A narrative inquiry into EFL teachers professional development in lesson planning in Ecuador during the pandemic

Abstract

Abstract: This investigation is a narrative inquiry into EFL teachers professional development in lesson planning in Ecuador during the pandemic. The objective was was to explore how teachers experiences helped them to reconstruct their lessons as a manifestation of professionalism and ethical commitment during the pandemic. A narrative inquiry was conducted with an EFL teacher from Machala who was recruited by a volunteer sampling. Her students were adults with unfinished schooling and were busy people who could not always attend the online classes. The data were collected through interviews, lesson plans, a reflective journal and WhatsApp screenshots. Findings show that the dialogic interaction during the narrative inquiry was a mediational tool that made the teacher aware that even though she worked hard for meeting her students needs during the pandemic, she could have improved her lessons by giving more feedback. Moreover, the online lessons were limited to text, voice and video messages via whatsapp.