The Teachers’ Strategies, Preparation, and Perceived Impact in the Shift from Online to Face-to-Face EFL Teaching
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33603/perspective.v14i1.12960Keywords:
post-pandemic teaching, EFL teachers, blended learning, teacher preparation, teacher well-being, social constructivismAbstract
The shift from emergency online teaching back to face-to-face classrooms has created a second adjustment for teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), yet little is known about how Indonesian secondary-school teachers have managed it. This mixed-methods study examined (1) teachers’ strategies, (2) their preparation, and (3) the perceived impact of the shift from online to face-to-face teaching. Thirty EFL teachers from Islamic private senior high schools in Indonesia completed an 18-item, five-point Likert questionnaire, and a subset took part in semi-structured interviews. Questionnaire data were analysed with descriptive statistics and interview data with Saldaña’s two-cycle coding. Teachers reported blending digital and face-to-face practice, with the strongest agreement for collaborative tasks (M = 4.57) and for integrating online resources into classroom lessons (M = 4.53). They also reported continuously seeking new resources (M = 4.57), receiving institutional support (M = 4.53), and feeling emotionally prepared (M = 4.17). Teachers perceived students as more engaged in face-to-face lessons (M = 4.57) and themselves as more effective, but also reported a heavier workload (M = 4.53), more classroom-management challenges, and higher stress (M = 4.17); interviews showed that these experiences were not uniform. The findings suggest that post-pandemic EFL teaching is best understood as a sustained blend of digital and social-constructivist classroom practice that requires continued professional development, institutional support, and attention to teacher well-being.
References
Alzahrani, M. (2022). Traditional learning compared to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from faculty’s perspectives. SAGE Open, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221091720
Bird, K. A., Castleman, B. L., & 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, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221081220
Charbonneau-Gowdy, P. (2023). Lasting effects: What the post pandemic return to in-person teaching tells us about the state of e-learning and its future trajectory. Proceedings of the European Conference on e-Learning, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.34190/ecel.22.1.1887
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Research in Education, 24, 249–305. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X024001249
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE.
Daniel, S. J. (2020). Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospects, 49, 91–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09464-3
Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3), 181–199. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08331140
Dolenc, K., Šorgo, A., & Ploj Virtič, M. (2021). The difference in views of educators and students on forced online distance education can lead to unintentional side effects. Education and Information Technologies, 26, 7079–7105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10558-4
Gillies, R. M. (2006). Teachers’ and students’ verbal behaviours during cooperative and small-group learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(2), 271–287. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709905X52337
Gutentag, T., & Asterhan, C. S. C. (2022). Burned-out: Middle school teachers after one year of online remote teaching during COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 802520. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.802520
Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020, March 27). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning
Kim, L. E., & Asbury, K. (2020). ‘Like a rug had been pulled from under you’: The impact of COVID-19 on teachers in England during the first six weeks of the UK lockdown. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(4), 1062–1083. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12381
König, J., Jäger-Biela, D. J., & Glutsch, N. (2020). Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: Teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 608–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1809650
Kusuma, I. P. I. (2022). EFL preservice teachers’ technology integration in managing and teaching speaking skills during emergency remote teaching. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 24(2), 149–165. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v24n2.97497
Lestarina, A. P., Nurkamto, J., & Ngadiso. (2022). EFL teachers’ beliefs and ICT integration practices during distance learning: Employing Replacement, Amplification, and Transformation framework. Register Journal, 15(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.18326/rgt.v15i1.91-108
Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 22(140), 1–55.
Mahmood, S. (2021). Instructional strategies for online teaching in COVID-19 pandemic. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(1), 199–203. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.218
Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), 533–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y
Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning. Higher Education for the Future, 8(1), 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347631120983481
Rohmana, W. I. M. (2025). Indonesian EFL teachers’ technology integration in the shifting of online to offline learning. Scope: Journal of English Language Teaching, 9(2), 883–891. https://doi.org/10.30998/scope.v9i2.26252
Rolf, L. R., Vestal, L., Moore, A. C., Lobb Dougherty, N., Mueller, N., & Newland, J. G. (2023). Psychosocial work environment stressors for school staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: Barriers and facilitators for supporting wellbeing. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, Article 1096240. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1096240
Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Salta, K., Paschalidou, K., Tsetseri, M., & Koulougliotis, D. (2022). Shift from a traditional to a distance learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic: University students’ engagement and interactions. Science & Education, 31, 93–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-021-00234-x
Soyoof, A., Reynolds, B. L., Vazquez-Calvo, B., & McLay, K. (2023). Informal digital learning of English (IDLE): A scoping review of what has been done and a look towards what is to come. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 36(4), 608–640. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1936562
Topping, K., Erokhova, N., & Sokolova, N. (2024). Was “returning to normal” more effective? Comparing online and offline learning in English as a foreign language. Education Sciences, 14(7), Article 731. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070731
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Westphal, A., Kalinowski, E., Hoferichter, C. J., & Vock, M. (2022). K–12 teachers’ stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 920326. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.920326
Windschitl, M. (2002). Framing constructivism in practice as the negotiation of dilemmas: An analysis of the conceptual, pedagogical, cultural, and political challenges facing teachers. Review of Educational Research, 72(2), 131–175. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543072002131
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Mukhlizardi Islam

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 4.0 Internasional License (CC-BY-SA) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the works' authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journals published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Upon receiving the proofs, the Author/Editor agrees to promptly check the proofs carefully, correct any errors, and authorize the publication of the corrected proofs.
- Authors should submit the signed copyright transfer agreement form (CTA Form) along with the checked (and corrected proofs).








