Communication Technology and Teacher–Student Relationship in the Tertiary ESL Classroom During the Pandemic: A Case Study

INTRODUCTION: The study aims to present the potential benefits and challenges of incorporating communication technology (CT), namely synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) (e.g., Zoom Video Communications), computer-mediated communication (CMC) (e.g., WhatsApp), and social networking sites (SNS) (e.g., Instagram) into the tertiary classroom based on the honest account of four English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers during the pandemic. The authors intend to explore the efficacy of SCMC in lowering language anxiety and in fostering closer teacher–student relationship as suggested by the previous literature (Abraham in Comput Assist Lang Learn 21:199–226, 2008; Aristika and Juandi in Emerg Sci J 5:443–456, 2021; Darhower in Synchronous computer-mediated communication in the intermediate foreign language class: a sociocultural case study, University of Pittsburgh, 2000; Hagenauer and Volet in Oxf Rev Educ 40:370–388, 2014). METHOD: Qualitative data collected from the authors’ teaching reflections over a 13-week period were analyzed from a third-person perspective. The above collaborative autoethnography (CAE) approach was adopted in face of the then difficulties in data collection given factors such as social-distancing during the pandemic. The authors selected and agreed on the key observations, feelings, and anecdotes worth-examining in their first-time online teaching experience at informal group interviews facilitated by SCMC. FINDINGS: It was identified by the authors that learners’ text-based production in the target language increased possibly due to the novelty of online learning platforms, lower affective variables, and a closer teacher–student relationship fostered by teachers’ increased self-disclosure and the reduced formality in communication technology. Despite the above potential benefits of CT in ESL, challenges, such as an increasingly blurred teacher–student professional distance, students’ increased code-mixed production in their L1 and L2, and the resultant ‘teacher burnout’ due to the obscured concept of standard office hours, were observed. The incorporation of CT into English Language Teaching (ELT) is desirable for its potential benefits in the affective domain of both teachers and students. However, it is recommended that teachers should establish guidelines in the use of CMC and SNSs both inside and outside class to avoid boundary and privacy issues as well as deviation from the initial lesson objectives.