Teachers' strategies to teach productive skills during online teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects of life, including education. Educators were required to shift from face-to-face learning to virtual classrooms. This change in teaching and learning activities presented new challenges for teachers, especially English teachers. In English Language Teaching, there are four basic skills that students must master: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Speaking and Writing are more difficult to teach because students are expected to produce the language in oral and written form. Thus, in this research, the researcher investigated the challenges and strategies used by teachers in teaching speaking and writing in online classrooms. The researcher used a qualitative method, conducting interviews with English teachers in 4 MTsN schools in Sidoarjo during the 2020/2021 academic year. The findings identified that the challenges faced by the teachers were related to internet access and digital tools, familiarity with technology, students’ conditions, and students’ focus during online classes. The strategies used by the teachers included applying time flexibility, creating interactive media, and conducting video conference communication