The coronavirus is reshaping every level of education as online learning has largely replaced traditional classrooms from daycare to universities. With back-to-school quickly coming, students, parents, and school employees are debating what a return will look like with physical distancing and safety guidelines. Many are also questioning the sustainability, equity, and effectiveness of online learning. Prior to the pandemic, online classes were generally a valid and viable alternative to in-person offerings. However, their sudden necessity and ubiquity demand that everyone adapt to new ways of living, learning, and teaching. That said, Covid has also had a distinct impact on the often already over-looked field of adult English language teaching (ESL/ESOL).
Language classrooms at schools and nonprofits have been vacant since March, and the shift online has compounded existing issues of access for students and staff. While some programs have thrived online, others consolidated or postponed their offerings. Many of the ones that downsized or delayed feature learning material specifically crafted for adult English learners who are at the beginning or low-intermediate level. This arguably speaks less to the educational quality of online instruction and has more to do with the challenges and goals of many adult English beginners – most of whom have been in the country for less than 3-5 years.
It is very common for new arrivals to face context-specific language barriers in their daily lives. Overcoming these barriers involves developing different literacies to process and decode information and knowledge. For example, money and banking fall under financial literacy, itself a labyrinth of meanings. Computer literacy has meanwhile evolved into the more expansive digital literacy, which encompasses technical vocabulary, everyday internet activities, apps, online safety, and computer care. However, many new adult immigrants are developing these literacies in a new language at an entry level. The sudden shift online and uncertainty about the future often eclipse and outpace their own needs. Their level of and need for English is for survival and basic integration. Using a search engine to find classes, taking an online test, emailing regularly, and making an online payment are at an intersection of linguistic, financial, digital, and social literacies. This has resulted in fewer students and classes.
The coronavirus has signaled and necessitated numerous changes, but not all of them have been negative. The Asian American Civic Association’s First STEPS English program has also transitioned online and plans to remain so for the foreseeable future. The program is well-experienced with many of the real-world hurdles that new arrivals face and has taken measures such as offering discounts, personalized assistance, and loaning tablets to students in light of the pandemic. Students are also now able to join from out of state and even from outside the US. Others see online learning as safer and more convenient as they reduce transportation costs. However, definitive answers are sparse for those who miss the familiarity and relative ease of in-person interaction.
Many underlying social issues are now at the surface as the pandemic forces many industries to a crossroad. It is crucial to ESOL programs that they effectively adjust models of not just teaching but also their procedures for onboarding, enrollment, outreach, and metrics of success in response. For the well-being of community nonprofits and the populations they serve, their approach needs to proportionately address the practical concerns of online learning and the issues of equity and access.
