Table Of ContentYour World Language Classroom
Perfect for K–12 world language teachers, this book provides clear,
fun and practical guidance on how to help students master language
in the classroom using technology tools. Regardless of your level of
technological proficiency as a teacher, this book will show you how
to provide effective learning to students in in-person, online and
hybrid environments and help you become more comfortable at using
digital tools. With teacher vignettes sprinkled throughout, chapters
are filled with ideas that will help you foster an inclusive, positive
and student-centered classroom environment that supports students’
communication skills and social and emotional needs. Poth’s easy-to-use
methods and strategies will help you create authentic, purposeful
learning experiences that will prepare students to be risk-takers in a
new language in and beyond the classroom.
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM teacher in Oakmont, PA.
She is also an attorney, consultant and presenter. You can follow her on
Twitter and Instagram at @Rdene915.
Other Eye on Education Books
Available from Routledge
(www.routledge.com/eyeoneducation)
Enlivening Instruction with Drama and Improv: A Guide for
Second Language and World Language Teachers
Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor and Kathleen R. McGovern
Leading Your Language Program: Strategies for Design and
Supervision, Even If You Don’t Speak the Language
Catherine Ritz
Rigor in the Remote Learning Classroom
Instructional Tips and Strategies
Barbara R. Blackburn
Thriving as an Online K-12 Educator
Essential Practices from the Field
Jody Peerless Green
10 Perspectives on Learning in Education
Jimmy Casas, Todd Whitaker, and Jeffrey Zoul
The World Language Teacher’s Guide to Active Learning:
Strategies and Activities for Increasing Student Engagement
Deborah Blaz
The Genius Hour Guidebook:
Fostering Passion, Wonder, and Inquiry in the Classroom
Denise Krebs and Gallit Zvi
From Texting to Teaching
Grammar Instruction in a Digital Age
Jeremy Hyler and Troy Hicks
Your World Language
Classroom
Strategies for In-Person and
Digital Instruction
Rachelle Dené Poth
First published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Rachelle Dené Poth
The right of Rachelle Dené Poth to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-367-68467-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-67913-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-13766-5 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003137665
Typeset in Palatino
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Meet the Author .......................................vi
Introduction ............................................1
1 Building Relationships and Future-Ready
Skills/Designing Our Classroom Space ..................7
2 Low Tech, High Tech, No Tech: Learning for All .........29
3 Fostering Strong Communication Skills
in Our Students ......................................57
4 Breaking Tradition: If You Are Doing This,
Then Try This Instead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
5 Student-Led Classrooms: Stepping Aside
and Letting Students Learn and Lead ..................117
6 Strategies and Tools That We Can Use to
Help Students Create Global Connections .............148
Meet the Author
Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM teacher at Riverview
Junior Senior High School in Oakmont, PA. She is also an
attorney and consultant. An ISTE-certified educator, Rachelle is
the former president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network, the
2019 recipient of the Making IT Happen Award, and received
three Presidential Gold Awards for Volunteer Service to educa-
tion. She frequently presents at conferences including ASCD,
CUE, FETC, ISTE, and TCEA. Her publications include In Other
Words: Quotes that Push Our Thinking, Chart a New Course:
A Guide to Teaching Essential Skills for Tomorrow’s World,
The Future Is Now: Looking Back to Move Ahead, True Story
Lessons That One Kid Taught Us, and Unconventional Ways to
Thrive in EDU. She is a blogger for Getting Smart and several
other publications. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram
at @Rdene915 and visit her website at https://sites.google.com/
view/rachelledenepoth/about-me.
Introduction
It has been an interesting time for educators. The 2020–21 school
year was constantly evolving and pushing us all to embrace new
ideas, learn new technologies, face challenges and be flexible in
our methods. We had an opportunity to try new ideas, to take
some risks with different digital tools and teaching methods as
we considered how to plan lessons for our students. Educators
around the world spent time looking for the best ways to deliver
instruction and for many, this might have been the first time
bringing digital tools into their classroom.
It took some time to adjust to all that goes into teaching
online. There have been adjustments needed in the devices and
equipment we use in our classrooms. My workspace expanded
to having two computers, a computer stand or two, an iPad,
a microphone, a document camera and a ring light so that my
students could actually see me. Beyond the tech adjustments,
it was a challenge to figure out a workflow. Moving from fully
virtual to hybrid, teaching students in-person and at home sim-
ultaneously, took time to adjust. It became clear that we do so
many different tasks in our physical classroom space, but it takes
a lot longer in the virtual and hybrid environment. It is a pro-
cess that requires ongoing reflection and iteration. Developing
a routine that helps us to minimize a loss of instructional time
as we shift between activities is key. Whereas before, we could
carry out many tasks and be quite flexible with all students in the
DOI: 10.4324/9781003137665-1
2 Introduction
classroom, it now requires more planning and quick thinking in
case our plans or technology don’t work as we hoped.
Teaching in the virtual space definitely has its benefits.
It increases our awareness of the power of technology for
connecting our classrooms with resources and people from
around the world. But it can be a lot to balance, especially when
it comes to technology and deciding what tools to use. We must
make sure that all students can participate so they have the most
meaningful learning experiences possible while also acknow-
ledging that we have not been in a typical learning situation.
We need to prepare ourselves as best we can for any type
of learning environment, whether we suddenly have to make
a shift or instead we choose to create more blended learning
experiences for our students. Having strategies and tools that
we can rely on regardless of our learning space will enable us
to keep the learning going and provide consistent support and
access to the resources our students need. Throughout school
closures and in regular school years, I worry about the students
who perhaps are nervous about asking questions or don’t have
access to their teacher or class materials beyond the class period.
Students must feel comfortable in their learning space and be
able to seek help and find resources whenever they need them.
Technology enables us to provide so much more for our students
when we are intentional about the tools we choose.
While we know there are endless benefits to using technology
to enhance learning by bringing in possibilities for blended
learning, differentiation, facilitating global collaborations and
preparing students with future-ready skills, we must be inten-
tional as we plan authentic and meaningful ways for our students
to build their presence in the virtual space. We must stay clear
on our true purpose for trying a different teaching method and
implementing a different or new digital tool. With access to more
resources than ever before, it affords us with possibilities to open
the world as a classroom for our students and for meeting their
different learning styles and interests.
As educators, we are surrounded by technology and have
access to more resources and potential for collaboration and
using authentic and innovative learning tools and methods with
Introduction 3
our students. Because we have so much available, it can be chal-
lenging to know where to begin. I propose that we ask ourselves
this question: What types of learning opportunities do we need?
The right response is that we need authentic, meaningful and
purposeful learning experiences that help us to promote student
engagement and increase student motivation for learning. We
know how important it is that we create a supportive learning
environment, whether that be in the physical or virtual space,
and this environment must include the right components to pro-
mote more social learning and foster connectedness with the
content being taught.
When I am asked where to begin with bringing technology
into the learning environment, I believe that first, it is critical that
we set up a consistent way to communicate with our students
and for them to be able to find support when they need it.
Whether we decide on a messaging app, build a class website
or have something like Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams,
these options give us a consistent space to better communicate
and provide for all students. Beyond facilitating better commu-
nication, we need to invest time into finding versatile tools that
enable students to create, collaborate and connect with peers.
Having these capabilities will make a difference for students in
many essential areas of their growth.
When I started to bring technology and try new teaching
methods into my classroom, it was to resolve a disconnect that
I noticed between my students, me and having access to our
class materials. The first consistent space I created online was
through Edmodo (www.edmodo.com). As a result of that space,
I was easily able to connect with each student and address any
concerns they had outside of the classroom. Students started to
collaborate more, developing their interpersonal skills in the vir-
tual space, which led to more positive peer interactions in the
classroom and the development of (SEL) social and emotional
learning skills. Students developed more confidence speaking
in class, there was an improvement in accountability, students
knew when assignments were due and what they had missed
in class and they even started to create their own ways to use
Edmodo. Leveraging Edmodo provided a lot for what I could
