Digital learning support elements in the online teaching of German as a foreign language

Abstract

In recent years, pedagogical design and practice have undergone a forced transformation that has brought many innovative methods and tools to the implementation process. The transition to online education has demanded new infrastructural solutions that have temporarily replaced traditional classroom practices. Most teachers seem to have adapted well to these new challenges. Learning support platforms and online teaching elements had to be harnessed by teachers who, in many cases, acquired this knowledge on their own, in awareness of their importance. Our study examines the need for digital learning support elements in primary schools of the German national minority in Hungary. Our research tools comprised an online questionnaire survey conducted in 2022. The goal of our study was to identify the problems that teachers faced in the transition to online teaching during the period of distance learning introduced due to the COVID pandemic in 2020 and since; the forms of support teachers received nationwide; and the measure of success in their work as language teachers. We also looked at the factors that influenced the digital elements being used. Finally, we examined whether teachers are still willing to use online learning support tools when returning to face-to-face teaching.