A teacher of English as a Foreign Language, Armenia 

Life before Covid-19  

I work in a public school in Yerevan where I have been teaching English to both primary and secondary students for 20 years. This year I have only year three and four students who are 9 – 11 years old.  I teach eight classes with about 13-16 students in each, 22 contact hours per week. Our school is quite big; we have about 1100 students. 

We have to follow the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education. We have a few Russian classes in which all subjects are taught in Russian. These classes consist of mostly Molokans and repatriates from Russia. In the past, we used a textbook published in Russia which was designed for specialised English schools but now we can use it only in our Russian classes; in others, we have to use Armenian textbooks.  

How life has changed because of Covid-19 

Our classes were suspended on March 13th. At the beginning, it was unclear what to do. We assumed that the emergency situation might last a month and then we might teach until July (normally, the academic year ends at the end of May) or work on Saturdays to cover our missing lessons. During this period, I was in close contact with my colleagues; we considered different options and decided to start assigning some work using Viber – there was no guidance from the government yet. I asked parents to create a Viber group and then I started sending them different activities. That’s how we worked at the beginning but then the government realised that this long gap might have a detrimental effect on children’s education. It was announced to start teaching using dasaran.am website. Later, we were told we could use Zoom - it was up to the teacher to decide how to teach. I was still using Viber but then I realised that my students didn’t benefit much from it. Yes, parents monitored their kids’ learning and helped them a lot, but they couldn’t spot their errors or correct their pronunciation. So, I offered parents to start synchronous teaching on Zoom. I had no idea what Zoom was and how it worked. My niece downloaded it for me and showed me how to use it. Some parents preferred to continue using Viber so I ended up teaching some classes using Viber and others Zoom which takes even more time. 

At the beginning I was very anxious, I felt I was giving a performance to a big audience - I knew that my students’ family members were watching me. But then I got used to it. Now I am fine but sometimes parents might call me and say, “Sorry, I was listening to you but I didn’t get this point. Could you please explain it again?” 

It is really uncomfortable to teach from home. I live with my parents in a tiny flat. My mom sometimes forgets that I teach and says something or does some housework. I don’t want my students to hear all that. Now I ask my parents to stay in the kitchen until I finish teaching. 

Greatest concerns and challenges  

Now the workload is much higher. Before COVID-19, we still had a lot of stuff to do but after finishing our work, we would go home and have some time for ourselves.  

Հիմա անընդհատ աշխատում ենք՝ օրը էլ իմը չէ։ Now we work non-stop. The day doesn’t belong to me anymore.

Even though I am at home I can’t really rest. I have to check everybody’s homework and send their feedback prior to the next lesson. At school, you just go over homework in class but now it is very time-consuming, especially when there are many errors. I have to write everything down, then input into my phone and then send it to parents. Even today, on Sunday, I keep receiving homework. Sometimes they send video recordings and I have to give feedback on each video. That’s a lot of work. 

I have children who struggled in class but have blossomed now - they are brilliant.  But their final marks are still low because the Ministry decided that the marks received during online teaching must not be considered. I think it is unfair that these children’s efforts are not appreciated. Some parents say, “Was working so hard just a waste of time?” And I always reply, “Of course not! Children have obtained more knowledge”. But we still have the Soviet mentality - unfortunately, marks are still the main stimulus for our children. 

I find this [online teaching] deficient; I don’t like it. You teach something but you don’t really know whether everybody has grasped it. This is not real teaching. In class, you can see whether students have understood the topic by looking into their eyes but now you can’t sense that. It is impossible to do that online.  

Հիմա իրական շփում չկա, էրերգիան ուրիշ է` իրար չենք զգում: There is no real interaction now, the energy is different, we can’t sense each other.

Most of my students participate in on-line lessons but there are some who don’t. Some of them, mostly Molokans, don’t have any devices or the internet; they don’t have access to education at all. There is also a perception that Molokans are not into education. For example, I had a student who was doing nothing the first term; he would just smile and say, “I haven’t brought a pen, a book, a notebook.” I failed him and warned him he would fail again if he didn’t study. Teachers have a perception that Molokans don’t study and just give them a pass so they could move to the next grade.  

Դասղեկն նույնիսկ ասաց․ Իրենք բոլորը տենց են։ Ի՞նչ ա փոխվելու, եթե չդնես: Իրանք սովորող չեն: His class teacher said, 'They all are like this, what is going to change if you fail him? They never study'.

I just wanted him to learn, I wanted him to do what he was capable of, I didn’t ask him to do complex things like retelling a story. During the second term, his attitude changed, he started working and his homework was on my desk every lesson. It was really hard for him, he didn’t even know how to write in English properly, but he did what he could – copied some sentences, did some exercises. I encouraged him and he got excited and really engaged in lessons. I had a conversation with him later. He had thought I would pass him anyway because all teachers did that. He had hoped I would be the same but then he realised that I wasn’t. Unfortunately, he doesn’t participate in any online classes now, maybe he doesn’t have any device or the internet. 

In villages, the situation is worse, there are problems with the equipment, the internet - the socio-economic situation in rural areas is generally worse. The Ministry is considering how to support students who couldn’t join online lessons. When we get back to normal, they might organise extra classes for them on Saturdays and during school holidays. 

Emerging opportunities 

I never really liked the school and even was thinking about quitting this job, but now I miss it. 

Կարոտում եմ երեխաների հետ շփմանը, կատակ անելուն, մեկ-մեկ հիմա էլ ենք կատակ անում, բայց նույնը չի։ I miss communicating with children, our jokes and just talking to them. Sometimes, we try to joke online but it’s not the same

Some children are more attentive now; either they like the novelty of learning with technology or their parents are monitoring their learning. In general, parents are more engaged in their children’s learning. Now all parents know what the homework is and help their children to learn. Frequently, moms are next to their children during the lesson, you can sense their presence.  You might ask a question and then hear how the mom’s whispering the answer trying to help her child. Once I asked one of my student’s a question but she was distracted and then her mom shouted, “Don’t you hear? The teacher is asking you a question.”  

Yes, I have learned how to use technology and I might continue using some stuff but in terms of real teaching I don’t think there are real benefits in online teaching; human interaction is still my priority. When I enter my class, I feel their energy. Each class has its own unique energy and I feel that. In comparison to face to face teaching this [online teaching] has more negative than positive impact. 

Future hopes  

I think in autumn we will still teach online but I hope, eventually, we will get back to what we had before - real life interaction without the internet, I mean no online teaching.