Within the past few decades, notable contributions have been made in heritage language education research that continued to gain ground in language pedagogy and teaching practices (e.g., Davila, 2017; Valdes, 2000; Fishman, 2001; Kelleher, 2010; Polinsky & Kagan 2007). This dissertation is guided by translanguaging and social identity, two…

The objective of the present study is to analyze word-initial voice onset time (VOT) in the context of code-switching (CS). More specifically, this study combines research methods from sociolinguistics and phonetics to investigate how 32 heritage Spanish speakers (HSSs) of Mexican descent, living in Indiana, produce VOT for /p t k/ in word-initial…

The purpose of this study was to comprehend the motivations and learning experiences of Chinese Heritage Language Learners (CHLLs) who study in Chinese programs in California public high schools where Chinese American students are under-studied and their voices are not heard. The study used Gardner's Socio-educational Model, Fishman's Reversing…

This dissertation explored the perspectives of stakeholders within a university-level Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) program in Arizona, focusing on their language ideologies and critical language education efforts. The study, rooted in Critical Language Awareness (CLA) and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) frameworks, challenges deficit-based…

The Los Angeles Unified School District has undertaken an experiment in the education of immigrant students learning English. Over the 2021-2023 school years, the district opened three new high school Academies for recently-immigrated students explicitly tasked with centering their home languages to support their success in school. The students…

A vast amount of Latina/o/x students enroll in US public schools with the potential to become bilingual in English and Spanish. However, this potential is often dismissed, ignored, and their Spanish is perceived as a problem to be overcome. Despite this, some Latina/o/x bilingual students decide to become Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL)…

Translanguaging, an emergent theoretical orientation to language, has become a widely discussed topic in writing studies with the rise of translingual movement in composition. Challenging the ideologies of standardization and monolingualism, translanguaging forwards towards a pedagogy of difference and facilitates transcending the…

This exploratory research study analyzed the relationships between attitude, preference, and achievement of English Language Learner (ELL) students in high school from Brazil. The study presented what relationships exist between attitude, preference and achievement in reading for both L1 Portuguese, and L2 English. The Middle and Secondary Reading…

Perspectives from educators and students elucidate how systemic language discrimination and oppression (i.e., linguicism) are perpetuated in the New York education system, even though it has one of the most comprehensive approaches to supporting multilingual students in the nation (Sugarman, 2016). The legacy of teaching English as a colonizing…

This qualitative multi-case study examined the co-construction of elementary dual language students' language use and identity to understand how five individual students positioned themselves as bilingual individuals as well as how this relates to their investment in the language-learning process. This study also investigated the influence of…

This critical ethnography examines how the language ideologies of non-teaching staff (NTS) shape language practices in a bilingual PreK-8 school. Recent research on two-way bilingual education reveals the ways that the language ideologies of teachers, administrators, and parents can support the privileging of English in bilingual programs by…

This dissertation presents findings from a qualitative interview based study that examines the language ideological stances of former bilingual educators who now serve as school counselors. Data was collected through interviews, artifact analysis, member checks, and analytical memos with a total of ten participants. The study revealed the majority…

K-12 schools in the United States play an important role in developing global competence in students. As technology, communications, and economics increase globalization, students must interact with and thrive in cultures different from their own. Educators must develop globally competent citizens with critical knowledge, skills, and mindsets to…

K-12 schools in the United States play an important role in developing global competence in students. As technology, communications, and economics increase globalization, students must interact with and thrive in cultures different from their own. Educators must develop globally competent citizens with critical knowledge, skills, and mindsets to…

This dissertation focuses on the consequences of exclusionary ethnic nationalisms by examining historical and contemporary language practices regarding educational systems in Burma. Despite its long presence, Burmanisation has recently gained heightened attention as it is central to the political discourses that emerged in response to the military…