Authentic materials in online teaching to improve students
 involvement

Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Foreign Languages Department №3, Moscow, Russia

^* Corresponding author: Inkova.MD@rea.ru

Abstract

Online education is not an innovative product nowadays but when COVID-19 pandemic resulted in total lockdowns, many teachers and students registered numerous challenges in virtual classrooms among which the level of a teacher-student interaction is a focus of this paper. The research shows that isolation, distraction, and lack of immediate connection can actually pose a big problem. As a result, many students lose interest and become passive learners with poor performance. To revive scholars’ involvement research was conducted integrating authentic materials in online classes. A quasi-experimental method was used to collect data. A questionnaire among the students allowed to consider their attitude to studying online while semi-structured interviews and self-written reflections provided rich material for analysis. On the whole, the study revealed positive gains. Being a natural source of practical English, authentic materials bring meaning back into the classrooms and offer teachers an inexhaustible source of relevant language. They help regain students’ engagement if applied thoughtfully. Though there are certain difficulties, with due experience and practice they can be overcome. The results of this study contribute to providing useful guidelines for English teachers and students to enhance the efficacy of teaching and learning activities, particularly in virtual ELT (English Language Teaching) classrooms.