Blurb:

In chapter 7, Claudia Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Ana Ortega Pérez, Ana Ruiz Alonso-Bartol, Paloma Fernández-Mira, Diane Querrien, and Shelley Dykstra offer a unique viewpoint from six teaching assistants on ERTL instruction during the pandemic as it compared to a return to the new normal post-pandemic. Unlike an abundance of research on ERTL which has pointed to elevated levels of stress and emotional labor, especially as experienced by educators, the authors explain how this was not the case in their particular context of a large lower-division Spanish program. The authors point to several key reasons, including their belonging to a close-knit community of practice, well-structured leadership that included lead TAs for each course level within the program, and a pedagogization of technology (Rapanta et al., 2021), which encouraged instructor flexibility and innovation. Similar to the findings from Rüschoff, as well as Guiponni and colleagues, this research points to educators’ ability to adapt during a crisis – be it through their own reflection, the participation in professional development, or through local support.