GLOBALE KRISE – LOKALE FOLGEN: ONLINE DAFUNTERRICHT AUS DER SICHT DER SCHÜLERINNEN (SUS) UND LEHRKRÄFTE IN SERBIEN IN EINER COVID-19-BEDINGTEN AUSNAHMESITUATION
GLOBAL CRISIS - LOCAL CONSEQUENCES: ONLINE TEACHING OF GERMAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN SERBIA IN THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES CAUSED BY COVID-19

Summary/Abstract: When we think about crisis and borders, the first thing we come to is communication. Of course, communication without borders and crises would be desirable. This can be stated as an ideal. But unfortunately, there are borders and crises anyway. We are currently encountering various limitations, both spatial and temporal, as well as limitations in language learning. Nevertheless, it is our goal to communicate without borders. To achieve this, one must first identify limitations, gaps, and problems and then describe and analyze them. Only then can you overcome them. This article focuses on the limits of teaching in times of crisis or Corona times. This article first reports on online lessons in general. At first, the results of the survey are being presented, followed by the analysis of answers from students regarding their attitudes to online lessons (German as a foreign language) at the elementary school “Kole Rasic” in Niš. After that, teachers' answers are analyzed regarding their opinions towards online teaching in Serbia. From the results of the analysis, recommendations for further investigations and the implementation of online lessons are given. The potential of digital for foreign language teaching and learning was recognized at the micro and macro level. Teachers have expanded their knowledge and acquired new skills. Publishers have identified opportunities to modernize their educational materials and develop webinars. International organizations, which e.g., deal with teacher training, such as the Goethe Institute, now offer various options for teaching and learning in the field of German as a foreign language. Teachers tried to adapt the activities of their face-to-face lessons to online lessons by using different tools and platforms which they got to know during online lessons. During the school closure, teachers had a large selection of numerous webinars available on topics such as edu apps and tools provided by different publishers (like Hueber, Klett, Cornelsen, and others). According to the results of the analysis, the following can be stated: In terms of satisfaction with the materials, we can see that the students' answers are very different from those of the teachers. The pupils were happier than the largely unsure teachers. As far as communication with other classmates and teachers is concerned, we can see that both had different impressions. Over 80% of teachers felt that communication was good, while pupils had divided opinions about this question. Regarding the development of language skills, we see that the students' answers differ greatly from the answers of the teachers. Almost half of the students were more satisfied with their knowledge (selfevaluation) whereas the teachers were not. They were dissatisfied or could not comment on this question and could not evaluate the knowledge of the pupils. When asked about the importance of the teacher in online lessons (German as a foreign language), pupils and teachers share their opinion of the importance of a teacher during class. More than half of both groups agreed with this statement. When asked whether online lessons (German as a foreign language), could replace face-to-face lessons, both the pupils and teachers gave similar answers. More than half of the pupils and teachers agreed in 2020. In 2021 even more: 60 % of pupils and teachers shared that opinion. In terms of sources of information, teachers are more aware than pupils of the benefits of having resources on the Internet. In the beginning, the pupils appreciated the possibility of free choice of time for learning, but later also freedom in the sense of being independent of the location for learning. In the following year, however, the aversion to meeting other classmates and teachers was more in the foreground. The pupils also mentioned the possibility of research, clarity in the sense of deadlines for the submission of work and interesting materials, the possibility of cheating, and the refusal to participate in lessons. In 2020, the teachers appreciated the possibility of free choice of time for their work as positive, and later freedom in the sense of being independent of one's location for work was added. In the second year of online teaching, they rather missed the refusal to meet with students and teachers. They also cited different materials, better working conditions in terms of discipline, access and use of materials, along with flexibility. As for the disadvantages of online classes, the majority of students cited the impossibility of direct contact with the teacher, which they missed even more in 2021. In the beginning, they had difficult access to the learning material, which was not a problem the year after. Added to this were the lack of self-discipline, the fear of preparing for the final exam, and health problems such as back pain and eye pain. Additional private tuition as a must was also mentioned negatively. The situation is similar for teachers. They mentioned the impossibility of direct contact with their pupils and the difficult access to the learning material as negative, but this was no longer a problem in 2021. Other problems were the lack of self-discipline, no valid feedback, poor internet connection, other technical problems, demotivation, truancy, no real picture of whether the students understood the lesson material or not, and the lack of spontaneity. They also felt that social skills were less developed and that attention and motivation were less easily maintained. All groups involved have experience with online teaching and are aware that nowadays you have to be prepared for all situations. Therefore, all participants in the training process must be prepared, by which we mean both the micro and the macro level. At this moment, we are still living under measures against the corona pandemic. Therefore, webinars should be offered and used. Later, hopefully, shortly, seminars on online teaching should not only be offered to teachers, but also to learners and their parents, so that online teaching can be organized and carried out competently, both in times of crisis and voluntarily at all levels of education. The teaching material should be updated and modernized so that it can be used on modern devices. This is an important task for publishers and teachers' organizations worldwide. The quality of the internet connection and the technical equipment play an important role in online lessons. One has to reckon with the fact that not all tasks and exercises can be resolved. This is a question for the macro level. Problems need to be solved top-down as everyone should learn and work in similar if not equal conditions. It would be good if further research is done. A SWOT analysis of the new situation should be carried out to possibly promote guidelines for a modus operandi that can be adapted to one's teaching style and classroom context.

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