For many Spanish speakers, Spanglish is perceived as a bastardized form of Spanish that does not count as "real" Spanish. This view rests on the assumption that there is a "real" Spanish, which operates by a set of grammatical, lexical and morphological rules such that when bilingual speakers mix into these rules elements that…

This project explores how the variation in language experiences and attitudes that Mexican American Spanish heritage speaker bilinguals in the United States have affects their speech perception in both their languages. Heritage language bilinguals speak as a first language a minority language that they have cultural ties to (e.g., Spanish in the…

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…

Educational interpreters are not neutral mediators of messages. In education, they are policy brokers whose translations can reflect their own social identities and often align with larger social power dynamics, including deficit perspectives of racialized multilingual people. In U.S. schools, language minoritized parents have the right to make…

This study explored 17 bilingual teacher candidates' (bilingual TCs) representations of their lived experience of language via linguistic portraits. Specifically, attention was paid to the semiotic elements (space, place, time, and the body) these bilingual TCs employed and the ways this assemblage of elements formed raciolinguistic chronotopes.…

This qualitative case study used practitioner research methods to address the question: How does a Mexican American teacher create counter-hegemonic spaces in a Spanish Language Arts classroom utilizing critical race and borderlands theories? The research focused on how I as a teacher-built trust and respect through "place"--here, the…

Qualitative research is often overlooked in regards to policy development and practices. This is due to the critique that it lacks the capability to determine cause and effect in educational settings. The advent of qualitative metasynthesis has provided one route to such studies becoming more generalizable. This study implements such a study in…

This study counters the popular assumption that Spanish Heritage Language Learners (SHLLs) on study abroad (SA) in a place of cultural origin can easily adapt and find acceptance due to the linguistic and cultural resources they bring with them. Our study builds on previous work to illustrate a more nuanced and complex story of desires for…

The present study examined the production of inalienable possession with body parts in Spanish among 20 school-age children of Mexican-born parents born and raised in the United States. The results were compared to those of 20 first-generation immigrant parents (main input providers), 27 Spanish-dominant children of similar age, and 12 Spanish…

This study investigated the changes that occur in mothers' language and interactions with their preschool-aged children who have language difficulties when a Spanish language-based intervention was provided within their homes. The intervention was provided using toys and routines that existed within their homes. Three Spanish speaking mothers of…

Collaborative partnerships between families and teachers have the potential to support and transform students' mathematics learning experiences. This study focused on interactions among mothers and teachers of multilingual elementary grade students who participated together in workshops focused on teaching and learning mathematics. We analyzed…

This study examined the collateral effects of deportation on the children of mixed-immigration households where the father is Mexican and has been deported, the mother is American, and the children were born in the United States. These children are American citizens by birth, but after spending most of their lives in the United States, they begin…

The present study examined Latinx school readiness and 3rd grade student achievement, considering differences based on social categories of gender, race, ethnicity, and home language. The sample included 683 racially diverse children (M[subscript age] = 4.94; SD = 0.57) of Dominican- or Mexican-origin from Spanish-English or Spanish-only…

The border, as defined by Gloria Anzaldúa, is conceptually marked by an ideological site called "nepantla"--a Nahuatl word that refers to a space existing in-between worlds. Nepantla is a performative site for visual art and writing. Making borderlands foods is an active space that exists in-between worlds. Using a performative approach…

In 1940s America, along the Texas-Mexico border, las escuelitas -- or little schools -- were places Mexican American parents sent their young children to begin their academic learning. These escuelitas, however, were no ordinary schools. They did not teach students to read, write, and speak in English. Rather, they sought to develop, maintain and…