Electronic Visual Learning Aids for the Effective and Metacognitive Learning Class in HE

Contemporary employment arena requires employees to achieve high standards of English communication skills, knowledge and competences, universities also have a mission to foster critical thinking, reflection skills, creative thinking, that is foster metacognitive learning. Though the expected high level of competencies in English language may be facilitated by an abundance of teaching and learning tools, aids at the disposal of a contemporary teacher in higher education, the holistic educational value must still be at the focus. One of the tools in the tool kit of a teacher in higher education right after the pandemic is the wider spread usage of the electronic visual aids, which were incorporated into everyday teaching practices during COVID out of necessity; not surprisingly they have proved themselves being useful further on. Visual aids, as pedagogy (based on the research and theories by esteemed thinkers in the field (Gardner, 1983)) indicated, were always considered as useful for the quality of teaching and learning of students in the classroom. Once COVID struck, even the teachers who had been reluctant previously to use the el.tools, including el.visual aids previously, had been pushed to do exactly that. In a year after the challenge, it is time to reflect on lessons: generally experienced by a HE teacher and on lessons while teaching specific course units(s); this paper is one of the several dedicated to analyses of lessons learnt while teaching English for specific purposes. While many universities have managed to use the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for modernization foreign language programs, curriculum, and to build a more effective class, these benefits are irrefutable, we, as professionals in education, are also concerned regarding the holistic educational value, which also includes fostering metacognitive learning. Based on to the analysis of the findings from the empiric study (qualitative approach, written reflections), the results of which are presented in the paper, using el.visual aids may have certain positive effect on certain aspects of learning, including fostering metacognitive learning, though not to the level that the theoretical findings lead to expect.