Moving CLA beyond the classroom walls: Development and Outcomes of a Latinx ambassador program
Document Type
Keynote
Location
Plenary Session
Start Date
19-10-2024 2:00 PM
End Date
19-10-2024 3:00 PM
Abstract
This presentation engages with the critical turn of the field of Spanish heritage language (SHL) education, which is characterized by the position that intergenerational Spanish maintenance is unattainable unless learners become cognizant of the language ideologies and practices that shape their bilingual and educational experiences (Beaudrie & Loza, 2022; Beaudrie & Vergara Wiilson, 2022). In the last decade, SHL scholars have increasingly called for the development of pedagogical practices, curriculum, and, most relevant to this presentation, programmatic initiatives that contest the educational disparities that U.S. Latinx learners face in language education and beyond. In response to this need, critical language awareness(CLA) has become a central framework with which to envision classroom spaces that honor and respect learners and their sociolinguistic varieties (Beaudrie & Loza, 2022; 2023; Holguín Mendoza, 2018; Leeman, 2005, 2012, 2018). This presentation argues that CLA should be conceptualized as both a curricular framework and broader programmatic philosophy. To illustrate this perspective, I discuss the design, implementation, and outcomes of an SHL student ambassador program at a large university in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The outcomes of this initiative, which are evidenced by student interviews and focus group data, suggest that SHL student ambassadors were able to make connections and apply the CLA gained in their courses in this position. This presentation highlights the applied ways in which theoretical frameworks such as CLA can inform the development of innovative programmatic initiatives that enrich SHL education and, thus, further extending this line of research.
Moving CLA beyond the classroom walls: Development and Outcomes of a Latinx ambassador program
Plenary Session
This presentation engages with the critical turn of the field of Spanish heritage language (SHL) education, which is characterized by the position that intergenerational Spanish maintenance is unattainable unless learners become cognizant of the language ideologies and practices that shape their bilingual and educational experiences (Beaudrie & Loza, 2022; Beaudrie & Vergara Wiilson, 2022). In the last decade, SHL scholars have increasingly called for the development of pedagogical practices, curriculum, and, most relevant to this presentation, programmatic initiatives that contest the educational disparities that U.S. Latinx learners face in language education and beyond. In response to this need, critical language awareness(CLA) has become a central framework with which to envision classroom spaces that honor and respect learners and their sociolinguistic varieties (Beaudrie & Loza, 2022; 2023; Holguín Mendoza, 2018; Leeman, 2005, 2012, 2018). This presentation argues that CLA should be conceptualized as both a curricular framework and broader programmatic philosophy. To illustrate this perspective, I discuss the design, implementation, and outcomes of an SHL student ambassador program at a large university in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The outcomes of this initiative, which are evidenced by student interviews and focus group data, suggest that SHL student ambassadors were able to make connections and apply the CLA gained in their courses in this position. This presentation highlights the applied ways in which theoretical frameworks such as CLA can inform the development of innovative programmatic initiatives that enrich SHL education and, thus, further extending this line of research.