Dealing With the Unexpected: Spanish Language Learners' and Teachers' Experiences During the Emergency Online Transition

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Resilience and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Teaching and Learning Practices in a Global Pandemic

Abstract

This study documents the unfolding of the Spring 2020 emergency online transition (EOT) in a Spanish language program at a US University, and reports on how 210 learners and their 14 instructors experienced this unique academic term. Drawing on two mid-term questionnaires and one end-of-term student survey, as well as data from teachers’ journals and interviews, the results show how participants’ preparation to digital practices and multimodal teaching, students’ development of autonomy, and institutional flexibility fostered a supportive learning environment in the context of rapid change. This research informs teacher education practices and institutional decisions promoting equity, particularly when facing the unexpected. It also discusses future steps needed to bridge theoretical knowledge to its implementation in real language teaching programs.

Authors

• Diane Querrien, Concordia University

• Ana Ruiz-Alonso-Bartol, University of California - Davis

• Shelley Dykstra, University of California - Davis

• Paloma Fernandez-Mira, University of California - Davis

• Claudia Sanchez-Gutierrez, University of California, Davis