Pre-service ESL teachers’ beliefs and challenges in teaching English using online platforms in secondary schools

Abstract

The study explored pre-service ESL teachers’ beliefs and challenges in teaching English through online teaching in secondary schools. The study employed a quantitative method involving a survey with closed-ended questions. Conducted on 45 pre-service ESL teachers from the Faculty of Education in a public university in Selangor through convenience sampling, the participants included 38 females and 7 males. The data were analysed through descriptive analysis based on the mean for each item. The findings show that the importance of students participating in activities using online platforms, online platforms providing a variety of resources, and the importance of students being enthusiastic about using online platforms are the three main beliefs held by the pre-service ESL teachers. The respondents demonstrated positive beliefs towards these aspects. Furthermore, the three main challenges were students’ poor internet connection, which hindered their ability to join virtual meetings, lack of participation due to lack of motivation, and the inability to do collaborative work due to low engagement. In short, the challenges encountered are mostly from the students’ perspective, not the teachers.