We describe a trend as the way a situation develops or changes. Since COVID-19, Language Schools have had to adapt their styles of teaching. Classroom sizes have become smaller to allow for 2 metre distances between desks and students are obliged to wear masks and frequently wash their hands with hydroalcoholic gel.
I recently had to do oral exams and I found it a challenge to assess what the student was saying beneath their masks. Their voices sounded muffled and inaudible. I needed a lot of patience and had to ask the students numerous times to repeat what they were saying. Needless to say, it was an onerous task for them and me alike.
When I teach, I find that I need to almost shout to make myself heard beneath my mask. My voice without a mask is clear and I usually don´t have any difficulty being understood so this is a first for me. I have a large bottle of hand sanitiser on my desk which I am frequently using to give an example to the students. I demand that they use it after they physically hand up their homework to me. The school has mounted a transparent Protective Screen on my desk where students can observe me without risk of infection.
My voice when I get home after work is usually hoarse and I need to take lozenges to soothe my throat. Another change for me. I bought a specially designed bag with alphabetic dividers to put the copybooks in and I take out one at a time when I am correcting. It seems light years away since I piled mounds of copybooks on my desk. School reports are also filed separately, and I am careful to sanitise my hands after touching each one.
I have also noticed that there is less spontaneity in the classroom. Students are wary about approaching me if they have a question. Instead, they put up their hands and ask from their desks. My routine of walking around the classroom to check on the students’ progress has stopped. I am rooted to my chair now and only get up when I need to write or explain a topic on the Whiteboard.
Pair work and group work must now be at a two-metre distance with the constant use of hand gel if notes are passed around. There is no longer any provision of pens, pencils, rubbers, or sharpeners as each student is obliged to buy their own and bring them into class every day. Copy books and Syllabi are bought by their parents and are not allowed to be shared amongst the students.
Games which are very much part of the teaching world are restricted. Board games which need dice are no longer permitted. If I want to play bingo as a way of teaching numbers, I prepare a sheet of numbers for each student beforehand which they must discard afterwards. If I use card games to teach vocabulary, I need to prepare an individual set in advance as well.
Taking these trends into account, I have found that I need to invest more time in preparing materials than pre-COVID-19. Gone are the days of improvisation. A teacher without ample preparation today will flounder.