ELT in Covid-19-Augmented-Technological-Educational Ambience at the Private Universities in Bangladesh

This study aims to examine students’ obstacles encountered and the modifications they recommended in English language teaching and learning at private universities in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applied mixed-method approach comprised of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The findings of the study show that all participants go through virtual English language learning during the COVID-19 lockdown and the majority of them mention the difficulties to adopt a new approach in ELT suddenly, unstable network connection, costly internet data package, unskilled teachers, load shedding, mental stress, teachers’ and students’ lack of technological skills, not having technological devices and sense of remoteness as the prevailing disadvantages they face in online English language learning during COVID-19. This study also recommends that university authorities should train students and teachers concerning technological devices and uninterrupted internet network and power supply, high-speed internet, and fair assessment should be ensured. The prevalent result of the study is that online English language teaching and learning at private universities in Bangladesh require considerable pedagogical and technological modifications

This study aims to examine students' obstacles encountered and the modifications they recommended in English language teaching and learning at private universities in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applied mixedmethod approach comprised of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The findings of the study show that all participants go through virtual English language learning during the COVID-19 lockdown and the majority of them mention the difficulties to adopt a new approach in ELT suddenly, unstable network connection, costly internet data package, unskilled teachers, load shedding, mental stress, teachers' and students' lack of technological skills, not having technological devices and sense of remoteness as the prevailing disadvantages they face in online English language learning during COVID-19. This study also recommends that university authorities should train students and teachers concerning technological devices and uninterrupted internet network and power supply, high-speed internet, and fair assessment should be ensured. The prevalent result of the study is that online English language teaching and learning at private universities in Bangladesh require considerable pedagogical and technological modifications. Consequently, on 7 May, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) officially allow private universities to conduct online classes and assess the university students online to continue teaching and learning smoothly (Abdullah, 2020). Some studies assert that online learning is one of the solutions to continue university teaching in pandemic period because virtual learning can help teacher and students in teaching and learning English (Anggita, et al. 2020;Azwandi, et al. 2019;Syahrial & Syafryadin, 2020;Septinawati, et al. 2020). Thus, the educational system encounters a sudden shift from the offline traditional classroom to the virtual one. Truly, this sudden transmission affects teachers' and learners' performance (Trust & Whalen, 2020) as well as resource limitations and organizational discrimination (Aguilera &Nightengale-Lee, 2020).
The existing literatures reveal that the success of online English Language Teaching at private universities depends on some factors-smooth and inexpensive internet connection, technologically skilled teachers and students, appropriate teaching method and the attitude and satisfaction of the students (Sultana & Khan, 2020;Haque & Hossain, 2022;Islam, 2021).
A study confirms 'that although the teachers are changing their perception of their negative views about online classes, their teaching is being troubled by many external factors too. Nonetheless, there are still several aspects of online classes that need to be addressed and students' feedback can be a crucial factor' LET: Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching Journal Vol. 12 No. 2 2022 (Rony & Awal , 2019). Dhawan (2020) also shows that the students face problems to understand the exact issues discussed in online classroom 'because most of the online classes are conducted based on one-way interaction (teacher to student)'.
Another study (Mondol & Mohiuddin,2020) suggests 'that personal attentiveness can be an approach to create an active learning environment and that 'there are several external factors that affect the teaching-learning process in an online classroom, for example, the teaching-learning process gets hampered resulting in the motivation swing and less participation.
This study strives to find what are the pedagogical changes the teachers of the private universities situated in district level in Bangladesh bring for English language teaching classes and assessment of students in online education during pandemic crises like COVID-19?, what challenges in ELT do students encounter in the remote classes and assessments in English language teaching and learning?, and what feasible recommendations do learners suggest to ensure effective English language teaching at the private universities situated at the district level in Bangladesh?

LITERATURE REVIEW
Current literatures divulges that the rapid breaking out of Covid-19 pandemic has compelled universities to conduct classes and assessment virtually though they started online classes and evaluation some months later (Mpungose, 2020). In truth, Covid-19 brought a huge changes in education had to adapt the situation. Primarily, "this situation challenged the education system across the world and forced educators to shift to an online mode of teaching overnight. Many academic institutions that were earlier reluctant to change their traditional pedagogical approach had no option but to shift entirely to online teachinglearning," (Dhawan, 2020). Dhawan (2020) also envisages that the students encounter difficulties to understand the topics related to English language learning because most of the online classes are conducted through one way interaction.
The study recommends that individual seriousness can be an approach to create an effective learning setting. The study of Mondol and Mohiuddin (2020)  some external factors that affects the teaching learning process in an virtual classroom, for instance, "teaching learning process gets hampered resulting in the motivation swing and less participation,". Virtual English language classes is often considered the student to passive where the 'spontaneous exchange' of ideas does not happen between the teacher and the students in real time (Shenoy et al., 2020).
In the perspective of Bangladesh, online teaching during Covid-19 comes into existence as an urgent step to the sudden shutdown of universities along with the other educational institutions to stop the spread of the disease. The closure of the universities is so abrupt that nobody understands how to teach and evaluate students in the new normal teaching approach virtually. It becomes even more challenging for the teachers and the learners to teach and learn the English language (Paul, 2022). Language teaching and learning at the universities in Bangladesh was already very problematic (Rahman and Pandian, 2018) and transforming from onsite class and assessment to online classes and assessment created things even more difficult. Truly, online Language Teaching needs several technological supports such as computers, laptops, mobile phones, headphones, software, high-speed internet connection etc. Teachers and students all around Bangladesh face problems for the lack of these essential technological devices along with interrupted high-speed internet services during the Covid-19 pandemic (Al-Zaman, 2020). Particularly students and teachers from far off areas of Bangladesh were deprived of these facilities. Even though at the tertiary level of education some measures were taken by the authority to provide these supports, they could not do it because of many limitations (Rahman et al., 2021). Various studies also find that unstable internet connection was a prevalant obstacle to successful online English language teaching and learning process. (Majed et al., 2020;Al-Zaman, 2020). The huge demand for internet can be also one of the reasons of the speed down (LightCastle Partners, 2020). In the truest sense of the term, economic crisis played an important part in students' and teachers' incapacity to afford to avail the devices like computers, laptops and mobile LET: Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching Journal Vol. 12 No. 2 2022 phones which are terribly indispensible for virtual education (Majed et al., 2020).
Only about 36.7% of families in Bangladesh have internet access, and only around 5.6 % have computer facilities (Majed et al., 2020;Al-Zaman, 2020). Because of these difficulties, students undergoes mental health issues such as anxiety and frustration, specifically among lower-income students because of their inability to afford required technological facilities (Al-Zaman, 2020). These mental stress provoked students to commit suicide (Lathabhavan and Griffiths, 2020;Mamun et al., 2020). All these problems came together as prevalent challenges to conduct online language classes and assessment.
Again, Raheem & Khan (2020) ensured that during the countrywide along with global lockdown resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching and learning can be a safe and effective to reinforce students English language skills among many other potential courses on many facets of knowledge. During COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, Basilaia & Kvavadze (2020) conduct a case study in Georgia by using Google Meet among the target participants to impart virtual education and the findings reveal that the sadden move to the online mode of education demonstrated fruitful. There exist diverse problems and challenges in the way to familiarize and assimilate technologies for ranging and strengthening education in the contexts Bangladesh like countries, while Shohel and Kirkwood (2012) finds that often many of interconnected phenomena demand concurrent decisive solution, i.e. economic solvency, availability of technical support, sociopolitical stability, attitudinal change, pedagogical adoption etc. The study of Islam (2016) asserted that Bangladesh, like many other countries is treating the improvement of her education system as one of the major policies to bring an end to poverty and implements development that comprises the augmentation of ICT skills of the citizens and the building of a society enriched with information availability. Allo"s (2020) study uncovers that most of the learners learn virtually during Coronavirus crisis.
According to Farah & Ahmed (2014) Bangladesh has been being definitely digitalized and many scholars are underlining the significance of teaching through technological assimilation into Bangladeshi education programs, especially the tertiary level of education curriculum. 'Therefore, the traditional setting in higher education is being relocated to non-fenced virtual classrooms from the four-walled ones by virtue of the technology-based resources that are being increasingly applied to fruitful teaching and learning in the mode of reciprocating tools and devices including whiteboard, multimedia projector, mobile phones, TV channels, social networking websites, MOODLE, Podcast, web quest, website, ebooks, e-journals, eencyclopedia, e-dictionary and some more virtual resources' (Mahmuda, 2016, as  adjustments they perceive when they learn English language during the ongoing COVID-19 remote.

Population and Sampling
The population of this research comprised 41 English language learners from six different Bangladeshi private universities namely, Rabindra Maitree University, Pundra University of Science and Technology, First Capital University of Bangladesh, Dhaka International University, Northern University Bangladesh, and European University Bangladesh. The researchers randomly sent a questionnaire to more than 80 students of these universities in total. Of them, 41 students sent responses to the questionnaires. The study developed simple random sampling because it is a neutral approach to receiving replies from an enormous group (Horton, 2021).

Data Collection
The researcher collected qualitative data on the research question from the target population. Since the study was conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown which inhibited all sorts of in-person communications, it used various information technologies, i. e., Facebook, Messenger, Email, and Cell Phone. We sent the questionnaires to the participants through email or messenger and requested them over the cell phone to answer the questions at their earliest convenience. Though nearly 50% of the participants didn't answer the questions, around 50% of them, in open-ended questionnaires, can provide relatively detailed responses which, far and away, address the questions accurately (Hyman & Sierra, 2016;Desai & Reimers, 2019).

Data Analysis
In this mixed-method research, we made collected qualitative data quantitized through unitization, categorization and coding. Quantitizing refers to transforming the qualitative data into numerical forms, which emerged as a major way of mixed-method research (Sandelowski, Voils & Knafl, 2009 and categorized the data into incongruent codes to present the variables numerically (Srnka & Koeszegi, 2007).

Figure-I: Whether the teachers conduct ELT classes and assess the students online during COVID-19 period
All of the participants ( 100%) participated in the open-ended survey asserted that the teachers conducted classes and assessed them online during COVID-19 but some participants also added that their virtual class started three or four months later after the University Grant Commission and Education Ministry of Bangladesh allowed the private universities to continue classes and assessment online. Because, their university administrations were, in fact, somewhat confused about whether their online classes and assessment will be validated or not later.
And at the beginning, many teachers and students didn't have any idea concerning the apps used for online classes and assessments.

No (0%)
Whether the teachers conduct ELT classes and assess the students online As methods of assessment during COVID-19, 95% of the participants revealed assignment, viva voce and class test and 05% of them mentioned assignment, viva voce and quiz test as the test formats to assess them. considered presentation. But 02 of the 21 participants gave different opinions in regard to choosing the suitable format for online assessment. In them, 01 specified viva and assignment and the last one avowed viva-voce.

Figure-VIII: Advantages of Online English Language Teaching during Pandemic
More than two third of the participants (70%) exposed the advantages they enjoyed in online assessment during COVID-19 asserting that they can attend the classes and examinations from anywhere. Again, 10% of the participants considered schedule benefits for appearing at the examination to be the major advantage of online assessment. 05% of the students revealed that online assessment develops the technological knowledge of the students. So, it was a great opportunity for the students to introduce themselves to the new electronic devices like and smart phone, laptop or tab or the new software like Zoom Meeting App OR Google Meeting App in the new online assessment. On the contrary, about 15% of the participants found no advantages in online assessment during COVID-19. They mentioned that it was difficult to adopt a new approach in ELT suddenly.

Advantages of Online ELT during COVID-19
Students can join the classes and exams from anywhere and everywhere (70%) Flexibility for appearing at the examinations (10%) Online assessment enhances technological knowledge (05%) Around 80% of the participants acknowledged unstable network connection as the prevailing disadvantage they faced in online assessment whereas 15% of the participants claimed that the costly internet data package and unskilled teachers was the main downside. Likewise, the last 05% of the 41 students approved that online assessment exacerbates mental stress and it also broke concentration.

Disadvantages of Online English Language Teaching
Network problems (80%) High Cost of Internet Data Package and Unskilled Teachers (15%) Stress and Break of Concentration (05%)

Figure-X: Expected Modifications and Considerations in English Language
Teaching during COVID-19 Almost all (90%) of the students recommended that some modifications must be brought into English Language Teaching during COVID-19 although 10% suggested no modifications. 30% of the participants commented that teacher's equal treatment in the assessment must be confirmed and also they should be very cordial to the students while 10% of the participants also added that equal evaluation in viva voce should be taken into account, 20% of them avowed that interrupted internet network and reasonable internet data cost are the prevalent recommendations. Likewise, 05% of the participants emphasize making

DISCUSSION
Even though all the participants in this study assert that their teachers of ELT courses at universities conduct their English language classes and assessment in online mode during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were confused concerning virtual teaching and learning approaches. As all the students responding to the questionnaire of this research get taught and evaluated online, they find it sometimes problematic and sometimes beneficial. That is why, they suggest some recommendations to make English language teaching and learning more fruitful.
However, the study finds that the majority of the participants used smartphones when attending ELT Classes and got assessed at the university as the technological device and the rest of the students used tabs and laptops. disadvantage they faced in online assessment whereas the rest of the participants claimed that the costly internet data package and unskilled teachers were the main downsides and online assessment exacerbates mental stress and it also breakes concentration.

LIMITATION
As the study was led during the COVID-19 lockdown, the study came across several impediments and so it has some limitations too. The sample population could not be approached in person and therefore the researcher had to contact them over phone, on social media or on-internet communications to remind the responders time and again. The study also could not include a larger number of populations for more representational findings in the researched question.

SUGGESTIONS
Considering all the problems and prospects in the findings, the study proposes some recommendations which might be applicable both in Bangladesh and of course in many other countries of the world on the conditions of the situation, resource capacity and academic approaches. The study recommends that the prevalent online-education-related problems the students face like interrupted should be solved to make English language teaching should be more effective.
Each of the universities needs to launch a technological enquiry team to help the students. And equal evaluation in viva voce, uninterrupted internet connection and reasonable internet data cost are the prevalent recommendation. Likewise, the research also recommends that making sure fair means in the online exam, faceto-face live presentation making video of their presentations and uploading them on their Facebook page to be fruitful. Similarly, the study also adds that technologically skilled teachers and ensuring the validity of the assessment are the prevailing recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS
The grave concern of this study was to find the impediments and challenges English language learners of the private universities of Bangladesh encountered when they were taught and assessed online during the COVID-19 pandemic and the considerations required to make English language teaching and learning more effective. Among the major obstacles faced by the students are interrupted internet connection and low internet speed, load shedding, students' lack of technological skills, not having technological devices, costly internet packages, mental stress at the time of assessment and a sense of remoteness. As Spivey & McMillan (2014) revealed a strong affirmative connection between students' efforts and their course performance, especially in virtual education and evaluation during the COVID-19 like pandemic periods. The study speculates that English Language Teaching online at private universities in Bangladesh has a strong possibility to serve the purpose to the hilt but some modifications are needed to make English language teaching and learning more effective.