Adaptive Teaching Strategies in the Post-Pandemic Era: Navigating the Shift to a ‘New Normal’ in Language and Linguistics Education With Case Studies From Oman and the UAE

—The pre-pandemic era saw the integration of educational technology into traditional classroom pedagogy as a supplementary tool, enhancing hands-on and interactive teaching approaches. While there was a general acknowledgment that information technology was transforming learning, its centrality in education was not fully realized until the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the physical presence of learners was replaced by virtual engagement, compelling both educators and students to adapt to a new learning paradigm. This shift necessitated the development of adaptive teaching strategies to preserve the interactive, collaborative and inclusive nature of conventional classrooms while elevating the role of educational technology from a peripheral to a central position. In the post-pandemic world, educational practices are divided between those who favor a return to traditional, human-centered models and those who advocate AI-integrated, technology-driven learning. This study examines the teaching of language and linguistics before, during, and after the pandemic, focusing on approaches in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).