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DIGITAL EDUCATION AND LEARNING

Second Language
Teacher Professional
Development
Technological Innovations
for Post-Emergency
Teacher Education
Edited by
Karim Sadeghi
Michael Thomas
Digital Education and Learning

Series Editors
Michael Thomas
Liverpool John Moores University
Merseyside, UK

John Palfrey
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Chicago, IL, USA

Mark Warschauer
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, USA
Much has been written during the first decade of the new millennium
about the potential of digital technologies to produce a transformation of
education. Digital technologies are portrayed as tools that will enhance
learner collaboration and motivation and develop new multimodal liter-
acy skills. Accompanying this has been the move from understanding
literacy on the cognitive level to an appreciation of the sociocultural
forces shaping learner development. Responding to these claims, the
Digital Education and Learning Series explores the pedagogical potential
and realities of digital technologies in a wide range of disciplinary con-
texts across the educational spectrum both in and outside of class.
Focusing on local and global perspectives, the series responds to the shift-
ing landscape of education, the way digital technologies are being used in
different educational and cultural contexts, and examines the differences
that lie behind the generalizations of the digital age. Incorporating cut-
ting edge volumes with theoretical perspectives and case studies (single
authored and edited collections), the series provides an accessible and
valuable resource for academic researchers, teacher trainers, administra-
tors and students interested in interdisciplinary studies of education and
new and emerging technologies.
Karim Sadeghi • Michael Thomas
Editors

Second Language
Teacher Professional
Development
Technological Innovations for Post-
Emergency Teacher Education
Editors
Karim Sadeghi Michael Thomas
Urmia University Liverpool John Moores University
Urmia, Iran Liverpool, UK

ISSN 2753-0744     ISSN 2753-0752 (electronic)


Digital Education and Learning
ISBN 978-3-031-12069-5    ISBN 978-3-031-12070-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12070-1

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
­transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Cover illustration: Hossein Mahmoodi / Alamy Stock Photo

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Foreword

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought death and despair throughout


the world. But as old systems have failed or been disrupted, the pandemic
has also posed an important question: can we do things better in
the future?
Education has not escaped this process of reimagination. As schools at
all levels have experimented with emergency distance learning—with
millions of teachers and learners engaged in online learning for the first
time in their lives—many are asking how this will affect the future of
education.
A cottage industry already exists to reimagine education based on the
lessons of the pandemic. But very little of that work examines teacher
education, a foundational element of the broader educational enterprise.
That is unfortunate, because, as is well known, teacher education is an
area badly in need of reform, whether in pre-service education that is too
far removed from the actual demands of the classroom or in in-service
education that is often taught once and then forgotten.
Many of the problems of teacher education could be partially amelio-
rated through improved use of technology—by bringing people together
in new ways, providing resources at the time of, and providing new tools
for reflection and interaction. In this sense, the forced transition to dis-
tance learning can be seen as not only a challenge, but also an opportu-
nity—if we can learn sufficient lessons from what has occurred.
v
vi Foreword

Fortunately, Sadeghi and Thomas’s edited volume takes us a long way


in that direction. From conceptual papers, to case studies, to examination
of particular sub-topics, it provides a comprehensive view of technology-­
mediated second language teacher education during the pandemic and
what we should (and should not) learn from these experience as we move
forward. A particular strength of the book is its inclusion of contribu-
tions from many countries, helping ensure that the lessons we gather are
informed by a broad array of voices.
If this pandemic had occurred 20 years ago, we would not have had
access to the online tools needed to help continue education during a
period of forced isolation. Let us hope that, 20 years from now, we can
more effectively learn together in a variety of formats and modalities,
drawing on the lessons of these last few harsh years. The essays shared in
this volume are an important guidepost along that path, not only in the
area of second language teacher education but also beyond.

University of California Mark Warschauer


Irvine, CA, USA
Praise for Second Language Teacher
Professional Development

“Rarely, in our lifetimes at least, do global circumstances change so immediately


and dramatically as they have during this pandemic. Sadeghi and Thomas’ book
captures this upheaval and innovation in second language teacher education.
Their edited volume does an exemplary and geographically comprehensive job
of documenting the impacts of pandemic-­driven adaptation through technol-
ogy on second language teacher education. Contributors from ten countries on
six continents write about their experiences with ‘technological innovations’ that
have facilitated and extended their work. The collection is as impressive for its
breadth as it is timely for its discussions of what can be learned about using
technological tools in ELT pre-service preparation and professional development.”
—Donald Freeman, Professor of Education, School of Education,
University of Michigan, USA

“Several books have recently appeared that reflect on the extraordinary shift that
took place in second language teacher education in response to the outbreak of
COVID-19. This is one of the best. Karim Sadeghi and Michael Thomas have
skillfully assembled insights from educators around the world, bringing together
the lessons learned while teachers navigated unusually difficult and confusing
times. The many practical insights and creative solutions this volume provides
will be useful to any astute reader wishing to better understand innovations that
emerged during the crisis and the lasting impact that reimagining the use of
educational technology may have for our ongoing pedagogy.”
—Larry LaFond, Professor, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA

“This is a comprehensive volume representing a broad range of cultures and


contexts wherein teachers grappled with intelligently responding to the emer-
gency transition to online language teaching. The collected studies provide
empirically grounded insights into the talent, resilience and practices of lan-
guage educators when faced with the challenge of swiftly altering instructional
contexts. Research of this kind will lead to better understanding of what it takes
to teach languages well online.”
—Carla Meskill, Professor, Department of Educational Theory
and Practice, State University of New York
“This volume provides a set of meticulously curated studies (with multiple con-
ceptual and methodological approaches) on technology-­ mediated language
teacher education from a wide variety of socio-educational contexts around the
world. Contributors explore the ways they have used technology to address the
unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. I believe this collec-
tion will be a very important resource for language teacher educators and
researchers who study the integration of technology in language teacher educa-
tion practices.”
—Bedrettin Yazan, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at San
Antonio, USA
Contents

Part I CALL Affordances in Teacher Education   1

1 I ntroduction: Educational Technology in Teacher


Education  3
Michael Thomas and Karim Sadeghi

2 Reimagining
 Education Is Dead. Long Live Reimagining
Education! New Technological Innovations in Second
Language Teacher Education and Professional
Development 13
John I. Liontas

3 Extending
 Blended Learning and the Roles of Technology
to Meet Teacher-Training Needs in the New Normal 37
Martin Mullen, Marta Giralt, and Liam Murray

4 T
 echnology-Enhanced Language Teacher Development
During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of
Southeast Asian English Language Teachers 57
Joel C. Meniado

ix
x Contents

Part II Reactions to CALL in Teacher Education during the


Pandemic  79

5 ‘We’ve
 Been Able to Continue with Our Teaching’:
Technology and Pedagogy in Emergency Remote
Language Education 81
Anne Burns, Rebecca Matteson, Kirsty Phease, and Jennifer West

6 Corpus
 Linguistics in English Language Teacher
Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring
Opportunities and Addressing Challenges101
Vander Viana

7 Digital
 Competence and Teaching Practices of Language
Teachers in Sweden in a COVID-19 World125
Jonathan R. White, Tao Yang, Arantxa Santos Muñoz,
and Man Gao

8 Assessing
 Instructional Design During Emergency
Remote Education147
Maria-Elena Solares-Altamirano

9 Technology
 + Pedagogy in EFL Virtual Classrooms:
University Teachers’ Professional Needs on Technology-
Enhanced Pedagogy169
Li Li

10 A
 Pandemic to Remember: Best Practices in an Online
Language Acquisition Methods Course191
Kristen Carlson and Ramon Serrano
Contents xi

Part III Emergency Integration of Technology into Tecaher


Education Programmes 207

11 Enhancing
 Professional Learning of Primary Student
Teachers of L1 and L2 Through a Hybrid Learning
Environment209
Mirja Tarnanen, Merja Kauppinen, Johanna Kainulainen,
Mari Hankala, and Eija Aalto

12 CALL
 for Global Learning: Using World 101 for Teacher
Training in an Online TESOL Methods Course229
Estela Ene

13 Learning
 to Collaborate Through Telecollaboration: Key
Knowledge for Novice Teachers in Today’s World249
Melinda Dooly

14 Opportunities
 for Pre-Service Teacher Learning in Video-
Mediated Peer Interactions: Focus on Classroom
Interactional Competence269
Ufuk Balaman

15 Conclusion:
 What Did We Learn from the COVID-19
Pandemic?289
Karim Sadeghi and Michael Thomas

I ndex299
Notes on Contributors

Eija Aalto is Senior Lecturer in Language Education (Finnish and litera-


ture) at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä.
Ufuk Balaman (ubalaman@gmail.com) is Associate Professor of
Applied Linguistics in the Department of English Language Teaching at
Hacettepe University. His research primarily deals with conversation
analysis, computer assisted language learning, and language teacher edu-
cation. His recent publications appeared in Linguistics & Education,
TESOL Quarterly, ROLSI, and Pragmatics.
Anne Burns (a.c.burns@curtin.edu.au) is part-time Professor of
Education at Curtin University and Professor Emerita at Aston University,
UK. She is also Honorary Professor at the University of New South
Wales, Sydney, the University of Sydney, and The Education University,
Hong Kong. She is internationally known for her work in action research.
Kristen Carlson Ed.D. (kristen.carlson@mnstate.edu) is an assistant
professor in the Department of Leadership & Learning at Minnesota
State University Moorhead. She researches learning design, online learn-
ing and authentic assessments. Carlson has experience teaching science
grades 5–12, teacher education, educational technology, curriculum &
instruction and educational leadership.

xiii
xiv Notes on Contributors

Melinda Dooly (melindaann.dooly@uab.cat) is Serra Húnter Full


Professor, Chair in Technology-Enhanced Language & Intercultural
Education Department of Language, Literature and Social Science
Education at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She is lead
researcher of GREIP: Grup de Recerca en Ensenyament i Interacció
Plurilingües (Research Centre for Teaching & Plurilingual Interaction).
Estela Ene (eene@iupui.edu; Associate Professor, Indiana University—
Purdue University Indianapolis; Director of the EAP Program; Director
of the TESOL MA Program) is an active researcher and practitioner in
CALL, Second Language Writing, ESL/EFL teacher education and inter-
nationalization. She has published in CALICO, System, the Second
Language Writing Journal, and other books and journals.
Man Gao is Assistant Professor at the Chinese Department at Dalarna
University. She received her PhD in Linguistics in 2008. Her current
research interests include the phonology and phonetics of Chinese, sec-
ond/foreign language acquisition of Chinese, teaching Chinese as a for-
eign language and varieties of English.
Marta Giralt (marta.giralt@ul.ie) is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and
Spanish in the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics,
University of Limerick, Ireland. Her research interests are in SLA,
computer-­mediated communication and language learning and intercul-
tural communication. Recent publications list: https://ulsites.ul.i/
la/r-­marta-­giralt-­0
Mari Hankala is Lecturer in Language Education (Finnish and litera-
ture) in the Department of Teacher Education at the University
of Jyväskylä. Her main research interests are literacies (multiliteracies,
media literacy) in digital environments.
Johanna Kainulainen is a university teacher (Finnish and literature;
educational science and ICT) at the Department of Teacher Education,
University of Jyväskylä.
Merja Kauppinen is Senior Lecturer in Language Education (Finnish
and literature) in the Department of Teacher Education at the University
of Jyväskylä. Her research focuses on reading and writing literacy, in-­
Notes on Contributors xv

service teacher education and literature education from various perspec-


tives (incl. multilingual and -cultural phenomenon) from early childhood
to secondary education.
Li Li (Li.Li@exeter.ac.uk) is Professor of Language Education at the
University of Exeter. Her research interests include language teacher cog-
nition, classroom discourse, developing thinking skills and the use of new
technologies in language learning. She is the author of Social Interaction
and Teacher Cognition, Language Teacher Cognition and New Technologies
and Language Learning.
John I. Liontas (liontas@usf.edu) is Associate Professor of ESOL/FL
Education (University of South Florida), Editor-in-Chief of the award-
winning encyclopedia, The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language
Teaching (2018), active member in (inter)national learned societies, dis-
tinguished thought leader, and multiple award-winning author, researcher,
and practitioner in SLA, idiomatics and emerging digital technologies.
Rebecca Matteson has taught English in three different countries and
has been a language learner herself, attending university in Spain and
studying beginner Mandarin. She is currently a program coordinator and
academic English teacher at UTS College in Sydney. She participated in
the English Australia Action Research Program in 2020 and is a strong
advocate of reflective practices of professional development. rebecca.mat-
teson@utscollege.edu.au
Joel C. Meniado (joel.meniado@mail.utoronto.ca) is a language spe-
cialist at the SEAMEO Regional Language Centre in Singapore, where
he teaches a range of courses in Applied Linguistics/TESOL. His research
interests are in the areas of language and literacy education, learning
design and technology, and teacher development.
Martin Mullen (lead author, martin.mullen@uws.ac.uk) is a lecturer in
the School of Education and Social Sciences at the University of the West
of Scotland. He has 15 years’ TESOL experience in European and Asian
contexts. His research interests include CALL, MALL, and specifically,
learner uses of and attitudes to smartphones.
xvi Notes on Contributors

Arantxa Santos Muñoz is Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics at


Dalarna University, where she is responsible for the courses in
Sociopragmatics and the Didactics of Spanish, among others. Her
research interests focus on digital communication and the use of technol-
ogy in teaching/learning Spanish as a second or foreign language.
Liam Murray (liam.murray@ul.ie) is Senior Lecturer in French and
Language Technologies in the School of Modern Languages and Applied
Linguistics, University of Limerick, Ireland. His research interests range
from the exploitation of social media and blog writing for SLA to digital
games-based language learning. Recent publications list: https://ulsites.
ul.i/la/od/101
Kirsty Phease previously worked as Senior Teacher for Blended Learning
at Navitas English Australia from July 2019–January 2022, and partici-
pated in English Australia’s Action Research Program during 2020. She
now works as Learning Designer for Online Education Services,
Melbourne. kphease@gmail.com
Karim Sadeghi is Professor of TESOL at Urmia University, Iran, and is
the founding editor chief of Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research,
a Scopus Q1 journal. His recent publications have appeared in Frontiers
in Psychology, Current Psychology, System, ESP Journal, RELC Journal and
Assessing Writing among others. His monograph Assessing Second Language
Reading was published by Springer in 2021.
Ramon Serrano PhD (raserrano@stcloudstate.edu) is currently Department
Chairperson of Teacher Development at St. Cloud State University. He teaches
elementary education methods courses along with ESL methods. His current
interests are investigating school violence, reasons why youth join gangs, the
need for mental health training and law enforcement, and using Aikido tech-
niques to control violent situations.
Maria-Elena Solares-Altamirano (solares@unam.mx) works for the
Department of Applied Linguistics at Escuela Nacional de Lenguas,
Lingüística y Traducción, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
ENALLT, UNAM. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from
Notes on Contributors xvii

Lancaster University and a master’s degree in TESOL from University


College London, Institute of Education.
Mirja Tarnanen (mirja.tarnanen@jyu.fi) is Professor of Language
Education (Finnish and literature) in the Department of Teacher
Education at the University of Jyväskylä. Her recent publications deal
with (multi)literacy and assessment practices across curriculum; policies
and practices in education for migrant students; teachers’ professional
development and curriculum reforms in educational communities.
Michael Thomas (M.Thomas@ljmu.ac.uk) is Professor of Education
and Social Justice and Chair of the Centre for Educational Research
(CERES) at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK and Principal
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He holds PhDs from Newcastle
University and Lancaster University respectively and has taught and con-
ducted research at universities in Germany, Japan, England and Wales
over a 25-year period. He is author or editor of over 30 books and peer-
reviewed special editions on computer-assisted language learning, digital
natives, project-based pedagogy, online education and pedagogical the-
ory. He is founding editor of four book series, including Digital Education
and Learning, Advances in Digital Language Learning and Teaching and
Global Policy and Critical Futures in Education.
Vander Viana (vander.viana@ed.ac.uk) is Senior Lecturer in Language
Education at the University of Edinburgh (UK). His research expertise
includes corpus linguistics, TESOL, English for academic purposes and
language teacher education.
Jennifer West’s most recent experience is as the Subject Coordinator
and English teacher in the Foundation Program at UTS College in
Sydney. She participated in the English Australia Action Research
Program in 2020 and champions quality teaching through best pedagogi-
cal practice to ensure positive student outcomes by supporting teachers’
professional development. mckee27henricks@gmail.com
Jonathan R. White (jwh@du.se) is Associate Professor of English
Linguistics at the English Department at Dalarna University, Sweden.
His research interests lie in the effect of Internet language usage on the
xviii Notes on Contributors

English language, including how language is reduced, and how attitudes


to grammar norms are changing.
Tao Yang is Assistant Professor of Business Studies and Chinese at the
Chinese Department at Dalarna University. Her research interests, among
others, lie in Chinese business culture, doing business in the Chinese
market, and teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language.
List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Digital Storytelling with a Twist (DS+): a rhetorical model of


communication27
Fig. 5.1 Responses to the statement ‘I feel that I am receiving the
support I need to effectively teach online’ 90
Fig. 6.1 CL module configuration 106
Fig. 6.2 Distribution of pandemic in NOW across years generated
in a smartphone 111
Fig. 6.3 Adjective+pandemic sequences in 2020 texts in NOW
investigated in a smartphone 112
Fig. 6.4 On-site computer lab 116
Fig. 6.5 Individual chat management in the institution’s VLE 118
Fig. 6.6 Concordance lines for a better future in the Coronavirus
Corpus121
Fig. 9.1 Teachers’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAGE
Open. doi:10.1177/21582440211054491 175
Fig. 11.1 Phases of the hybrid learning environment for L1 and L2
and multiliteracy learning 216

xix
List of Fragments

Fragment 13.1 It’s recording now 253


Fragment 13.2 Let’s start talking about the collaborative projects … 255
Fragment 13.3 The opportunity to know other cultures 257
Fragment 13.4 Our main goal is to learn 259
Fragment 13.5 We can all be the leader 261
Fragment 13.6 Maybe we can look at … 262
Fragment 13.7 Perfect 263
Fragment 13.8 We were attempting to do too much 264

xxi
List of Tables

Table 2.1 Questions Posed since 23 March 2020 17


Table 4.1 Online language teacher development activities engaged in
by the respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic 68
Table 5.1 Frequency of themes in our qualitative data 89
Table 6.1 Live online demonstration versus recorded video tutorial 115
Table 7.1 Top three digital tools per language group 134
Table 7.2 Informants’ understanding of digital competence 135
Table 8.1 Identified components under epistemic, setting, and social
designs157
Table 9.1 Demographic information 173

xxiii
Part I
CALL Affordances in Teacher
Education
1
Introduction: Educational Technology
in Teacher Education
Michael Thomas and Karim Sadeghi

1.1 Introduction
As we are preparing this edited volume in early 2022, COVID-19 has
affected over 400 million people and claimed more than 5 million lives
worldwide. The pandemic has drastically affected everybody’s life, includ-
ing those of teachers, researchers and students everywhere, in unprece-
dented ways. The pandemic has refocused global attention on existing
social and economic divides and underlined how they manifest them-
selves in educational inequalities. While too much emphasis is often
placed on education to solve these underlying social, economic and health
inequalities, education can play a role in widening access to lifelong
learning, encouraging more equity of opportunity for learners and teach-
ers and promoting greater social justice in multilingual societies (Kessler,

M. Thomas
Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
K. Sadeghi (*)
Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
e-mail: k.sadeghi@urmia.ac.ir

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 3


K. Sadeghi, M. Thomas (eds.), Second Language Teacher Professional Development,
Digital Education and Learning, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12070-1_1
4 M. Thomas and K. Sadeghi

2021). One such area where digital technologies can play a potential role
is in assisting the quality enhancement of pre- and in-­service teacher
training and continuing professional development, from the use of more
flexible forms of online and blended instruction and delivery to massive
open online courses (MOOCs) and micro-credentials that challenge
selective education policies (Thomas & Schneider, 2020).
The current crisis has directly impacted the way second language
teacher educators train language teachers and run professional develop-
ment programmes involving digital technologies, whether in private lan-
guage schools or state universities. While many such face-to-face
programmes stopped running altogether in technologically deprived or
“low-tech contexts” or at the very least, were seriously affected, the role of
digital technology has once again come to the fore in helping second
language teacher education survive and adapt in challenging times
(Karatay & Hegelheimer, 2021). Although technology has long had a
place in language education and teacher training (Arnold et al., 2007),
the current experience has proved the vital role of digital technology (in
its various forms including the Internet, CALL (Computer-Assisted
Language Learning), MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning), TALL
(Technology Assisted Language Learning), TELL (Technology Enhanced
Language Learning), social media, to name but a few) in the success of
the second language teacher education enterprise. Obviously, interrupted
forms of teacher education will impact the subsequent teaching and
learning of languages and the facilitation of the learning process for learn-
ers, which is the ultimate aim of language teacher education and profes-
sional development. Were it not for the vital role of digital technology, L2
teacher education and professional development programmes would
have come to a full stop in most parts of the world.
In response to this challenging context, this edited volume containing
15 contributions from researchers in 10 countries brings together docu-
mented evidence as well as relevant theoretical work that will help us to
understand the essential mediating role of digital technology in L2
teacher education and professional development. The book is interna-
tional in scope and focus and some of the topics covered include the
technological affordances in teacher education; perspectives on CALL in
teacher education programmes; response to the abrupt transition from
1 Introduction: Educational Technology in Teacher Education 5

face-to-face to virtual professional development; and the successful prac-


tices of online teacher training courses. By bringing together examples
from various countries and contexts relating to how L2 teacher trainers
and trainee teachers view these forced changes and have been reacting to
them, as well as how these programmes are being successfully adminis-
tered and managed without prior preparation, the volume fills a gap in
the use of digital technology in contexts where teacher educators and/or
trainee teachers are not technology-literate or prepared for technology-­
oriented education. Responses to and challenges related to the forced and
emergent use of digital technology are therefore the main topics of the
volume, and to date no other books to our knowledge have examined the
use of advanced technologies in language teaching/language teacher edu-
cation to this extent.
Some existing research has nevertheless helped to map the landscape of
this area pre-pandemic. Indeed, there have been numerous studies of
technologies over the last two decades on technologies and practices that
are still highly relevant today, and these have led to calls for the profes-
sionalisation of CALL teacher technology standards (Hubbard, 2021;
TESOL, 2008). Research studies have addressed many apposite areas,
including using virtual communities of practice in teacher education
(Arnold et al., 2007); integrating electronic portfolios (Cummins, 2007);
understanding the importance of situated learning (Egbert, 2006) and
establishing communities of practice for teacher educators (Hanson-­
Smith, 2006). Other studies have carried out extensive reviews of CALL
teacher training (Kessler, 2006; Hubbard & Levy, 2006) and explored
instructors’ attitudes and perceptions of CALL technologies (Wiebe &
Kabata, 2010). Equally there have been no shortage of studies exploring
how prospective teachers can integrate technology and the challenges
they face (Hong, 2010; Shaltry et al., 2013). Previous research has also
addressed how teachers can work together to engage in collaborate
exchange about technology integration supported by mentoring (Schmid
& Hegelheimer, 2014). Likewise, while blended learning has been pro-
moted during the pandemic as a “new” development, previous research
has already outlined well-established strategies for this approach (Dudeney
& Hockly, 2016; Mononey & O’Keeffe, 2016) and the role of teacher
agency in the process in particular (Kitade, 2015).
6 M. Thomas and K. Sadeghi

More recently several studies have explored CALL teacher education


with in-depth research that integrates theory and practice. Primary
among these studies is Torsani (2016) whose work on CALL teacher edu-
cation and language teacher and technology integration offers a compre-
hensive overview of the field, and explores among others the following
topics: the relationship between technology and language learning; the
integration of technology into language education; theoretical founda-
tions of CALL teacher training; frameworks and standards for CALL
education; approaches and processes; CALL training procedures; and
curriculum design. While there is significant concentration on both the
teaching and learning of languages, as well as on training language teach-
ers, there is a need for more engagement with the implications of training
language teachers during a period of disruption rather than during pre-­
pandemic times. Likewise Pasternak’s (2020) study concentrates on strat-
egies for integrating technology in English language arts teacher education
in the United States, drawing on findings from extensive longitudinal
studies. There are however several limitations to the research in that it
does not address the specific needs and practices of ESL/EFL teacher
trainers but those teaching English as their L1. Methodological limita-
tions are also evident in that only teacher trainees are surveyed and the
views of teacher educators themselves remain under-researched. As was
the case for Torsani (2016), while the findings are valuable, they are lim-
ited in terms of applicability to help understand the implications during
a period of emergency remote teaching. Cutrim-Schmid’s (2019) research
on teacher education in Germany viewed through the lens of sociocul-
tural theory also elaborates on some of the existing concerns and through
deft analysis of longitudinal data begins to piece together a future road
map for CALL teacher education. The book adopts a sociocultural
approach, based on the principle that teaching (and learning how to
teach) is a long-term, complex developmental process that operates
through participation in social practices that come with the territory.
Cutrim-Schmid highlights the need for situated and localised learning,
pre-service and in-service collaboration and collaborative peer-assisted
learning. Above all Cutrim-Schmid recommends and proves the efficacy
of socially aware and professional reflective practice. This is an essential
sociolinguistic take on the computer learning revolution. The book
1 Introduction: Educational Technology in Teacher Education 7

however does not offer technological affordances, options and issues for
teacher education at a time of emergency and adopts a more theoretical
rather than practitioner-focused position.
In responding to some of the key research studies identified above on
teacher education, the vast majority of which are pre-pandemic and
therefore disconnected from the scope and depth of disruption encoun-
tered by teachers and teacher trainers during COVID, this volume is
divided into three parts.

1.2 An Overview of the Book


Following the Introduction to the book, Part I, contains 3 additional
chapters and is devoted to defining the scope of the volume as a whole.
To accomplish this, the first section identifies the major affordances of
digital technology in language teacher education, systematically review-
ing a sample of recent research from a variety of contexts including Asian
and European perspectives on CALL use, before considering the chal-
lenges and the post-pandemic futures of the use of technology in lan-
guage teacher education. Following this introduction to the volume, in
Chap. 2, John I. Liontas explores how to foster sustainable second lan-
guage teacher education practices in the midst of claims that COVID-19
has successfully led to a process of “reimaging education.” Rejecting the
notion that emergency remote teaching has fundamentally altered our
notions of teaching and learning, Liontas maps out what teacher educa-
tors can take away from this experience and how they can produce a more
lasting and pragmatic turn in teacher education practices.
Arising from the turn to blended learning during the pandemic in the
Republic of Ireland, Chap. 3 by Mullen, Murray and Giralt explores the
implications of the transition to online methods of delivery for CALL
teacher education theories, processes and practices as well as relevant
dedicated and non-dedicated CALL software. Based on a mixed methods
approach involving the perceptions of teacher trainers, in-service lan-
guage teachers, and trainee teachers regarding their state of preparedness
for a shift to online learning, findings suggest that changes are required to
how teachers are prepared to use digital pedagogies. One solution is the
8 M. Thomas and K. Sadeghi

need to incorporate blended learning as an integral element in all future


courses to preserve opportunities for on-going professional development.
The focus turns to Asia in Chap. 4, by Meniado which considers how
the lack of adequate skills and resources has affected the transition to the
“new normal” of online learning. Given this context the paper discusses
how teachers developed their own initiatives to develop new approaches
to teaching and assessment and how institutional support emerged to aid
them in this task to make the new practices sustainable.
Part II, includes six chapters and provides a series of powerful examples
and case studies from contexts such as Australia, Mexico, the UK, the
United States and Sweden, in which teacher educators/trainee teachers’
reactions, responses and attitudes to the sudden shift to virtual teacher
education programmes are investigated. The chapters progressively con-
centrate on a wide range of topics apposite to current debates, including
teacher identity and resilience.
Chapter 5, considers the impacts of the pandemic on teacher educa-
tion in Australia. Burns, Matteson, Phease, and West discuss the impact
in particular on language centres and how they adopted strategies in pro-
fessional development focusing on blended learning arising from an
action research project with the English Language Intensive Courses for
Overseas Students (ELICOS) organisation.
In Chap. 6, Viana examines an underexplored area in English language
teacher education, namely, corpus linguistics. The module aims to pro-
vide teachers with a framework for raising awareness of their metalinguis-
tic awareness. The chapter presents a reflective evaluation describing
trainee teachers’ transition from their traditional approach to that
required for the pandemic.
In Sweden, the digital competence and literacy skills of teachers have
been prominent since 2006 in particular, following the European
Commission’s inclusion of these areas in its policy documents on lifelong
learning. In Chap. 7, White, Muñoz, Gao and Yang focus especially on
the four key elements of digital literacy integrated into the curriculum for
compulsory school. These include the implications of digitalisation on
wider Swedish society; promoting the use and understanding of special-
ised digital tools and media; developing criticality and independence of
thought; and enhancing problem-solving skills as well as being able to
1 Introduction: Educational Technology in Teacher Education 9

apply what has been learned in practical ways. The research identifies a
series of complex challenges related to informal and formal learning, as
well as competencies used in teachers’ personal and professional lives. In
particular the essay explores attitudes and knowledge within the field of
digital competence of university level teacher trainees who are training to
teach English, Spanish and Chinese. Findings explore differences across
the different nationalities and suggest that prominent technologies used
by the trainee teachers include instant messaging, blogs, audio-visual
resources and websites.
Chapter 8, by Solares-Altamirano explores the implications of the pan-
demic on teachers in the English Department at the Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México in Mexico. Noting the challenges such as the need
for flexible learning design and improved technical competence, the
chapter examines the development of a specialised web site offering
teachers training and advice on the use of collaborative task-based lan-
guage teaching during the period of emergency remote teaching.
In Chap. 9, Li explores questionnaire data from teachers involved in a
mixed methods study examining their professional learning needs during
the pandemic. Over 100 teachers answered a questionnaire and 12 teach-
ers were interviewed to provide data on their understanding of how to
teach effectively in online environments. Recommendations from the
research explore the types of professional support provided to the partici-
pants and the types of support they envisage that they require in order to
manage their work during the periods of disruption caused by the pan-
demic and have clear implications for teachers in pre- and in-service
teacher development contexts.
In Chap. 10, Carlson and Serrano share their reflections from teachers
at St. Cloud State University in the United States who transitioned to
online teaching during the pandemic. Findings from the study suggest
that it is essential for teacher educators to combine resilience and cultural
competence to support their trainee teachers effectively, alongside a per-
sonalised and flexible approach that does not seek to impose one approach
on all trainee teachers.
Finally, Part III, brings the volume to a close with the remaining five
chapters. It includes a wide range of contributions dealing with impor-
tant topics such as the successive integration of digital technologies in
10 M. Thomas and K. Sadeghi

teacher education and professional development programmes in contexts


like Turkey, Spain, Finland and the United States. Instances of various
technological tools used during experimental forms of online learning are
shared and recommendations are provided on how similar technologies
can be used in technologically less-affluent contexts during a time of
emergency (UNESCO, 2008a, 2008b).
Chapter 11, by Tarnanen, Aalto, Kauppinen and Hankala discusses
how to support the professional development and learning (PDL) of pri-
mary teacher students in relation to digital literacies. Focusing in particu-
lar on reading, writing and interpreting skills, the chapter examines the
role of digital assessments and different approaches to blended learning
within the context of lifelong learning via an action research approach.
Chapter 12, by Ene explores a multi-module online material published
by the Council of Foreign Relations aimed at training as well as teaching
English as a Second Language (ESL). Students on an online TESOL
methods course participated in the research to examine an online teach-
ing environment during COVID involving trainees engaged in selecting
relevant materials and resources.
The subject of Chap. 13 by Dooly is a network-based exchange between
two groups of student-teachers based in Catalunya in Spain and another
in Illinois in the United States. As part of an on-going process resulting
in two main outputs related to integrating technology into teaching, the
chapter explores how the student-teachers mediate their pedagogical
interaction in terms of their identity as both current students and future
teachers.
In Chap. 14, Balaman discusses findings from a language teacher edu-
cation project on video-mediated interactional practices of pre-service
teachers. Using a multimodal conversation analysis approach, the study
examines teacher interactional practices and digital competence and find-
ings will be particularly valuable for trainers and teachers involved in
pre-service professional development utilising online and digital
pedagogies.
Finally, in Chap. 15, the book’s editors, Sadeghi and Thomas, present
a conclusion to the volume which reflects on the lessons learned from the
pandemic for second language teacher education, and identifies strategies
that can be carried forward to make these practices sustainable.
1 Introduction: Educational Technology in Teacher Education 11

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for low-resource environments: Overview of CALL teacher training.
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what could we do better? In P. Hubbard & M. Levy (Eds.), Teacher education
in CALL (pp. 23–42). John Benjamins.
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Kitade, K. (2015). Second language teacher development through CALL prac-
tice: The emergence of teachers’ agency. CALICO Journal, 32, 396–425.
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Language Learning, 23, 221–234.
2
Reimagining Education Is Dead. Long
Live Reimagining Education! New
Technological Innovations in Second
Language Teacher Education
and Professional Development
John I. Liontas

2.1 Introduction
This much is true still. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unimagi-
nable havoc worldwide. Every corner of the world continues to tell its sad
story written in businesses closed and lives lost. Numbers need not be
mentioned here. Masks, masks everywhere! The halls of education have
gone silent—some more than others. Mental anguish is on the rise.
Teachers and students alike—from preschools to universities—have long
been ordered to stay home. Online learning replaced face-to-face instruc-
tion. Remote work is now the new normal. Some cheered, most did not.
But all of us, without exception, had to come to terms with the reality of
the times staring us in the face. An avalanche of questions followed.
Many more questions were professed, few definitive answers given, even

J. I. Liontas (*)
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
e-mail: liontas@usf.edu

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 13


K. Sadeghi, M. Thomas (eds.), Second Language Teacher Professional Development,
Digital Education and Learning, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12070-1_2
14 J. I. Liontas

fewer solutions entertained. And so old questions became new again.


Some were dusted off and recycled. Others polished on the spot. And still
others reimagined without much imagination. This does not have to be
so. We simply must do better.
In this chapter, purposefully titled Reimagining Education Is Dead.
Long Live Reimagining Education: New Innovations in Second Language
Teacher Education and Professional Development, I first explain why the
mantra of “Reimagining Education” so shamelessly popularized in 2020
is DOA (Dead On Arrival)—plain and simple. This is a strong position
from which I propose new arguments in favor of reconfiguring the frame-
work of an existing graduate course on technology applications as an
online professional development seminar. I then show how second lan-
guage teacher education in general and professional development in par-
ticular can be imagined on a higher plane of understanding underlying
mindfulness and consciousness—the resolute translation of imagination
into apposite action—before I endow anew my world of imagination of
ideas, thoughts, and conceptions with pragmatic value propositions now
befitting wholly the seemingly contradictory phrase and new theatrical
mantra, Reimagining education is dead. Long live reimagining education!—
a playful allusion to another well-established traditional proclamation
and chant, Le roi est mort, vive le roi! (French for “The King Is Dead, Long
Live The King!”), first declared upon the accession to the French throne
of Charles VII after the death of his father Charles VI in 1422. I begin by
first contextualizing the historical continuum of the practice develop-
ment that followed in the summer of 2020.

2.2 Reimagining Education Is Dead:


The Aftermath of the Transition
to Online Education
2.2.1 Historical Continuity Revisited

Not to repeat information covered elsewhere already (Liontas, 2022), but


the account presented herein is tied to a sequence of events and causal
2 Reimagining Education Is Dead. Long Live Reimagining… 15

relations underlying the transition to online learning that started when


the University of South Florida first informed faculty and students dur-
ing Spring Break 2020 to hold classes online henceforward. To no one’s
surprise, the transition to online learning continued well past the initial
two weeks. For the next eight weeks, a dozen doctoral students and I
engaged in critical participatory action research (CPAR). Not only were
we trying to address the urgency of transitioning instruction from face-­
to-­face to distance learning, but, importantly, we wished to become
immersed in the “creation and co-creation of knowledge constructs and
meaning-making processes exemplifying the essential mediating role of
technology in online instruction” (Liontas, 2022, p. 137). From the out-
set, such knowledge constructs were singled out as the most desired learn-
ing outcome of the entire research enterprise. Applying an informal,
qualitative, interpretive, and reflective research design and methodology
(Burns, 2010; Niemi, 2019), the CPAR undertaken over the second half
of the spring semester 2020 was anchored in the five quality principles of
historical continuity, reflexivity, dialectics, workability, and evocativeness
(Heikkinen et al., 2012) through which the theory, practice, and trans-
formation of the relationship and interaction among the people involved
in the pedagogical process of building an online Community of Practice
(CoP) was subsequently interpreted while employing descriptive, diag-
nostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics in the thematic analysis of
data collected (Liontas, 2022).
Thereafter, an analysis of the hermeneutic circle—the final methodol-
ogy of interpretation and exegetical understanding—was applied to
themes or patterns of meaning within data to elicit an in-depth under-
standing of meanings produced through systematic interpretation pro-
cesses (e.g., Gadamer, 1975; Heidegger, 1962; Schön, 1983). Amid a
hermeneutic phenomenology steeped in an iterative problem-solving
process (i.e., formulation, testing, and evaluation of plan-act-observe-­
reflect-revise-…), interpretations reached in the formation of new knowl-
edge recognized user experience as the engine of the entire CPAR design
process, with community, domain, and practice comprising the three pri-
mary features these students learned to embrace ever so skillfully while
developing competence with the eLearning technology practices of their
community (Wenger, 1998; Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015).
16 J. I. Liontas

The efficacy of the CPAR model heretofore laconically summarized


had to be tested anew if firm answers to questions posed as early as mid-­
March 2020 were to be found in coursework involving technological
innovations in second language teacher education and professional devel-
opment. Table 2.1 presents a network of questions my doctoral students
and I posed and tried to have answered since 23 March 2020—the day I
first invited all course enrollees to help me explore the transition to syn-
chronous online learning from in-person learning. At that time, said
transition was presented to them as the overarching research problem
that needed to be solved quickly under the guiding principles of
CPAR. The questions reflect the depth and breadth of the conversations
I had with these 12 students, 7 of whom also participated in the continu-
ation of the new 11-member (hereafter research-practitioners) CPAR
study reported here. The questions also include my personal introspec-
tions on these matters at that time. The most critical questions I list below
in no particular order, though, I note, they are organized in distinct
themes to ease the discussion of them in this chapter. Collectively, how-
ever, the questions comprise the organizational framework of inquiry
undergirding the contents and the digital technologies discussed in the
doctoral seminar I was now teaching online in Summer A 2020 (19 May
to 25 June) as a professional development seminar.
A perusal of these queries reveals in no uncertain terms the climate
under which these were first cognized. They also shed light into our state
of mind that first conceived these thoughts and ideas. The questions
speak to the reality on the ground and the conditions and practices under
which learning takes place, the perception of success, the stability of pro-
grams, the longevity of curricula, the affective state of stress, anxiety,
uncertainty, insecurity, frustration, and yes, even acute cases of xenopho-
bia (fear of the unknown), and much more. How best to capture the web
of ideas in the voice these doctoral students express remains a formidable
challenge for sure. The section that follows next addresses one such
dynamic and fluid environment that sought to imagine and reimagine
the ways we teach and the ways our students learn.
2 Reimagining Education Is Dead. Long Live Reimagining… 17

Table 2.1 Questions Posed since 23 March 2020


Questions Concerning…
“Me, Myself, and I”
• Where in the world do I start when I do not even know where to start?
• How do I overcome that sinking feeling in quicksand? And how do I crawl
out of the quicksand of depression?
• Is there light at the end of the tunnel or is the light I see just the light of an
oncoming freight train?
• How do I keep moving forward when the future of learning is not yet
imagined—much less reimagined—in paths I can easily follow?
• How do I navigate uncertainty, change, and the complexity of an undefined
future?
• How do I empower others to succeed if I cannot even empower myself to be
my best self? Is self-agency enough to create meaningful and lasting change?
Students’ Mindbody
• How do I reach my students’ mind during the coronavirus pandemic? Will
they show the resilience needed to continue to learn and thrive under the
taxing circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic?
• How do I keep motivating my students to stay the course in the face of
adversity amid mutable epidemiological ailments?
• How do I safeguard my students’ psychosomatic health and wellbeing?
• How do I help my students cope with post-traumatic stress and other mental
health problems when there is nothing normal about our new normal or
even the next normal?
• How do I aid my students exhibit credible emotional intelligence and
team-building skills for the benefit of all involved in imagining education
anew?
Academic Success
• What can I do to ensure students’ academic success, and to what standards,
benchmarks, behaviors, or desired outcomes?
• Can I inspire my students to express their personalized, mastery-based
learning on their own terms without foregoing or minimizing established
routines and relationships?
• Is academic success perceived academic success achieved?
• Does attitude toward academic success ensure the altitude of academic
success attained?
eLearning Technologies
(continued)
18 J. I. Liontas

Table 2.1 (continued)


• Do students have access to digital technologies and the foundational tools
and resources needed to successfully learn in these new virtual and/or hybrid
learning environments?
• Which digital technologies or learning-management platforms and
assessment tools best facilitate peer-led collaboration, discovery,
understanding, planning, and action for quality teaching and learning?
• What are the best practices and conditions for technologically enhanced
learning to generate interactive student engagement befitting remote and/
or hybrid learning?
• Do I have the needed technical and pedagogical skills to integrate digital
experiences into instruction in an efficient and effective manner?
• Can I leverage remote learning or deliver it in ways that help students learn
on their own when less screen time, not more, is recommended?
Programs and Curricula
• How can doctoral programs ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
in support of every student when reimagining education?
• To what extent will existing curricula, instructional materials, and delivery
modes of teaching methods need to be rethought and reframed in research-­
based structures and practices, respectively, to meet the new demands of
learning contexts for a more promising post-pandemic future?
• To what degree must teacher-training programs and professional-­
development seminars both reflect and embody the new coronavirus realities
under which all of us are asked to work and grow as experts in our respective
language enterprises or as leaders in our chosen profession?
• Which research frameworks best spearhead new innovations in second
language teacher education and professional development?

2.2.2 Reconfiguring Course Structure


and Digital Pursuits

As the section heading denotes, both course structure and digital pursuits
applied in the six-week course—FLE 7700: Applications of Technology to
SLA and FL Education—I was scheduled to teach in Summer 2020 had
to be rethought given the institutional directive to transition all instruc-
tion from face-to-face to distance learning eight weeks earlier.
Reconfiguring the framework of the now online course as a professional
development seminar added considerable weight to the decisions I had to
make time and again. One question in particular kept dancing in my
head: Is it possible to reconfigure the framework of a core course offered
in the Technology in Education and Second Language Acquisition
2 Reimagining Education Is Dead. Long Live Reimagining… 19

doctoral program as a professional development seminar without sacrific-


ing quality learning and/or attainment of high standards? How this ques-
tion is answered would no doubt overshadow the two-dozen questions
presented earlier in Table 2.1. Even so, the question had to be asked
anew, and answers to questions posed since the onset of the directive to
transition from in-person learning to online learning in mid-March 2020
had to found post haste. I begin with the reconceptualizations of the
principal imaginations requiring explanation still.

Reconceptualizing Principal Imaginations

As already noted, the arrival of COVID-19 upended every aspect of an


educator’s life. Having to adapt suddenly to online remote instruction
post Spring Break 2020, we had no choice but to ponder, question, and
reassess the various facets of our work—from course redesign, pedagogi-
cal practices, and assessment tools supporting successful student learning
to sustainable support structures and modes of communication ensuring
effective instruction. Learning how to manage our own expectations and
how best to leverage technology to promote deep learning was a high
priority indeed. Reevaluating the affordances-constraints of digital tech-
nologies and the instructional practices that help support a new enter-
prise of synchronous online instruction were pushed to the forefront of
concerns we had to address head on in record time. Not only did we have
to discover new ways to deliver instruction online, we also had to make
sure that the technology we ultimately chose to employ did indeed sup-
port effective student learning, engagement, and collaboration. Many of
us even had to come to terms with our own relationship with certain
computerized technologies, tools, platforms, and resources that collec-
tively exemplify online instruction. Our perceptions of the importance,
value, and ease of using them are certain to color our attitude and will-
ingness to see them applied in the online environments we wished to
create for our learners and ourselves. Such decisions, manifold as they all
surely are, are important in ascertaining how students were expected to
process course content and the materials associated in learning the
content.
20 J. I. Liontas

Confronted with such raw realities, syllabi had to be revised, lessons


adapted, schedules and responsibilities invented anew, mentoring and
professional development opportunities reconfigured and scaled again,
and, finally, new online spaces for interactive learning fashioned, more
often than not from scratch. For better or worse, we had to ask ourselves
the hard questions at a time when answers were not so readily available.
In fact, we had to deep dive in a short space of time on our own philo-
sophical assumptions (the act of taking something for granted or suppos-
ing something, even without proof ) and/or presumptions (a belief on
reasonable grounds or probable evidence) certain to shape most, if not
all, of the decisions we would make throughout the entire research design
process and data analysis. In so doing, we also had to take account of our
own personal experiences while interacting with other research-­
practitioners of the practice; that is, reflexivity demanded of us that we
develop a self-critical approach to how knowledge about specific prac-
tices—from transitioning from one state or condition of learning to
another—is generated, and, furthermore, how relations of power operate
in the analysis of data collected, including those involving assumptions/
presumptions, behaviors, and emotions. And because transition is a
dynamic process, not a series of discrete events, planning is key to the
level of success achieved via different technology means and timeframes.
In the end, neither quality learning nor attainment of high standards
need be sacrificed when transitioning from in-person learning to online
learning—a finding deeply engrained in the de facto transformative
change my doctoral students and I experienced first hand. Building upon
those key insights, the CPAR research design and methodology involving
an iterative problem-solving process had to be tailor-made to suit the
specifics of the course structure and the digital pursuits envisaged herein,
the most important of which are highlighted next.

Reimagining Course Structure and Digital Pursuits

As specified in the course syllabus, FLE 7700: Applications of Technology


to SLA and FL Education (13 sections, 14 pages), under Section 3—
Course Goals and Objectives, the overarching goal was for course
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After that date Father spent very little time with us. He was
constantly busy with his ministers, diplomats and the Grand Dukes.
The President of France, M. Poincaré, spent four or five days with us
at Alexandria Cottage in Peterhof. He was as complaisant as
President Fallières whom he had recently replaced. Father felt drawn
to him from the start, admiring his diplomacy and friendly manner.
Several dinners were given in his honor with the Imperial family
attending. Everyone looked grave and alarmed, and I gathered
matters must be serious. Why should the assassination of an
Austrian be so threatening to Russia? I was told that Russia had an
agreement which might implicate us all unless the affair could be
settled amicably. The hour the President departed, the Austrian
ultimatum was served at once on Russia and on Serbia.
Out of this puzzling dilemma which hung over Russia, two things
were clear to me: the quiet paleness of Father and Mother’s tearful
entreaties imploring that Russia be kept out of war. Mother kept
repeating, “The country is not recovered from one war before it is in
another.” She was thinking of the Japanese war, whose horrors were
still fresh in her mind. Mother’s agonized face vividly foreshadowed
the tragedy ahead.
Every summer there was a review of regimental maneuvers at
Krasnoe Selo (near Tsarskoe Selo). This time they were held in
honor of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. We sisters enjoyed
horses and each had a favorite horse of her own. Tatiana especially
knew a great deal about them, since she had been taught riding by a
competent riding master, but so did we all. The two older sisters
were unusually graceful on horseback, more so than Marie and I.
Cossack horses were especially fascinating to me, since they
seemed to understand one’s very thoughts. Tatiana described to me
how the Cossack and his horse grow up together. Training begins
when the young Cossack is given a horse, a progeny of a Cossack
horse, trained to the requirements of the Cossack regiment. From
then on boy and horse are one, inseparable, each learning to
understand the other: the boy is the head and the horse is the body.
When the responses are mutual, they are ready to enter actively the
Cossack regiment. I often wished I were a boy so that I might be a
Cossack with a noble horse and wear a stunning uniform.
We drove speedily past the cheering crowds. To see these
maneuvers was most interesting and exciting as we watched from
the Imperial pavilion. In one performance a large unit trotted in
perfect formation, then suddenly all the riders jumped off their horses
in unison, then jumped back on their saddles without a single horse
breaking its gait or changing its speed. In another exercise each
horseman threw his black cape around his own shoulders and over
his horse, so skilfully that the cape covered both horse and rider.
There were many stunts and jumps over wide trenches filled with
water; no one fell into them. During the luncheon, which was served
under tents following the exercise, a message came stating that
Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia (August 1st, 1914). At
once we left for home.
I remember previous years when I was taken to see the review of the
troops annually in May. All the society of St. Petersburg felt it was a
privilege to pay hundreds of rubles for a box seat at these
maneuvers. The proceeds from the sale of tickets went to charities. I
still carry in my mind that upon our approach a signal was given and
cheers spread along the quays.
Our carriages were drawn each by two pairs of pure white horses.
Father always rode to the left side of Mother’s and Grandmother’s
equipage, accompanied by the staff. We sisters followed swiftly in
our carriage between the lines of troops until we reached the
Imperial box under a green tent. Father reviewed his troops. First to
march were the men of his own Preobrazhensky regiment, then the
Hussars, the Pavlovsky regiment, the Lancers, the cuirassiers and
the others.
Father did not think that the Emperor Francis Joseph would wage
war on Serbia on account of the killing of the Archduke and his wife.
Father thought so because of the remark the old Emperor had made,
in the presence of Father and persons about him, that the Archduke
was good for nothing, that not a bone in his body was worth saving,
and that he was not fit to carry the Crown.
During the latter part of the war several captured, high-ranking
Austrian officers told the Court Chamberlain, General Tatishchev,
that the old Emperor was directly responsible for the Sarajevo
incident and that the Archduke was purposely sent there, where he
was hated and murdered by oppressed Bosnians of the Dual
Monarchy. The officers thought it was a deliberate excuse to provoke
war and the aim was to destroy the little Kingdom of Serbia and take
it under control as had happened earlier with Bosnia and
Herzegovina. They knew that this little country would not be able to
resist the two powers, Austria-Hungary and Germany. But those
millions of suppressed plucky Serbs had already endured deprivation
of freedom and arrests and confiscation of their property under the
Dual Monarchy. They were determined to defend what was left of
their country from being dismembered again, and all were willing to
die for the right to live in their own land.
Father sent a telegram to Kaiser Wilhelm asking that the Austro-
Hungarian-Serbian dispute be tried by the International Arbitration
Court at The Hague. He also sent word to King Carol of Rumania to
wire the Kaiser that Russia did not want war. But all was in vain.
They took the killing of this good-for-nothing Archduke as a
deliberate excuse, even though the murder was committed by their
own citizens who resented the Dual Monarchy. It was common
knowledge that Russian mobilization which was under way was
directed against Austria, not Germany.
VIII
NO CHOICE BUT WAR
Events moved rapidly. Austria and Germany declared war on
Serbia. More than ever Father was shut away from us, doing all in
his power to keep Russia out of the conflict. But Russia was an ally
of Serbia. There was no choice. German and Austrian troops were
already mobilized and were conducting maneuvers near our border,
and soon we, too, were in war. Mother wept copiously. “Why,” she
asked, “should millions of Russians lose their lives because one man
is killed? Wilhelm has brought this on. I never trusted him. I never
forgave him the humiliation and indignities toward our Granny
(Queen Victoria).” My thoughts flew back to the visit in Germany
when the Kaiser was my friend. Only two years ago we had
exchanged jokes. Now he was Russia’s enemy, Mother’s enemy,
and mine. Wilhelm, Mother’s own cousin.
Before we knew it the Austrian troops were threatening the old
Russian fortification of Bendery. I was filled with forebodings. Being a
believer in dreams, I tried to interpret a dream I had had the night
before this news arrived. I dreamed that the forest on the Russian
western border was ablaze. I could hear the crackling of the timber
and could see fierce fire raging high into the sky.
A few years later, during my escape, I crossed these same forests
and remembered my dream. Then the trees were not on fire but lay
with their huge roots pulled out of the ground—witnesses of the
terrific suffering and tragedy that had occurred there.
At Tsarskoe Selo that evening, after the news of the German
advance, we prayed to the Almighty, hoping that disaster could still
be averted and peace could be maintained. We realized how much
Father was suffering when he appeared late for dinner. His face was
pale, his bearing indicated anguish. He said, “Russia has no choice
but war, when the armies of Germany and Austria are already on
Russian soil.” Mother burst into tears, and so did we all. Supper was
not finished that night. We left the table. That same evening, Foreign
Minister Sazonov and the British Ambassador, Sir George
Buchanan, spent half of the night conferring with Father. The next
day Father was at his desk at five in the morning, working until
breakfast. Alexei, who was ill, did not know about the war until the
next morning.
In the afternoon we all went to St. Petersburg, except Alexei. As we
were entering the Winter Palace, people gathered in the square and
surrounded us as they cheered. After an old Russian tradition they
kissed Father’s shoulders and Mother’s skirt. This display of loyalty
brought tears to Mother’s eyes. Father went directly to a meeting at
the huge Nicholas Concert Hall with the ministers and generals.
Then the Te Deum was sung. When Father appeared on the balcony
of the Winter Palace to read the Manifesto declaring war, all of us
children and other relatives stood behind him. At once the voices
died down and all was quiet as though the whole world had suddenly
fallen asleep. The thousands of people who had assembled in the
square knelt down, their garments making a rustling sound, and in
unison sang “God Save the Tsar.” At this time Father took an oath
that he would never make peace so long as one enemy remained on
Russian soil. Then he promised his people that he would defend all
the Slavs, even if he would have to shed his own blood. It was a
painful moment to announce to the people that war was an actuality.
We returned to Alexandria and several days later we all left for
Moscow. We were greeted with the same enthusiasm there. The
church bells rang continually as we passed from the station to the
Kremlin. People were everywhere, on roof tops, balconies and trees.
The Russian national anthem was heard repeatedly along the way.
Alexei was ill, and had to be carried to the Cathedral of the
Assumption to hear the Te Deum. The patriotic demonstrations
lasted three days. “Ura” (hurrah) resounded everywhere. From
Moscow we went near by to Sergievo to pray at the celebrated
Troitsko-Sergievskaya Lavra. Practically every living person in the
area lined the streets to the monastery, the richest and most
important monastery in Russia. It covered a large territory and was
surrounded by a lofty, thick wall with many towers. It contained some
dozen of churches and many historical treasures, some dating from
ancient days. Many pages of Russian history had been devoted to
this monastery, about the heroic defense by the monks in 1608
against the Poles. Here were the tombs of Tsar Boris Godunov and
his family. Here Father received an icon to carry with him through the
battles. This icon was sent to the field chapel at General
Headquarters and remained there to the last.
With war an actuality, all Russia seemed to unite in a determination
to win a quick victory. Whenever Father travelled, the people greeted
him enthusiastically; sometimes the whole family went with him and
heard him deliver his war messages. During these trips the air was
full of unity and the family never felt closer to the people. Many
letters were received from students who begged to be allowed to go
to war. “A beautiful patriotism,” Father said. “But how little they
understand what war is.”
During the first days of the war, all factions drew together in a great
patriotic surge. We saw some of our own relatives return to Russia to
take part in the war. We sisters hardly knew some of these relations.
All helped in the war effort; even our frail Grandmother did her bit in
hospital work. Later she spent a great deal of time in Kiev, with her
younger daughter Olga, our aunt, who worked in her own hospital
there as a Sister of Mercy. Being so near the front, she received the
most critical cases.
Life in the palace quickened. For days on end Mother could not think
of anything but the hospitals. Were they adequate for the most
certain strain ahead? She was not ignorant of the heavy task. In her
younger days, before her marriage, she had taken up medicine for a
while, knowing that the dreaded haemophilia might be in her genes.
She wanted to be prepared to take personal care of any children she
might have in the event they should inherit it. Later on, through the
long illness of Alexei and during the war, her previous knowledge of
this affliction helped enormously in her work. Mother also had a
medical library on the second floor in Tsarskoe Selo, where in
addition to texts, all kinds of anatomical diagrams and other
materials could be found. Even before the war she was an excellent
organizer of hospitals and charitable institutions, being particularly
interested in orphanages. In addition to her medical training, Mother
had studied philosophy in one of the German universities. In fact I
recall the very drawer in the desk in a room on the balcony where
she kept her documents and other papers of this nature. Most of all, I
was always sure, Mother was determined to meet with courage any
problems she had to face. So now, a nurses’ course was arranged
for Mother, Olga and Tatiana, so that they might serve the wounded
more effectively.
Alexei no longer played at soldiering. He was now in serious military
training. In Father’s study there was always a chair for Alexei, where
he sat on certain days listening to various reports brought by the
Ministers. He was not allowed to make any comments at these
conferences, although, after the Ministers left, he could ask
questions about anything that puzzled him.
“If Alexei could take part in things, why not I?” Mother said, “During a
war there are first duties. Yours is to continue your education in order
to be useful later on.” How disappointing. Yet the war-electrified
patriotism compelled me to dig in at my school work and to pursue
my formal education. Stirring sounds of bands and marching feet
often disturbed my good intentions. I learned the meaning of
discipline and self-sacrifice from the men under arms.
My newly awakened conscientiousness would not let me waste a
minute. Besides working on my lessons, I joined a group of young
women in hemming children’s dresses for various charities. Later
under Marie’s supervision we worked in the palace workroom on
garments and often we called officers of Father’s own regiment on
duty in the palace to turn the wheels of the sewing machines and
sort the garments.
We had learned sewing at an early age because Mother had always
stressed its importance in any woman’s life. She, herself, was expert
at sewing and during the early years of her marriage made some of
the layettes for us infants. Many of her embroideries sold at benefits
and some handmade blouses in silk or linen, beautifully tucked and
embroidered, went as gifts to our relatives in England and in
Germany.
Grandmother, too, was clever at hand work. She could repair her
own exquisite handkerchiefs so perfectly one would never know they
had been mended. Grandmother could knit well, too; during the war
she made fine woolen gloves for the soldiers and sent some to
Father. Marie and I concentrated on socks, gloves, and caps, and
received our war news while we were knitting in the evening. War
and our mutual problems became the greatest teachers of
responsibility. When I became the honorary chief of a regiment, the
148th Caspian Infantry, the monthly reports I received of my
regiment brought to me news of the losses in dead and wounded.
These reports were frightening and I ran to Olga to find what could
be done to ease the situation. She said; “Hundreds of wounded are
coming every day and it is horrible the way they suffer.” I heard that
the German losses were even greater.
Once again I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. Soon after this,
Mother allowed Marie and me to visit our own hospital more often.
As we entered the building they were carrying a wounded man with
bloody bandages. He was taken directly to the operating room; a
moment later they carried him right out again. The doctors had found
he was already dead when he was brought to the operating room. I
had a dizzy spell. I was ill. No, I never could be a doctor. The sight of
that poor boy could never be erased from my mind. For weeks I
could smell blood. Red became a haunting color with its reminder of
the horror of that picture. Even red medicine made me ill all over
again.
Day after day Olga and Tatiana worked beside Mother at the
hospital. They got up at seven, attended lectures, and then again
resumed their hospital work. In the evening, they read while knitting.
I could not understand how they endured it all. It was comforting,
however, to learn that Olga, like me, could not bear to see suffering.
Tatiana was like Mother in her ability to see beyond the suffering to
the relief she was able to give. Doctors were scarce, and Mother
assisted in many operations. Each day before going to the hospital
she stopped at the Znamensky Sobor, the little church she had
restored, to pray that her hands might be blessed with the power to
do things right. She felt so obligated to each wounded soldier, she
wanted to nurse him with her own hands to relieve his suffering. At
the sight of each new patient she prayed anew for the war to end.
She spent all day at the hospital and came home exhausted and
would lie on her sofa for a short rest.
With tragedy on all sides Father ordered strict economy. Every
possible kopeck must be saved to benefit the soldiers. Mother
reduced our staff of servants. Our meals became simpler. Father
insisted that the Court, without exception, must observe all the
restrictions. These economies were not too difficult for us children,
since we had not been brought up to expect extravagant luxuries.
Mother had always preached to us against wastefulness, and
against idleness. These ideals were now more necessary. We
accepted whatever we received with appreciation. We had very few
dresses. I wore the ones handed down from my sisters. Being much
smaller than they, the fit was not perfect and required alterations. A
few tucks here and there made me happy in them. When we did get
a new dress we were so careful with it that we could hardly bear to
sit down. Each of us had definite duties to perform.
Olga and Tatiana continued their studies and carried on with their
hospital work and also made out schedules for us younger sisters for
the next day. In addition they checked supplies for the hospitals,
attended meetings for charitable organizations, and supervised the
raising of money through concerts and plays. Many of the leading
artists donated their services and large sums were raised for the
expanding hospitals and other charities. Our friend Madame
Plevitskaya proved most helpful by generously donating her time and
her talent to the war effort. Mother eagerly awaited reports showing
the financial account of these benefits.
Marie and I selected gramophone records to be sent to the
convalescent wards, also books which the soldiers might like to read.
We ordered fruit, candies, cakes, games, stationery, soap and
pencils. Box after box was taken to the hospitals. Sometimes we
played dominoes with the men, or watched those who could play
croquet, or wrote letters to their families.
Our playrooms were now deserted. Alexei’s electric automobile had
been stored under the slide. His special duties kept him occupied, as
did his class work. When he did go for a ride, with a friend or with
one of his cousins, he made it appear as if they were engaged in an
important war project.
With the beginning of war most gaiety ceased. Benefits became the
social functions; anyone not helping was out of fashion. Everyone
worked together to make each benefit a successful affair. To raise
money, photographs of the Imperial family were sold. There were
name days set aside when one member of the family was played up
throughout Russia; the newspapers helped in the competition. It was
exciting to see whose photographs sold best. Tatiana proved a great
favorite with the people.
Many relatives and friends turned their homes into hospitals, often
paying the expenses themselves. In addition, they devoted all their
time to the wounded. Some had as many as seventy patients in their
residences. Olga designed an attractive calendar, each page gave
the historical event of that day. It became a favorite and was ordered
by the thousand. Aunt Olga, Father’s sister, made drawings and
paintings which brought large sums to charities. Moreover there
were outright gifts in large amounts. A banker named Yaroshinsky
donated over a quarter of a million rubles. Yaroshinsky was assistant
manager of Mother’s own hospital train. He reappears later in my
memories of Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg.
In 1915, before Father took over the Supreme Command of the
Russian Armies in the Field, there were occasional officers’ balls.
Father and Mother attended these affairs but stayed only long
enough to show their interest in them, always having in mind that it
might be their last gaiety. Marie and I were too young to attend any
of these functions at this time, but Olga and Tatiana went. When they
were dressed to leave they came to show themselves to Marie and
me that we might have a little touch of festivity. Their joy in being
gowned in evening clothes instead of the customary nurse’s uniform
made them radiantly happy.
Their eyes sparkled and their cheeks were flushed, making them
look more beautiful, so that I was sure each might meet her Prince.
Mother always wanted her daughters to be poised and act natural in
the company of men. It was all so romantic, I could hardly wait until I,
too, could go to such affairs. My sisters looked every bit the
princesses they were, soft and graceful in manner, stately and tall,
and we younger sisters had to be told about these parties over and
over again in every detail.
Aunt Olga, Father’s sister, from the kindness of her heart realized,
while the young men were at the front, the young ladies at home
were more than ever appreciative of a little gaiety. She, too, planned
several parties at her home in Petrograd (the new name for St.
Petersburg). These usually came on Sunday when we met a great
many young people. At other times, we were asked to see stage
plays at Countess Sheremetieva’s. The Countess was a close friend
of our Aunt Olga. We had a wonderful time at these parties.
Aunt Olga was very close to us girls, more like a sister than an aunt,
only thirteen years older than my sister Olga. She understood the art
of living; she was full of life and gaiety; her visits brought joy to our
lives. When she left, it seemed all the fun went with her. She loved
sports; besides tennis she liked skating and skiing; she played a
good game of billiards, often with her mother; also croquet and many
other games. She was an excellent painter. Her religious art was
appreciated by many churches. She was a woman of deep faith and
loved her religion. Mother and Aunt Olga often talked about religion.
The latter had a good voice and played several instruments. An
excellent linguist she spoke at that time Russian, English, French
and had some command of both Danish and German.
Her love for peasants was great. She disliked formality, and was
happy to by-pass the rules of etiquette, which were forced upon the
royal families. She considered them old-fashioned. She loved to
dress like a peasant. Because of her liberal views she became a
target of cheap gossip. Her husband, Prince Peter of Oldenburg,
was chronically ill. Uncle Peter was tremendously rich, but all his
wealth could not give her the child she so longed for. For this
marriage my Grandmother was responsible. Finally and after fifteen
years of marriage the Grand Duchess obtained an annulment,
against my Father’s wishes, and married Colonel Nicholai
Koulikovsky, a tall handsome officer, who was her former husband’s
aide-de-camp and the head of her hospital in Kiev. For this she was
criticized by gossiping women, but Aunt Olga felt it was her own
affair and not that of the women who did nothing good in their
lifetime but interfered with the lives of others. Prince Peter indeed
was nice but companionship alone was not enough to make their
marriage completely successful. This condition caused a strained
family relationship, and she was eventually to be exiled. But while we
were in Tobolsk even Father wrote to her.
While Grandmother was in Petrograd, even for a short visit, she
utilized her time folding bandages with her companions. Olga and
Tatiana after their meetings in the Winter Palace often drove to the
Anichkov Palace to take tea with Granny. They brought us news of
her. When she was not well, Mother sent us children to see her. We
took along some delicacies as a present. For some reason I felt
uncomfortable and self-conscious in Grandmother’s presence. I
could not help but admire her; she carried herself in such a stately
manner in her pretty clothes, mostly black.
During the early part of the war, Mother took us to Moscow to see
our Aunt Ella (Elizabeth), whose husband, the Grand Duke Serge,
was murdered by a bomb. I did not remember Aunt Ella in any other
way than in a nun’s costume with its finely draped habit covering her
hair entirely. Her features were beautiful and symmetrical. Many
highly titled men would have given anything if she would but
consider a second marriage; some even made suggestions to
Mother who, knowing her sister, realized it was useless.
I learned a great deal of history from her. She told us that when she
first came to Russia as the bride of Serge Alexandrovich, she
studied the Greek Orthodox religion with the court priest for several
years before she felt sufficiently versed in it to join the Church. The
night before Uncle Serge’s name day, she said to him, “I have a gift
for your name day.” “A piece of jewelry?” “No, my dear, something
more precious to you.” At breakfast next morning she said, “My gift to
you today is my embracing the Greek Orthodox religion.” Uncle
Serge replied: “This is the happiest day of my life since our
marriage.”
In 1914 when Aunt Ella was with us in the Crimea, she told us sisters
that during the Japanese war Uncle Serge offered to take command
of the army, confident that he would win and prevent a civil war. But
Count Witte, the Prime Minister, opposed it. A controversy ensued
and the two men became enemies. After the signing of the peace
treaty, which was encouraged by the President of the United States,
Theodore Roosevelt, Uncle Serge and Count Witte fought over it.
Soon after this someone threw a bomb at Uncle Serge as he was
leaving the Kremlin in a sleigh. Aunt Ella heard the explosion and
she knew it was intended for her husband. This occurred just outside
the gate. She and her lady in waiting ran out to find only the
remnants of his body which the two gathered with their bare hands
for burial. They also gathered the pieces of his torn uniform which
Aunt Ella enclosed in a holder in the shape of a cross and later kept
in her convent cell. It was after his death that Aunt Ella went into the
convent of Martha and Mary. From then on she wore a habit of her
order in soft pale gray, which was artistically draped around her
head. She thought Count Witte was behind the man who killed her
husband. Yet she forgave them. She even sent food, cigarettes, and
clothing to the prisoners who had murdered her husband and
frequently went to visit them in prison in spite of Father’s objections.
Many sufferings and much unrest took place while Count Witte was
Prime Minister (1905-6). Madame Narishkina often spoke to us
children about the opening of the Duma in 1906. She said that at the
time Mother, Grandmother and many others cried when during a
reception people marched to the Tauride Palace singing the
revolutionary song. She said, “Witte gave all the power to the Duma,
and because of the character of this power the Duma was dissolved
in 1906.” But it left the most damaging results, and these effects
germinated and were ripe at the opening of the Fourth Duma in
1912. Witte was still living at that time. Even during the war the
Duma so jeopardized the life of the nation that finally it collapsed.
The news from the front was for a time encouraging; there was talk
of a short war. People seemed to work harder than ever. At this time
Father was often summoned to the telephone which he did not want
to have on his desk in his study. Even while Father was on his daily
short walks, frequently an officer on a velocipede was dispatched to
fetch him on an urgent matter.
IX
FAMILY HEARTACHES
The news from the front was bad. There were serious reverses.
Father was staggered. The people and the army were dissatisfied
with Grand Duke Nicholai Nicholaevich, who was in command of the
Russian armies at the front. A change had become imperative.
My father now decided to take over the Supreme Command of the
Russian Armies in the Field. He realized that a tragic hour was at
hand. The Army already had begun to show disunity, under the
Grand Duke Nicholai Nicholaevich who continually complained about
Father, not only to Grandmother and our Aunts but also to the
officers of the high command. Father thought that this older giant
who was at least 6′ 4′′, would be better off in the warmer climate of
the Persian front as he suffered from rheumatism. But the Grand
Duke claimed that Father was jealous of his position.
Father’s decision meant going to General Headquarters and
entrusting the government to others in his absence, hoping for the
wholehearted support of the Duma. It also meant separation from the
family. Mother believed completely that this was the correct decision,
but never from that moment on was she free from constant worry.
Before his departure Mother drove with Father to the Cathedral of
Sts. Peter and Paul, then to Our Lady of Kazan to pray for guidance
in his undertaking and to dedicate all, even life itself, to the task.
Then they crossed the Troitsky bridge over the Neva, which was built
as a memorial to the silver wedding anniversary of Alexander III and
Marie Feodorovna.
At this time Mother believed she saw the sign of a cross in the sky.
This saddened her, for she became worried that Father by taking
command would encounter personal danger. She dreaded lest he
become the victim of some fanatic assassin, as was his grandfather,
Alexander II.
We realized this risk when we went to the Alexander Station to see
Father entrain for Mogilev. The waiting room was filled with guards
and secret police. No one was admitted except by special permit.
Even ministers and relatives could not enter except by invitation.
When the big, blue, Imperial train, with its double eagle crest, pulled
out of the station, we saw Father standing at the wide window of his
sitting room.
It was a comfort to know that each hundred feet of track was
guarded by a soldier against accidents or bombs. No one knew in
which car Father rode. All the church bells rang until the train was no
longer in sight. The Nicholas railway on which they travelled
provided a direct line to General Headquarters. Several days before
the trip, roads were searched and guards were posted. As a further
precaution, railroad tracks crossing the Nicholas line were removed
until Father’s train passed. Once he said, “I have known from my
early years that I will fall a victim for my country.” Nevertheless,
Father disliked all the fuss.
With Father speeding away from us, we knew he would carry on
efficiently and with determination. Of course he would miss his
family, but we were going to send him letters daily and an occasional
package containing needed articles. We often sent him fruit and
books and occasionally flowers received from Livadia. I can still hear
Mother say, as she examined the flowers while placing them in the
box, “When one sees these heavenly blossoms, how can one be
reconciled to this terrible war?” Whatever went into each package
was lovingly and tenderly packed; and Father knew it. Mother often
packed everything with her own hands and made a list of what she
included. A jaeger (messenger), an aide-de-camp, or a relative
waited until it was ready. Mother sometimes handed the package to
him personally and he departed to the undisclosed destination where
Father was. There was always a letter in the package, describing our
activities, sometimes only a note from Mother, containing a language
just the two of them could understand, words that made her love sing
in Father’s heart.
In going to General Headquarters, Father discarded all
conventionality. He went behind the lines to fight with his men in
arms. He took it as a matter of faith that it was his duty to sacrifice
everything in order to save Russia. He promised to do so the day he
took the Crown. He said, “I shall not allow my people to be insulted
and to be trampled upon by the enemy.”
His cheerful disposition gave great inspiration and happiness to the
Army whom he loved more than his family; here he found happiness
among his men in arms.
We heard of victories. Surely the war would soon end especially
since reports from the front showed that prisoners were captured by
tens of thousands at a time. “A supreme success,” Father wrote
home. No wonder a few months later the Kaiser wanted to sign a
peace.
Spring, 1916. Father sent word it would be impossible for him to be
with us at Easter. This was his first absence from home at this
important holiday, which in the Greek Orthodox religion is celebrated
more fervently than Christmas. Instead he sent Mother a gift from
G.H.Q., a most beautiful Easter egg, which he himself had designed.
It was indeed a rare gift, made by Fabergé himself because his
many workers were at the front and some of them had been killed.
M. Fabergé delivered it in person, and, in our presence, Mother
opened the beautifully wrapped package and exclaimed, “It is
exquisite. How can human hands make such a beautiful work of
art?” Then, when she opened the egg itself, five dainty miniatures of
us children unfolded in a row. Father had remembered Mother’s
expressed wish to own a miniature of us children. M. Fabergé
beamed with pleasure, as did Mother and we children. That Easter
the service was held by Father Vassiliev at the Feodorovsky Sobor
and we all took Communion.
Easter afternoon was the customary time to distribute gifts to the
hospital patients. These consisted of china eggs and real eggs and
some sweets. We “tied” hundreds of the special china eggs. They
had been decorated with the gold-crested double eagle with
Mother’s initials on one side and the Red Cross emblem on the
other. Usually they had the hole lengthwise from one end to the other
so that a ribbon could be pulled through to be suspended below an
icon under which there was a burning lamp (lampadka). Also, special
Easter eggs were made by Fabergé, and Father distributed them to
the Allied Mission as well as to deserving men. Mother, too, sent
some of these to Petrograd to the English Hospital for Lady Sybil
Grey so that she might give them to her patients. Mother also sent a
beautifully hand-painted one to Lady Sybil herself in appreciation for
her excellent work at the hospital, also to Lady Buchanan. Our
household maids received gold enamel bijou trinkets; many girls
wore a necklace of them for six weeks preceding Ascension Day.
This particular Easter afternoon, a little family argument ensued
between Mother and Olga, who wanted to wear a pretty dress for
this occasion. Mother insisted that Olga and Tatiana wear their
nurse’s uniforms as usual. There were pleadings, opinions, and
disagreements, but Mother stood her ground. We all went to the
hospital to which we were assigned and we sisters agreed among
ourselves that Mother was wrong and unfair to deny a change for the
two young girls, who would have found pleasure in appearing before
the patients in a different dress. In the evening, Alexei came running
into our bedroom. He was excited and upset. He informed us that
“Olga was crying.” He ran to his tutor’s room and returned. We
rushed into her bedroom and tried to comfort her, assuring her that
we felt Mother had been unjust. Olga soon forgot the whole thing
and Mother never knew of our indignation.
Mother worried about Father’s loneliness, in the midst of
responsibilities and without the comforts of home and family.
However, Mother was quite surprised when Father wrote that he had
no time to be lonely, and that, on his next trip home, he would take
Alexei with him to G.H.Q. M. Gilliard, his Swiss tutor, and others
would accompany Alexei, so that his studies need not be neglected.
Dina Derevenko and Nagorny would watch over him. Dr. Fedorov
was already at G.H.Q. as Father’s physician and also as lecturer to
the Headquarters hospital staff.
The more Mother thought on this subject the more reasonable it
seemed to her. Alexei would learn military science first hand. He
would get acquainted with officers and men, and learn about war in
general and foreign representatives in particular. Above all, he would
be the best possible company for his Father. So Alexei left home—in
tears. It was the first time he had been separated from Mother. While
Alexei was away, Mother would slip into his room every day and pray
on her knees beside his empty bed. His absence was a heartrending
experience for her. We tried hard to comfort and console her by
showing how much we, too, missed the little fellow.
So Alexei joined his Papa, but now Mother’s worries began to
increase. She telephoned almost every day, asking about Father’s
and Alexei’s health. She wondered whether Alexei was getting the
proper food, having enough sleep. Was he careful, or was Father too
busy to pay attention to Alexei? In spite of these worries she was
proud to hear that they were together, sharing the same room.
While Mother worried, Alexei was proud of his association with
Father. We discovered it when we arrived in Mogilev. With great
pride Alexei showed us his bed beside Father’s, then added, “We
say our prayers together, too. But sometimes, when I am tired and
forget, Papa says them for both of us.” He could not wait to show us
photographs of himself standing beside Father reviewing troops and
partaking of the soldiers’ rations. Father was proud to show Russia
what a real Tsarevich she had in Alexei and the tender relationship
between Father and son and the country. This made Mother proud
enough to endure the heartache of the little boy’s absence from
home. Alexei remained at General Headquarters.
Mother talked constantly about her “boys” at the hospitals. They
were all her boys. On her trips to nursing centers to visit the
wounded, Olga and Tatiana accompanied her when she made her
rounds. When the sickrooms were on the second floor, she had to be
carried upstairs in a wheel chair. She was their symbol of courage,
representing home and loved ones, and they died in peace. When
the day was done she was exhausted, but it seemed to mean so
much to the men that the Empress herself cared so deeply for their
welfare. She could never face death philosophically. She considered
each death as that of her own son, each death a fresh cause to
despair at the futility of war and the greed of Wilhelm.
She was a very good Christian and followed the religious teaching,
but towards the Kaiser she disregarded all the teachings of
Christianity and her hatred for him was beyond description.
Mother, seeing all the young on the verge of death, suffered
vicariously with them, and spent many sleepless nights pacing the
floor. Often in the darkness of the night, she ordered her chauffeur to
drive her to the cemetery. From grave to grave this tall shadow went
and said a prayer in this quiet place for the young men. She knew
them all and grieved over the loss of the lives they gave to their
country. She often sent us sisters to plant flowers on the graves of
these men; they were all her children.
I cannot describe more deeply nor find words that could give a better
understanding and do justice to this much misunderstood woman.
She insisted upon being present at the most gruesome operations.
Carefully she handed the instruments to the surgeon, while one of
my sisters stood by with the freshly threaded needles ready for use.
Mother, looking upon these heartrending scenes, tried to give her
very inner self to these sons and husbands and brothers of Russia.
So did the nurses who worked heroically in our hospitals or public
institutions, practically all of them volunteers. Mother never
postponed taking care of important matters. She checked the reports
on supplies for the hospitals to see if they were sufficient.
Mother had at first considered the question of the duration of Alexei’s
stay at G.H.Q. Now she planned a hospital inspection tour in the
area, so that she would be able to bring him home. But Father and
General Hanbury-Williams asked Mother to let the little boy stay at
G.H.Q. We left for home without Alexei.
When Father was absent for any reason, General Alexeiev was in
complete command. All military matters were discussed between
them; they worked together congenially. A number of times Father
took Alexei with him to inspect the troops of Generals Ivanov and
Brussilov and to decorate all those involved in heroic action with
crosses. The soldiers were quite impressed with Alexei. In the
uniform of a private, he stood proudly beside Father during military
reviews. By the erectness of his posture and the tenseness of his

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