PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Developing students’ communicative competence during the pandemic is not an easy task, especially with the abrupt shift to remote learning. This study is intended to explore the challenges faced by English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors in developing students’ communicative competence in an online classroom. This study involves three ESL instructors in a university, as well as three students from each instructor’s class. The chosen data collection methods were in-depth interviews and stimulated recall for the ESL instructors and focus group discussions for the students. The findings show that among the challenges faced by ESL instructors include the lack of student engagement and socialisation, the fact that the course was designed for physical classes, and the lack of access to high-speed internet. The students also shared their experiences when faced with these issues. It is hoped that ESL teachers, course developers and administrators can understand the issues faced by ESL instructors with remote learning to develop students’ communicative competence.

• Anugrah, P. (2021). An analysis of teachers’ challenges in teaching speaking through online learning during Covid-19 pandemic in SMAN 2 Abiansemal. Journal of Educational Study, 1(2), 26-36. https://doi.org/10.36663/joes.v1i3.183

• Atmojo, A., & Nugroho, A. (2020). EFL classes must go online! teaching activities and challenges during COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Register Journal, 13(1), 49-76. https://doi.org/10.18326/rgt.v13i1.49-76

• Bird, K., Castleman, B., & Lohner, G. (2022). Negative impacts from the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 Crisis: Evidence from a statewide community college system. AERA Open, 8(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221081220

• Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In J. C. Richards & R. W. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and Communication (pp. 2-27). New York: Routledge.

• Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and learning. Applied Linguistics, I(1). 1-47. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/i.1.1

• Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. Pride, & J. Holmes, Sociolinguistics. Selected Readings (pp. 269-293). Harmondsworth: Penguin.

• Jones, N., Camburn, E., Kelcey, B., & Quintero, E. (2022). Teachers’ time use and affect before and after COVID-19 school closures. AERA Open, 8(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211068068

• Liu, Y. (2008). A study of language teaching from a sociolinguistic perspective of communicative competence. Canadian Social Science, 4(3), 80-86. ttp://doi.org/10.3968/j.css.1923669720080403.010

• Lukas, B. A., & Md Yunus, M. (2021). ESL teachers’ challenges in implementing e-learning during COVID-19. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 20(2), 330-348. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.2.18

• Nartiningrum, N., & Nugroho, A. (2021). English teachers’ perspectives on challenges, suggestions, and materials of online teaching amidst the global pandemic. Indonesian Journal of English Education, 8(1), 108-126. https://doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v1i1.17886

• Savignon, S. J. (2018). Communicative competence. In J. I. Liontas & M. Dellicarpini (Eds.), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching (pp. 1-7). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0047

• Syafrayani, P., Ginting, P., Hasnah, Y., & Saragih, M. (2022). Unpacking the opportunities and challenges in learning speaking online during Covid-19 outbreak: A case-study of Indonesian EFL college students. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 9(2), 109-129. http://doi.org/10.22373/ej.v9i2.10940

• Tackie, H. N. (2022). (Dis)Connected: Establishing social presence and intimacy in teacher–student relationships during emergency remote learning. AERA Open, 8(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211069525

• Ying, Y., Siang, W., & Mohamad, M. (2021). The challenges of learning english skills and the integration of social media and video conferencing tools to help ESL learners coping with the challenges during COVID-19 pandemic: A literature review. Creative Education, 12(7), 1503-1516. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2021.127115

• Zainil, Y. (2018). Stimulated recall interview (SRI): Teacher’s self reflection. English Language Teaching and Research, 2(1), 33-46.