PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS' DISTANCE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, distance learning has become the prevailing mode in education. Higher educational institutions in Georgia have had to rapidly adopt online learning to prevent the spread of the virus, with varying levels of prior experience and resources. This study focuses on the learning experience of pre-service English teachers in an online mode. Thirteen participants enrolled in the English Teaching Methods course in the Teacher Preparation 60-credit program at Telavi State University were surveyed through an questionnaire in January 2021. The study analyzes the pre-service teachers’ expectations for the course, attitudes to online learning, advantages and disadvantages of online learning, and their self-perception as English speakers. The findings offer insights into the effectiveness of online learning in a Georgian context and suggest implications for future teacher preparation programs