Objective: Teaching is often described as one of the most emotional-laden professions, and teachers experience a wide range of emotions while teaching. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis of conversion to online teaching has triggered new emotional experiences of teachers that not many studies have taken into account. Method: Studying emotion from a post-structuralist lens, this study examines the emotional orientations of Vietnamese higher education language teachers and their emotional responses in online teaching environments. Results: The findings show that the pedagogically and technologically distinctive features of online teaching aroused unique challenges and emotions of teachers, both positive and negative. Also, the teachers reported a number of strategies to cope with the new situation. Conclusion: The study highlights the critical need for acknowledgement and support of institutions for the transition to online teaching in the "new normal situation".