english language teaching faculty’s perceived difficulties in online classes during the covid-19 pandemic (a case study of semnan farhangian university)

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, online teaching has become a necessity worldwide. this qualitative study adopted a grounded theory methodology to examine four elt faculty’ perceived difficulties in online classes during the covid-19 pandemic at semnan farhangian university using semi-structured interviews. the participants were selected using purposive sampling. issues related to online students, faculty, and content development were the three main categories of findings. elt students’ issues comprised their participation, readiness, motivation, accountability, internet access, and facilities in online classes. faculty’ issues involved technical competencies, confidence, time management, and teaching styles. content development issues included faculty’ roles in content development, and considerations for content development. to address these issues, higher education institutions should provide trainings for students, professional development for faculty, and technical support for content development. the study has some implications for the faculty, students, and higher education stakeholders.