“Let’s accept it”: Vietnamese university language teachers’ emotion in online synchronous teaching in response to COVID-19

ABSTRACT Objective Teaching is often described as one of the most emotional-laden professions, and teachers experience a wide range of emotions while teaching. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis of conversion to online teaching has triggered new emotional experiences of teachers that not many studies have taken into account. Method Studying emotion from a post-structuralist lens, this study examines the emotional orientations of Vietnamese higher education language teachers and their emotional responses in online teaching environments. Results The findings show that the pedagogically and technologically distinctive features of online teaching aroused unique challenges and emotions of teachers, both positive and negative. Also, the teachers reported a number of strategies to cope with the new situation. Conclusion The study highlights the critical need for acknowledgement and support of institutions for the transition to online teaching in the “new normal situation”.