Abstract: Efforts to support Spanish teachers are critical to the sustainability of K-12 WL programs. In the US South, administrators struggle to fill school vacancies, and teachers report the highest levels of dissatisfaction. WL teachers specifically in this region of the country face additional hardships: teaching disengaged learners, challenging stereotypes, and confronting professional insularity. One way to reduce high levels of Spanish teacher attrition is to examine teacher resilience, or teachers’ capacity to overcome obstacles inherent in teaching to remain committed to the profession. This mixed-methods investigation draws upon Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 2005) ecological perspectives as a framework for understanding the interactional factors that influence WL teachers’ resilience. The six Spanish teachers, all working in middle or high schools in the US south, shared stories about their professional lives that contributed to satisfaction and burnout. The findings underscore the importance of strong school leadership and/or interpersonal relationships in school as critical to sustaining resilience. Additionally, implications for reducing teacher burnout are provided

Abstract: World Language (WL) education is facing a teacher supply crisis affecting the quality and stability of programs in K-12 schools. The extant literature on teacher attrition draws attention to the challenges of early career teachers with implications for how teacher preparation and induction programs might increase retention in schools. This survey study explores the professional lives of mid-career WL teachers in the U.S. South to uncover contextual factors that might influence workplace satisfaction and burnout. The data revealed that rurality adversely affected WL teachers’ professional well-being; however, educators overcame obstacles and were able to thrive in their schools when supported through peer relationships and motivated by positive learner outcomes. Additionally, our findings emphasize the role of intrinsic motivation and positive rather than negative affective experiences as reliable predictors of resilience. Implications to enhance teacher resilience in preservice training and inservice professional development are provided.

Abstract: In language education, limited attention to issues of gender and sexual diversity is often commonplace. In particular, rural contexts are often absent from such conversations even though place influences perceptions and practice. While rural language educators can serve as agents of change and can therefore experience increased emotional labor and burnout as well as marginalization, it is essential to understand the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ language educators in such contexts. This mixed methods study, then, sought to understand the intersections between LGBTQIA+ language educators gender, sexual, and professional identities in the rural Southeastern United States. Findings draw attention to the negotiations between heteronormative discourses, their identities, and their practice. Implications for this study address the interconnectedness of place, gender, and sexual identities in confronting cisheteronormativity in contexts that are not always amenable to LGBTQIA+ identities.

Abstract: In the contexts of the Southeastern U.S. and globally, the ascendance of parental rights bills has sought to limit what can be discussed in the classroom related to gender and sexuality as well as limiting access to healthcare for transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals (HRC, 2023). In language education, scholastic and pedagogical pursuits related to the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ students in classrooms and educators have emphasized consideration of the interconnectedness between language teachers’ identities, pedagogical decisions, and place (Coda, 2021; Fogle & Moser, 2017). In rural spaces, language educators can experience increased emotional labor and marginalization (Acheson et al., 2016; Moser & Wei, 2021); however, there is limited attention to rural LGBTQIA+ language educators in contexts such as the Southeastern U.S. Drawing from a larger mixed methods study of LGBTQIA+ rural language educators in the Southeastern U.S., this study centers on one focal participant, Mariana, a cisgender, pansexual ESL educator. Utilizing Butler’s (1990) theory of gender performativity and Crenshaw’s (1989) intersectionality, findings draw attention to the intersections between Mariana’s gender and sexual identities, rurality, and ethnicity, highlighting the tensions and contradictions related to identity performance, pedagogy decisions, and allyship efforts.

Abstract: Language educators were unprepared for emergency remote language teaching (ERLT) due to lack of training in online pedagogy and negative perceptions of online instruction, and the rural community of language educators have been challenged in unique ways. Using the intersections of content (language teaching), space (rurality), and context (pandemic) as the theoretical framework, this comparative survey study aimed to investigate rural Mississippi language teachers’ beliefs and practices to ERLT in comparison to their counterparts nationwide. Two independent samples, one consisting of 94 Mississippi language teachers and the other consisting of 255 national K-12 language teachers, responded to our electronic survey about their ERLT perceptions and practices. Independent-samples t tests were conducted to examine participants’ responses, and the results indicated that rural Mississippi educators in general adapted significantly better than educators nationwide. Specifically, with the same four dimensions of ERLT practices as revealed by confirmatory factor analysis, Mississippi teachers reported having courses more in line with best practices in online course design with higher levels of interaction within their classes, and higher learner outcomes, while making fewer adjustments in their teaching due to the pandemic. Practical implications are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided. 

Abstract: In 2020, COVID-19 disrupted schooling disproportionately affecting economically disadvantaged learners, students of color, and those living in rural spaces. Nearly three years following its initial onset, the world has entered a post-pandemic era. Consequently, all teachers need continued professional support and training related to online (and emergency remote) instruction. This mixed methods study explored the experiences of K-12 language teachers (English as a Second or Other Language [ESOL] and World Language [WL]) in rural Mississippi who engaged with one another through an online professional development (OPD) workshop designed to improve their knowledge and skills related to online language pedagogy. The 50 educators in this study reported significant improvements in their knowledge base, intentions to modify their praxis, and more positive perceptions of working with distance or remote learners. Additionally, the OPD led teachers to challenge their traditional professional identities thereby recognizing their new roles as rural teacher leaders, architects, and collaborators. The findings of this study can address gaps in rural teacher professional support during disrupted contexts including both the design of quality OPD experiences as well as the affordances of discussions related to post-pandemic language teaching.

Abstract: The insufficient supply of K-12 language – world language (WL) and English as a second language (ESL) – teachers in the United States has been a pervasive challenge for school administrators seeking to provide language learning opportunities for their students. The issue is complex – including numerous factors that adversely affect the recruitment of future educators as well as their retention once in the classroom. Almost all states report a dearth of WL and/or ESL teachers, and WL is the discipline with the highest predictive teacher turnover rate – whether by leaving the profession entirely (leavers) or opting to move to a different school (movers). In spring 2020, the global health pandemic placed additional demands on all educators, and consequently some reports predict an exodus of teachers from K-12 schools. This article presents the results of a study exploring language teachers’ intention to leave the profession as a consequence of school-related responsibilities and experiences during spring 2020. Data revealed three profiles of K-12 language teachers: stayers, leavers, and conditional stayers. Implications related to influential factors in teachers’ potential decisions to remain in or exit the profession are provided.

Abstract: To mitigate transmission of COVID-19, rapid changes in instructional delivery moved from in-person to remote instruction. Although literature from before the crisis suggests that online language learners fare at least as well as their face-to-face counterparts, the abrupt shift from face-to-face contexts to remote learning is fundamentally different from planned online learning. Understanding the nature of this shift can inform future online and remote teaching. This national survey study was guided by research questions that explore any substantive change in the practices and perceptions of PreK-12 and post-secondary language teachers’ instruction during COVID-19. It explores any change as related to classroom setting (PreK-12 vs post-secondary) and prior experience with distance education. Data suggest that few language educators reported experiences with or positive perceptions toward teaching online before COVID-19. However, they made numerous adjustments to their typical procedures/policies and expectations while engaged in remote teaching. Educators expressed concerns about student outcomes. PreK-12 teachers and those without prior experience with online teaching were least confident that instructional goals were met despite having reported well-designed courses. Implications for effective remote language teaching are presented for consideration.

Abstract: While the demographic diversity of children served in early childhood classrooms continues to grow, world language learning opportunities for English-speaking preschoolers remain a rarity. Efforts to teach world languages in addition to English at the preschool level may be hampered by limited early childhood educator expertise, lack of programmatic fit, and uncertain expectations from participating families. This study used a foreign language exploratory (FLEX) program design for French language learning to examine whether these barriers could be overcome through a collaborative partnership between a world languages specialist, the classroom teacher, and the children’s families. The 10-week study involved twelve 3-year-old children from varied home language backgrounds attending an English-only preschool. Results showed that following the world language specialist’s weekly classroom visits, all participating children demonstrated some level of French language learning, and that learner engagement as a variable was strongly correlated with the child’s ability to acquire French, rather than variables of age, gender, or language used at home. Furthermore, while statistically significant differences in language learning beliefs existed between families who did and did not speak a language other than English at home prior to the study, no significant belief differences between these families were found following participation in the French program. Based on the results of this programmatic effort, the authors posit that a language ladder of supports wherein the childcare center and families form parallel sides of ongoing support while the WL specialist provides the rungs that unite both sides, may be a useful model of collaboration.