Challenges of (English) Teacher Educators during Covid-19 Lockdown in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the challenges faced by teacher education during the Covid-19 lockdown in Nigeria. The study identifies and analyses the difficulties encountered by teacher education programmes and explores the impact of the lockdown on teaching and learning practices with special reference to the teaching of English language. The study, which is a qualitative one obtained its data from secondary sources like original research studies, government policies, books, newspapers, websites and the researcher’s observations of events at this period. The paper identifies that the sudden shift to online teaching and learning posed significant technological and infrastructural challenges like limited access to devices and internet connectivity. Also, the absence of face-to-face interactions impacted the quality of teaching and learning experiences like the absence of physical classrooms, language laboratory facilities, and resources which restricted practical learning opportunities for English teacher education. Other challenges identified include limited professional development opportunities, challenges of adapting to online teaching and the overall impact of the pandemic on the mental well-being of both students and teachers.