Enhancing language teacher immunity during emergency remote teaching through coaching in the Turkish context

This exploratory case study aims to explore and enhance four English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors' teacher immunity (TI) through reflective coaching (RC) and instructional coaching (IC) during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). To this aim, this study investigated the experiences of four experienced female Turkish EFL Preparatory School instructors, aged 45 to 57 through instructional and reflective coaching for a duration of 11 weeks. The research design includes semi-structured interviews and eight RC and IC sessions. Before participating in the coaching sessions, the instructors reported demotivation, burnout, and inefficiency, aggravated by a lack of student participation and a mismatch between the curriculum, course materials, and the online schedule. The coaching sessions focused on the current state of the instructors and continued throughout the semester in order to enhance their TI. Findings indicate that IC enhanced the instructors' coping skills and teaching efficiency, while RC led to a moderate shift in professional attitudes, motivation, self-efficacy perceptions and online affectivity during the coaching process. IC emerged as a supportive tool in rebooting partial and maladaptive aspects of TI such as; burnout, inefficiency, and demotivation. RC helped the participants display productively adaptive immunity by avoiding judgmental attitude, developing intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. Participants noted increased online teaching efficacy and motivation by the end of the study, although these accomplishments must be contextualized within their person-specific ERT context. The coaching process emerged as a supportive but limited tool for professional development.