Speaking educación in Spanish: linguistic and professional development in a bilingual teacher education program in the US-Mexico Borderlands

ABSTRACT

This case study examines the pedagogical measures taken for Spanish development for a group of bilingual preservice teachers in a university-based teacher education program in Texas. Classroom language policies were developed collaboratively and deliberately throughout the semester, which included discussion and negotiation between instructor and students about the language demands and expectations. Following the language development of four bilingual pre-service teachers in their quest to speak educación using discourse analysis, complexity and accuracy analysis, and critical narrative analysis, this study aims to highlight explicit experiences integrating content mastery and language development in a translanguaging university classroom. Implications include the need for horizontal language policies that foster effective cross-linguistic and pedagogical choices.

KEYWORDS:

• Bilingual teacher education
• language policy
• Spanish development
• content-based instruction
• translanguaging

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for useful suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Blanca Caldas is an assistant professor in the Second Language and Elementary Education programs in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Deborah Palmer is a professor in the Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder.

María Schwedhelm is a doctoral student in Second Language Education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

ORCID

Blanca Caldas http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8730-416X