria. Results revealed that: first, the principal hurdles that EFL teachers encountered in course delivery refer to the lack of ICT training, internet quality, and the lack of technological tools. Second, despite the different strategies employed by our EFL teachers such as syllabus adaptation, online platforms, and both synchronous and asynchronous methods, students displayed less involvement and interest than expected. Finally, many EFL teachers couldn’t reach their teaching goals. The findings imply that more consideration should be given to our EFL teachers in terms of ICT training and digital resources for better courses delivery. Besides, teachers should find more adequate strategies to foster students’ motivation for successful e-learning applications.