COVID-19가 가져온 초등영어 수업의 변화, 그리고 미래: 블렌디드 러닝 초등영어 수업 개선 연구

Abstract

This study explores teaching and learning in primary EFL classrooms in Korea as they have shifted to a blended learning experience and tries to ascertain how we should prepare for an ever-changing educational environment within school settings. In short, this case study examines how Covid-19 has changed primary EFL classrooms, what we have learned from these changes, and how we can be ready for bigger changes. A blended learning approach combines the benefits afforded by traditional and online learning components. Participants were 142 sixth-grade students (72 males, 70 females) in six different English classrooms. Our qualitative methodology included surveys of the students in the primary EFL classroom and of one English subject teacher’s experiences amid the Covid-19 pandemic. On the student survey, traditional face-to-face classrooms were favored over online learning environments. The teacher also had a more positive attitude regarding her responsibility for students’ learning in a conventional classroom. Through descriptions of both teacher and student experiences of a blended learning approach, this study sheds light on possible new directions for primary English education.