The Covid 19 pandemic has brought several challenges for teachers and learners in general and language teachers and students in particular. The crisis generated by the pandemic has had strong effects on public health and serious effects on education as schools have closed and teachers, students, and other staff have had to work from home. As a consequence of the lockdown measures enforced by different governments to mitigate the effects of the virus, teachers in general, and language teachers in particular, have been forced to adapt their teaching from face-to-face to online environments overnight. This unplanned and rushed move has shown the many aspects that need to be addressed for efficient and productive language teaching. Issues such as connectivity, access to technology, and willingness to use technology, as well as aspects related to designing appropriate activities and technology training, have started to emerge as challenges for language instructors and learners.

In this special issue, we seek to explore the different ways in which language teachers have overcome this challenge, what strategies they have implemented, what learning activities they are finding effective, what technological tools are being used and with what results. This special issue seeks to contribute to our understanding of how language teachers are successfully adapting their teaching practices to the online environment so the community of language teaching practitioners come out of the crisis generated by the pandemic, stronger and more informed. Authors are invited to submit research (empirical and case studies), theoretical, and methodological papers written in English or Spanish for this special issue.

Suggested topics:

1. The use of educational technology for language teaching in times of Covid. A research perspective
2. Pre, while, and post effects of the Covid 19 pandemic on language teaching and learning. A look at tools, strategies, task design and assessment.
3. Teachers skills and readiness to teach languages online or mediated by technology in the new times
4. Changes required in teacher professional development to adapt to the new times.
5. Connectivity and other language teaching challenges for different settings and populations in the new times

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 1 December 2020

For more information, click here