Using a holistic biliteracies framework, this longitudinal comparative case study explores how two racioinguistically marginalized BPSTs (one heritage Spanish/English bilingual and one initially Spanish-dominant Mexican national) grew in their understanding of biliteracies development and their enactment of biliteracies pedagogies in the beginning…

This qualitative study explores the roles that undergraduate Spanish as a second language (L2) learners ascribe to their identities, backgrounds, sociocultural contexts, and imaginations in the development of their ideal second language (L2) selves (Dornyei 2009), rooted L2 selves (MacIntyre et al., 2017) and investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015;…

The most recent "Open Doors" report by the Institute of International Education (IIE, 2020) indicates that the number of non-white U.S. study abroad students has been steadily growing over the past 10 years, and now it accounts for 31% of all students pursuing part of their education abroad. This study focuses on four Spanish heritage…

A large body of scholarship focuses on how to prepare White teachers to teach students of Color and guide them to make sense of their Whiteness. Using testimonio, this article adds diversity to teacher preparation literature and makes space for Kelly, a Mexican American preservice generalist teacher, to share her story. In particular, I highlight…

This study used peer-led focus groups to investigate heritage language (HL) and second language (L2) students' language ideologies and identities in "mixed" Spanish courses. We analyzed students' perceptions of themselves and each other, their understandings of fairness in mixed classes, and the relationship of such perceptions to…

In this study, we examine translingual identity poems written by three focal Latinx Teacher Candidates (TCs) in response to assignments in their Teacher Education Program (TEP). To interpret the focal TCs work, we bring together theories of raciolinguicized subjectivities, translingual literacies, and sociopolitical wisdom. Through thematic…

Language ideologies are a powerful way of perpetuating inequalities, as peripheralized speakers who have internalized the lack of legitimacy attributed to them often end up reproducing censure rather than resisting it. Foregrounding the affective dimension, this paper explores the role of shame as a fulcrum articulating the individual with the…

Study abroad (SA) is touted for providing language learners with regular exposure to a second language (L2) in naturalistic settings. However, few studies have examined how interaction occurs in situ. This study analyzed 13 hours of naturalistic dyadic conversations self-recorded by 15 US-based undergraduate sojourners studying abroad for one…

We present an analysis of bilingual pre-service teachers' translanguaging practices when co-teaching bilingual art gallery lessons as a field experience in a Spanish/English bilingual/bicultural teacher education program. Using a critical bilingual literacies approach, we posed an opportunity for bilingual/bicultural pre-service teachers to be…

This article examines the effects of language development among Hispanic women/Latinas and how such learning is shaped by bicultural and linguistic practices while navigating institutions of higher education. This qualitative, phenomenological study is part of a larger study designed to gather the perceptions of 25 Hispanic women/Latinas about…

Previous research has proposed a crucial role for critical experiences in language learning to better understand how learners understand and discursively construct their self-concept (Mercer, 2011, 2016; Serafini, 2020a; Thompson, 2020). However, studies have mainly explored critical experiences in the narratives of foreign language learners of…

Over the last several years, faculty have engaged students and community members in a series of collaborative projects with the goal of addressing complex issues such as identity, language, and belonging. I posit that the work we have been doing constitutes a broader innovative humanities project centered on cultural studies. To demonstrate as…

Contextualized within our "Projects in Humanization" in language teacher education and part of our on-going collaborative self-study of our language teacher educator practices, we used multiple case study to examine multimodal representations of cultural and linguistic identities curated by three language teachers--Daniel, Yuseva, and…

Even though study abroad programs in Spanish-speaking countries are increasingly popular, there are hardly any programs specifically designed for Spanish heritage language learners (Beaudrie, Ducar, & Potowski, 2014). However, there are many heritage language learners who still choose a Hispanic country to study abroad. How can we as…

Research on Latinx students studying abroad is minimal. As such, our primary research question for this study was: What are the identity-oriented experiences of Latinx students of color on a short-term study abroad program? We use a decolonial theoretical perspective to frame our study. The overarching assertion of a "decolonial journey of…