Modern Languages Commons^™

Chapter 1 “A Veces Encuentro Más Palabras En Español”: Taking A Stance Towards Translanguaging As A Socially Just Pedagogy For Bilingual Teacher Preparation, Sandra I. Musanti

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Informed by recent explorations on translanguaging practices in higher education and teacher education, this self-case study explores how a bilingual teacher educator, teaching bilingual teacher preparation courses in Spanish at a Hispanic-serving institution on the US-Mexico border embraces a translanguaging stance to leverage teacher candidates’ bilingualism while preparing them to produce and use academic and professional forms of Spanish discourse for teaching. Findings illustrate how a bilingual teacher educator purposefully embeds translanguaging moves to leverage bilingual teacher candidates’ bilingualism to develop a linguistically inclusive bilingual teacher candidates’ repertoire of practice. In addition, the study shows how candidates’ evolving understanding of …

Instructional Framework For Integrating Cross-Cultural Content Using Culturally Responsive And Linguistically Affirming Pedagogies, J. Joy Esquierdo, Maritza De La Trinidad

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter describes an instructional framework for culturally relevant and affirming teaching and curricula that addresses effective ways to interconnect cross-cultural content to expand cultural and content literacy in K-12. The Culturally and Linguistically Affirming Pedagogies for Local Context (CLAP-LC) Framework was developed to create culturally and linguistically affirming content, promote equitable education, and nurture student engagement. The framework centers on the intersection of cultural knowledge and lived experiences of students, families, and communities in content and curriculum to promote student achievement, especially students from minoritized and marginalized groups.

Unchoreographed Dance: Trust And Venture Into Vulnerability—Building A Plural, Organic, And Recursive Collective, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Eunice Lerma, Karin A. Lewis, Vejoya Viren

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

In this autoethnography, we—four Hispanic Serving Institution colleagues at the USA–Mexican frontera—share our process of building a collective where a plural, organic, vulnerable, and recursive space was created. In this space, through readings, conversations, feedings, discussions, and memories, un/anticipated stories emerge…in our unchoreographed writings, we whirl, twirl, collide, and craft our collective space, which was at once chaotic, cathartic, and sustaining.

The Backchannel: A Re/Turn To Digital Communities, Andrew Hollinger, Manny Piña

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This article provides a novel theorization of what community-building means—and how it might happen—in digitally mediated teaching and learning environments. We argue for the value in understanding community through a distributed (read: non-human), non-institutionalized lens. We begin by re/turning the definition/s of the backchannel; we then theorize about the instructional and professional values of the backchannel using autoethnographic narratives drawn from our time as doctoral students in a fully online, synchronous graduate program. Finally, we conclude by drawing attention to implications and problems and potentials of our theorization of the backchannel.

Reporting At The Border: Translation In Periodicals At The Texas-Tamaulipas Border During The 19th Century, Gabriel Gonzalez Nunez

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the historical relationship between journalism and translation. It approaches translation history by considering journalistic translation as found in newspapers published in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (the southernmost, easternmost stretch of the Mexico-US border) during the 19th century. Specifically, the paper will ask whether translation was a tool employed in journalistic activity in the region and, if so, what the role was of translation in such activity. It will review the presence of translation in available border periodicals from the 1840s to the end of the century. This review will show that regarding certain aspects, historical news …

Negotiating The Messiness Of Teaching Linguistic Justice Online: Reflections Of Multilingual Writing Instructors During Covid, Forster Kudjo Agama, Marcela Hebbard, Bernadette M. López-Fitzsimmons

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This qualitative phenomenological study explores how multilingual writing instructors define linguistic justice and how they incorporate linguistic justice in their online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health crisis officially declared in March 2020, pushed educators around the world to become online instructors overnight. This rapid move to an online environment magnified technology, language, race, and socioeconomic inequalities. In higher education, online environments are prone to linguistic inequalities and linguistic racism. For decades, scholars in the field of composition have argued that in order to dismantle elitist monolingual ideologies, writing instructors, multilingual and monolingual alike, should investigate their own …

Exploring Implicit Linguistic Bias: A Self-Reflection Guide, Alyssa G. Cavazos

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

The purpose of this document is to explore and reflect on implicit linguistic biases to create linguistically inclusive spaces for teaching and learning, especially within the context of writing instruction.

Threshold For Learning: The Case For Prioritizing The In-Between Spaces In Education, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

In this paper, the author analyses learning as a function of the threshold between parties and ideas. Using Bakhtinian dialogic theory, literacy learning in particular is envisioned as a dialogue of the threshold. This instructional threshold is viewed both in pedagogical and biological terms. The physiological process of learning is described, making a biological case for instructional scaffolding and the gradual release of responsibility in the classroom. The dialogue of different disciplines serves as integration of several thresholds and further strengthening of learning. Curriculum integration is then promoted as a means to lasting learning.

La Voz 2023, Loyola Marymount University, Modern Languages & Literatures Department

La Voz Student Journal

LA VOZ is published by the Modern Languages & Literatures Department, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.

Mystic Writers: Religion From A Perspective Of Gender In The Poetry Of St. Teresa Of Avila And St. John Of The Cross, Megan Swope

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Religion and the way in which people approach it is a complicated topic. There are a multitude of ways in which humans experience religion in their lives. Christian mysticism is a type of thought within the Christian religion, and it is evident in the works of two Spanish writers – Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. These two saints are good examples to study because, as writers and mystics, they worked closely together in the Spanish Catholic Church and had similar religious beliefs. Much of their writings tie into the same Biblical ideas, while their poetry demonstrates a …

Empowering L2 Learners: The Role Of Relational Empathy In L2 Learning, Gabriela Olivares-Cuhat, Giovanni Zimotti

Faculty Publications

In this article, we explore the relevance of the concept of relational empathy to L2 learning. To this end, we first provide a short overview of the notion of empathy in second language acquisition (SLA). Then, we present ideas that gave rise to the introduction of relational empathy in the field of intercultural communication, along with potential benefits of taking this perspective in SLA. Next, we describe the post-method framework for L2 teaching as a strategy that is both well-suited for the fostering of relational empathy and is facilitated by the exercise of this approach. Following this lead, we explain …

Review: Expanding Writing Center Research With Discourse Analysis, Sara Swaim, Randall W. Monty

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

Corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS) is a growing field of study that provides for holistic understandings of written texts, spoken discourse, rhetorical strategies, and the people who use them. Organized as a discussion of the topics, methods, and their potential applications for writing center research, this essay reviews three edited collections, Corpus Approaches to Discourse: A Critical Review by Charlotte Taylor and Anne Marchi (Routledge, 2018); The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Approaches to Discourse Analysis by Eric Friginal and Jack A. Hardy (Routledge, 2020); and Research Methods for Digital Discourse Analysis by Camilla Vásquez (Bloomsbury, 2022). Each introduces a range of …

Voces Y Relatos De La Violencia En Jóvenes Universitarias: Coahuila–Texas, Iris Rubi Monroy Velasco, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Karla Patricia Valdés-García, Leilani Flores Valdés

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

La violencia es una problemática social que compromete la salud pública en el mundo. Podemos encontrar violencia en todos los ámbitos, desde la violencia íntima, en el espacio doméstico con la familia, hasta en espacios de trabajo, estudio o diversión, causada por conocidos o desconocidos y generada por una diversidad de razones. Este capítulo tiene por objetivo entrever los tipos de violencia que experimentan estudiantes universitarias en la frontera Noroeste de México del estado de Coahuila y en la frontera sur de los Estados Unidos en el estado de Texas.

Diversity, Dignity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Age Of Division, Discord, And Disunion: Stereotyping, Sexist, Hegemony In Education, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The article addresses diversity issues related to language, gender, and culture. Topics include fundamental areas of research essential to the discussion on language diversity in the context of education with respect to equity, poverty, stereotype threat, Pygmalion Effect, non-sexist language, and Matthews Effect. The discussion on diversity and equity creates a space to think about issues of access, opportunity, voice, and equal participation within society and educational settings. Diversity among humans requires thoughtful considerations, accommodations, and differentiations in educational treatment, yet providing equal opportunities for growth and learning for all.

Advancing A Transnational, Transdisciplinary And Translingual Professional Development Framework For Teaching Assistants In Writing And Spanish Programs: An Update, Alyssa G. Cavazos, Marcela Hebbard, José Esteban Hernández, Crystal Rodriguez, Geoffrey Schwarz

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

In 2018, we published a translingual and transdisciplinary collaborative piece that sought to respond to the call for writing and language programs to develop professional development opportunities central to multilingual writers’ needs as language learners and writers and their sophisticated and diverse language and writing abilities (Guerra, 2008; Horner et al., 2011; Kells, 2007; Tardy, 2017). We described the design, implementation, and implications of a multilingual pedagogy professional development series for teaching assistants in a transnational and multilingual context (Cavazos, et al., 2018). In this chapter, we provide an update on what has transpired since the series ended. We arrange …

A Cross Dialectal Comparison Of First Person Singular Subject Pronoun Expression In Southern Arizona And Southeast Texas, Ryan M. Bessett

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This study provides a cross-dialectic comparison of first person singular subject pronoun expression in the Spanish varieties of two US-Mexico borderland communities, Southern Arizona and Southeast Texas. Using data collected from sociolinguistic interviews of 32 Spanish/English bilingual speakers, this analysis further explores the impact that trans-frontier practices have on the realization of subject pronouns in border communities and demonstrates the similarities in the variable grammar of the Spanish spoken in the US Southwest. The results show that both Arizona and Texas express first person singular pronouns at a similar rate (19.3% and 18.7%, respectively). Additionally, the linguistic factors that condition …

Violencia Doméstica, Alicia Partnoy, Julia Horton

Modern Languages and Literatures Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Gender Inclusivity In Italian: Can Gender Neutrality Be Reached In A Gendered Language? Difficulties, Proposals And Public Perception Of The Phenomenon, Gaia Prunotto

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Italian is a gendered language in which reference to grammatical gender has been constant and inevitable. As language reflects and shapes society, grammatical gender reinforces binary views of social gender and the invizibilization of non-binary identities. Movements for social justice have inspired gender-fair linguistic innovations, such as the feminization of job titles and gender-neutral markers, to promote gender equity and challenge hierarchies of power and dominance in society. This research aimed to explore gender-neutral forms in the Italian grammatical system and public perceptions of these innovations through two studies with two groups of participants.

The first group of participants (n=27) …

Coronacredits: Program Innovations To Aid Student Completion Of Disrupted Fieldwork Abroad Due To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Benning W. Tieke, Marcela Pino Alcaraz, Melissa Armstrong

Journal of International Engineering Education

The Spring 2020 semester provided unique challenges for global experiences of all types to meet the intended learning objectives for students due to the COVID-19 pandemic disruption. This was especially true for experiential language and cultural immersion programs where engineering students were in the midst of their fieldwork experience abroad. The COVID-19 disruption presented unique challenges to recreate language and cultural understanding within international engineering fieldwork experiences in the US. This article outlines the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the Interdisciplinary Global Programs (IGP) at Northern Arizona University (NAU). The IGP response was an innovative interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration …

Biutiful: En Los Márgenes De La Cosmópolis Neoliberal, Alberto Ribas-Casasayas

Modern Languages & Literature

In Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful, the city operates as a sort of anti-model exposing the dark side of neoliberal economies in larger fashionable cities, with an emphasis in precarization and exclusion and dynamics of violence against migrant populations. To this end, he uses an aesthetics of incongruence and a focus over a motley society, in permanent tension and negotiation between variegated groups. These strategies coexist with two other themes: exclusion represented as a form of expulsion or excrecence, and the appeal to memory as an ethical imperative that disrupts the logic of monetary calculus in which the main characters …