Elevating and Empowering World Language Instructors Infographic

Elevating and Empowering World Language Instructors Infographic

In partnership with Rosetta Stone Education, Getting Smart released the infographic, Elevate and Empower: World Language Instructors as Key Players in the Shift to Competency-Based, Blended Learning.

Teachers can be the catalyst for school- and district-wide shifts to personalized, deeper learning that is blended and/or competency-based. Because world language educators exhibit a high rate of technology adoption compared to the national teaching population, and because world language instruction lends itself so well to these new models of learning, the Elevating and Empowering World Language Instructors Infographic explores how world language educators can be elevated and empowered to lead this charge and whether world language educators are uniquely poised to act as leaders in system-wide shifts to new models of personalized learning.

• 87% of world language teachers report using digital tools, compared to only 72% of general teachers
• 46% of world language teachers view technology as integral to the development of their students' 21st-century skills, compared to only 10% of general teachers

What teachers and school administrators say about their use of technology?

“We [world language teachers] have been doing ‘blended learning’ since before it was called that. Like with performance based assessments, it’s just what we do to get our kids to communicate in the target language for meaningful purposes.” — GISELE FALLS (Educator, Tallwood High School)

“The arrival of the Internet in my school completely transformed my teaching because, for the first time, I could easily access authentic documents and information about the French-speaking world, and I could design activities that allowed my students to interact with those documents... I was hooked. Since then, I have come to value purposeful, targeted use of technology...” — NICOLE NADITZ (Educator, Bella Vista High School)

“Right from the beginning I was using media to bring the real world into the classroom—songs and videos and what have you. Now in terms of the things I do, it’s about developing 21st century skills, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and presentation skills in addition to the content.” — DON DOEHLA (#LangChat, Edutopia & Berkeley World Language Project)

We’ve had great success using a blended learning model for world languages at our school…We understand that our students will need to know more than one language to be active members in their global community.” — KENNETH JUNGE (Principal, Fairfax County, Virginia)

6 Trends in the Evolution of Blended World Language Instructors

1. Common entry points
2. Bottom-up, teacher-led adoption of technology
3. Slow and steady shifts
4. Emphasis on cultural fluency
5. The use of personalized media
6. The value of the Professional Learning Network (PLN)

Key Findings

• The nature of language study is well suited for the rapidly evolving global classroom and new models of teaching and learning.
• World language teachers tend to be out in front of technology use and can thus drive innovation in their wider school communities.
• World language teachers who use technology to pursue cultural fluency and globalization offer a powerful and compelling model for deeper learning.

World language instructors can and should feel elevated and empowered to initiate the shift to personalized learning.