The Making of a 21st Century English Language Teacher during the Pandemic

Abstract

English language has become a cosmopolitan language. It is the lingua franca of the 21st century. This fact has turned learning the language to a must since it is the international language of communication. As teachers of English for more than 20 years, we have come to realize that to be successful in class, we need to learn and use English as a tool that helps us access information from other cultures and be able to transfer this knowledge and skill to our learners. We also need to provide our learners with enough exposure to English as used in context. However, this is not enough to turn our learners into 21st century citizens of the world. We need to help them become critical thinkers. This has become even harder with the move to online learning due to COVID 19 pandemic.  This paper aims at exploring the perceptions of English language instructors in four local Lebanese universities regarding 21st-century critical thinking skills and the instructors' abilities to promote such skills in their classes. Twenty-seven teachers filled a questionnaire, and five participants were interviewed. Descriptive data were analyzed. The data revealed the perceptions and practices of these instructors. The study concludes with recommendations.