Transition in Teacher and Parent Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships Within the “Third Space†of Online Chinese EFL Learning

In the pandemic era, online learning has become the standard mode of learning in China where lockdowns were in place. However, in lockdowns, the roles of guardian, teachers and learners transform and change traditionally-accepted responsibilities and roles as well as relationships, thus warranting an examination of the third space of learning and its implications for the stakeholders’ learning practices and emotions. A review of literature demonstrates a dearth of research on issues of role and practice shifts and power relations changes within the Chinese online English as Foreign Language (EFL) learning context. Using close ended and open-ended questionnaire data from teachers at Chinese school learners studying English as a foreign language, this study inquiries into the (i) changes in roles and emotions of teachers and guardian in the third space of learning in the Chinese online learning context, (ii) changes in the practices of the teachers, and (iii) transformations of power relations between guardian and teachers. The findings of the study contribute to literature on emergent online pedagogical practices and the emotions and roles and relationships of key stakeholders, namely teachers and guardian in the third space of learning mediated by technology.