heritage language Program direction
+ teaching
I have worked on the design, development and direction of two Spanish programs for heritage/native speakers in two quite different contexts within the US: West Texas and Central Indiana. My work in West Texas was conducted between 2014 and 2018, while I was a PhD student at Texas Tech University and served as program coordinator. I was fortunate to work very closely with my mentor, Dr Diego Pascual y Cabo, who at the time was the program director. Among other things, I coordinated meetings, (re)designed syllabi, developed activity banks and materials, and played an important part in the launching of the program, ensuring high recruitment. I take pride in having contributed to the program's move from a one-course structure (with one section open at a time) to 4 courses with multiple sections fully enrolled any given semester. Moreover, I directed the service-learning program for heritage speakers, and played a central role in its design and implementation. The service-learning program connected over 70 students from the Heritage Program with three local elementary schools through a series of language-arts workshops evolving around the scope of STEM, performance, and writing.
A few months before graduating in May 2018, I accepted a job at Indiana University, on the Indianapolis campus (IUPUI). Since then, I've been working very closely with the Latinx student community, both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels. At the undergraduate level, my goal was to create a program for heritage speakers: an element that as not present on campus when I arrived. I began teaching one composition-intensive course (with 12 students), and over the last four semesters the course has tripled in size, and is now evolving into a multi-course program, with multiple sections and instructors, linkages to other programs on campus, and near-ceiling graduation rates. Our students typically declare Spanish as a minor or major, and have great success in pursuing internships (nationally and internationally), publishing their work, and becoming strong advocates of bi-/multilingualism in the community. My goal is to support first-generation Latinx students succeed, not only in their language studies, but holistically, as professionals and as 21st century citizens.
Besides the pursuit of biliteracy, practice of the heritage language in new genres and contexts, and the development of positive socio-affective profiles, my SHL programs emphasize peer-mentoring, attention to digital literacies, connections with the community, and experiential learning opportunities that center collaboration and high-impact. In my administrative efforts, I seek to export my students' talent through different collaborative initiatives with other, schools, departments and units around campus.
Besides these two programs for heritage speakers, I have played key roles in the development and implementation of other programs, including an intercampus online Bachelor's of Science in Spanish, a collaborative degree in teacher education (with the Indiana University School of Education), and an Online Graduate Certificate in Spanish Teacher Education (offered in collaboration with Indiana University-Bloomington).
Alongside my work as program developer and administrator, I teach courses at the undergraduate and the graduate levels on the IUPUI campus. These courses are all in the interdisciplinary field of applied linguistics, and fall into three strands: the teaching and learning of languages (educational linguistics), the theories underpinning how languages are acquired at different stages in life (language acquisition), and the array of forms languages take in different geopolitical spaces, the speakers who use them, and the nature of this body of knowledge (critical sociolinguistics).
My students come from all walks of life. My undergraduate students are often first-generation, multilingual, and culturally diverse. They bring a wonderful breadth of experiences and abilities to our classroom, and it's always exciting to see them become stronger, more critical multilingual communicators towards the end of the semester. My graduate students also come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of them are practicing teachers in the K-12 and college systems who want to become stronger teacher, while some others come with the intention of becoming familiar with how language teaching and learning works, as they prepare to enter the teaching workforce. The remaining ones have an interest in research and seek to explore (and eventually contribute to) the research literature. I enjoy working and collaborating with all of them in different projects.
Ultimately, my goal in the classroom is to create spaces to explore what it means to be multilingual, and in doing so, to become more critical citizens with nuanced understanding of how language (and race) interplay(s) with and affect(s) social justice. I allow my classrooms to be messy spaces where learning happens, rather than seemingly organized ones driven by my teaching alone. I believe in curricula that promote translational relationships with local communities, while considering the realities of our hyperconnected, globalized world.
Finally, I was trained in a research lab structure, and I have benefitted (very much) from the generous investment my mentors have made (and continue to make) in me. I have enjoyed many long conversations, one-on-one tutorías, data coding sessions, and writing retreats with truly outstanding researchers in the field of applied linguistics, all within a lab mentorship "hierarchy". These people's impact on me has been tremendous. I, therefore, include different forms of research in my classes. Many of my students apply to join my research group after finishing my courses, and I take that to be evidence of the benefits of structured research at all levels.
Courses I regularly teach at Indiana University (IUPUI) include:
Second language acquisition of Spanish (Graduate)
Methods for teaching college Spanish (Graduate)
Teaching practicum (Graduate)
Hispanic sociolinguistics (Graduate)
Spanish as a heritage language (Graduate)
Applied linguistics (undergraduate)
Independent readings: Bilingualism in the US (undergraduate)
Spanish composition for heritage/native speakers (undergraduate)
Intro to Spanish Language for heritage speakers (undergraduate)
Spanish composition for second language learners (undergraduate)
Additionally, I am lucky to have colleagues from other institutions call on me to facilitate courses and training opportunities in other universities, such as The University of Winsconsin-Whitewater (US), and Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) - where I am International Professor of Spanish as a Heritage Language for their MA program in Spanish as a Foreign Language Teaching. Being able to collaborate with friends and colleagues from other institutions and advance their student body's understanding and capabilities to work with minoritized and racialized multilinguals is nothing short of a privilege.
A few months before graduating in May 2018, I accepted a job at Indiana University, on the Indianapolis campus (IUPUI). Since then, I've been working very closely with the Latinx student community, both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels. At the undergraduate level, my goal was to create a program for heritage speakers: an element that as not present on campus when I arrived. I began teaching one composition-intensive course (with 12 students), and over the last four semesters the course has tripled in size, and is now evolving into a multi-course program, with multiple sections and instructors, linkages to other programs on campus, and near-ceiling graduation rates. Our students typically declare Spanish as a minor or major, and have great success in pursuing internships (nationally and internationally), publishing their work, and becoming strong advocates of bi-/multilingualism in the community. My goal is to support first-generation Latinx students succeed, not only in their language studies, but holistically, as professionals and as 21st century citizens.
Besides the pursuit of biliteracy, practice of the heritage language in new genres and contexts, and the development of positive socio-affective profiles, my SHL programs emphasize peer-mentoring, attention to digital literacies, connections with the community, and experiential learning opportunities that center collaboration and high-impact. In my administrative efforts, I seek to export my students' talent through different collaborative initiatives with other, schools, departments and units around campus.
Besides these two programs for heritage speakers, I have played key roles in the development and implementation of other programs, including an intercampus online Bachelor's of Science in Spanish, a collaborative degree in teacher education (with the Indiana University School of Education), and an Online Graduate Certificate in Spanish Teacher Education (offered in collaboration with Indiana University-Bloomington).
Alongside my work as program developer and administrator, I teach courses at the undergraduate and the graduate levels on the IUPUI campus. These courses are all in the interdisciplinary field of applied linguistics, and fall into three strands: the teaching and learning of languages (educational linguistics), the theories underpinning how languages are acquired at different stages in life (language acquisition), and the array of forms languages take in different geopolitical spaces, the speakers who use them, and the nature of this body of knowledge (critical sociolinguistics).
My students come from all walks of life. My undergraduate students are often first-generation, multilingual, and culturally diverse. They bring a wonderful breadth of experiences and abilities to our classroom, and it's always exciting to see them become stronger, more critical multilingual communicators towards the end of the semester. My graduate students also come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of them are practicing teachers in the K-12 and college systems who want to become stronger teacher, while some others come with the intention of becoming familiar with how language teaching and learning works, as they prepare to enter the teaching workforce. The remaining ones have an interest in research and seek to explore (and eventually contribute to) the research literature. I enjoy working and collaborating with all of them in different projects.
Ultimately, my goal in the classroom is to create spaces to explore what it means to be multilingual, and in doing so, to become more critical citizens with nuanced understanding of how language (and race) interplay(s) with and affect(s) social justice. I allow my classrooms to be messy spaces where learning happens, rather than seemingly organized ones driven by my teaching alone. I believe in curricula that promote translational relationships with local communities, while considering the realities of our hyperconnected, globalized world.
Finally, I was trained in a research lab structure, and I have benefitted (very much) from the generous investment my mentors have made (and continue to make) in me. I have enjoyed many long conversations, one-on-one tutorías, data coding sessions, and writing retreats with truly outstanding researchers in the field of applied linguistics, all within a lab mentorship "hierarchy". These people's impact on me has been tremendous. I, therefore, include different forms of research in my classes. Many of my students apply to join my research group after finishing my courses, and I take that to be evidence of the benefits of structured research at all levels.
Courses I regularly teach at Indiana University (IUPUI) include:
Second language acquisition of Spanish (Graduate)
Methods for teaching college Spanish (Graduate)
Teaching practicum (Graduate)
Hispanic sociolinguistics (Graduate)
Spanish as a heritage language (Graduate)
Applied linguistics (undergraduate)
Independent readings: Bilingualism in the US (undergraduate)
Spanish composition for heritage/native speakers (undergraduate)
Intro to Spanish Language for heritage speakers (undergraduate)
Spanish composition for second language learners (undergraduate)
Additionally, I am lucky to have colleagues from other institutions call on me to facilitate courses and training opportunities in other universities, such as The University of Winsconsin-Whitewater (US), and Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) - where I am International Professor of Spanish as a Heritage Language for their MA program in Spanish as a Foreign Language Teaching. Being able to collaborate with friends and colleagues from other institutions and advance their student body's understanding and capabilities to work with minoritized and racialized multilinguals is nothing short of a privilege.
