During the COVID-19 pandemic, academics and students have had to respond to the unexpected and unplanned shift from face-to-face to online teaching. Since teaching and learning through online portals has been a new experience, this has prompted the academics in the English Language and Literature Department at Çankaya University to seek alternative and creative ideas to promote student productivity, participation and motivation. The aim of this case study is to discuss how the course materials, teaching methods and assessment have been redesigned to meet the needs of online education during the pandemic. With the examples from changes in the syllabi, student survey and sample student responses, this study also reveals how the academics in the department have had an opportunity to re-evaluate systems of teaching both on and offline and to refresh their role as instructors.