“A Sharp Turn in Education”. Towards a post-pandemic pedagogy in second language acquisition: reflections from English as an additional language teachers in British Columbia, Canada, after the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ballam, Tyler (2026) “A Sharp Turn in Education”. Towards a post-pandemic pedagogy in second language acquisition: reflections from English as an additional language teachers in British Columbia, Canada, after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ed.D thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The COVID-19 Pandemic produced a seismic shift in education, affecting over 1.6 billion educators and students worldwide (UNESCO, 2021). This research focused on the experiences of eight EAL teachers at colleges in British Columbia, Canada, during the switch to emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the Pandemic from 2020 to 2021, aiming to answer the question, "How (if at all) has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the teaching strategies of TEAL (Teacher of English as an Additional Language) practitioners at post-secondary colleges in British Columbia, Canada?" Brookfield's (2017) four lenses of critical reflection were used to frame the research questionnaire and semi-structured interview questions. Braun and Clarke's (2019) reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) model was employed to analyze the datasets. The findings revealed how the pandemic accelerated a shift in EAL teachers' approaches to teaching, heightened their awareness of the need for educational equity, and underscored the necessity for ongoing professional development. Key teaching recommendations are proposed for EAL college classrooms post-pandemic, based on teachers' reflections and current literature. Accompanying this is a proposed definition of a Post-Pandemic Pedagogy of Second Language Acquisition for this dissertation.

• Item Type: Thesis (Ed.D)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Teaching English and an additional language, second language acquisition, COVID-19 pandemic, post-pandemic pedagogy, scholarship of teaching and learning, higher education.
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Supervisor's Name: Crichton, Dr. Hazel and Valdera-Gil, Dr. Francisco
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-85818
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 18 Mar 2026 16:34
• Last Modified: 18 Mar 2026 16:39
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85818