Linguistics Seminar Series
Spring 2025
We are thrilled to announce the Linguistics Seminar Series for the Spring 2025 semester. The Linguistics Seminar Series features faculty scholars who are involved in language-related research. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Writing & Language Studies and the Office for Bilingual Integration.
The presentations will be hosted each Tuesday from 12:30-1:45pm in Edinburg (EACSB 1.104), Brownsville (BSABH 2.204) and via Zoom. We provide pizza and soda for in-person attendees. Check the flyer or contact john.foreman@utrgv.edu for Zoom information.
This semester includes two special guest speakers who will visit the Edinburg campus on Thurs. Feb. 27 and Mar. 11.
Please join us this Spring semester as we learn from and with our featured speakers!
Upcoming Events
Connecting the Classroom with the World: The Importance of Incorporating Education Abroad into the B3 Curriculum
It has become increasingly necessary for higher education to graduate global citizens. Incorporating education abroad into the curriculum is one of several ways to meet such a goal. This panel focuses on the value of international education and showcases some of the UTRGV summer 2025 faculty-led bilingual/Spanish study abroad opportunities. Dr. Caroline Miles, Director of Education Abroad for International Study Programs, will highlight why it is imperative to increase the number of UTRGV students going abroad and how education abroad should be designed to be part of students’ degree plans. Dr. Sarah Rowe, Dr. Guy Duke, Dr. Jair J. Aguilar, Dr. Pedro Hernandez, and Dr. Enedina Enriquez will showcase their study abroad programs to Ecuador, Spain and Puerto Rico, and specifically discuss how they will further the objectives of the Office for Bilingual Integration.
Dr. Caroline Miles received a BA from the University of Wales, Swansea, in the UK, and an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is a Professor of English in the Department of Literatures and Cultural Studies, and Director of Education Abroad under International Study Programs at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on the US and global South, the U.S.-Mexico border, and migrant journeys. She has co-hosted the multidisciplinary Annual International Conference on Border Studies with the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas in Mexico for the past six years and is part of a team of faculty from UTRGV, Texas State University, and George Washington University that received a three-year National Science Foundation Grant, “Geographies of Migration and (in)security at the US-Mexico Border.”
Dr. Sarah Rowe is the Interim Chair of the Department of Anthropology and an archaeologist. Her main research focus is the archaeological cultures of the coast of Ecuador, where she has worked since 2002. She works to understand the past in collaboration with local communities. She co-directs the Proyecto Arqueológico de los Ríos Culebra-Colín on the lands of the comuna Dos Mangas, who she has collaborated with since 2006. The main focus of the project is the Buen Suceso site, a 6000-year-old village that was occupied for more than two thousand years. Each summer, students join her, community members, and researchers from the US and Ecuador to investigate the site and the people who lived there millennia ago.
Dr. Enedina Enriquez is a clinical associate professor with the UTRGV School of Social Work. She has been with the university for 14 years. She is an LCSW-S and Certified Grief Counseling Therapist who earned her BSW in December 1989 and her MSSW in May 2007 at the University of Texas Pan American in Edinburg, Texas. In 2011, she became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and in 2018; she became a Texas State Board Approved Clinical Supervision. Dr. Enriquez received her doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work in 2021. She has organized educational workshops, family grief workshops and expressive art therapy workshops for the community. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
Opiniones y actitudes sobre el español usado en clases bilingües y duales K-12th
Esta presentación está enfocada en las opiniones y actitudes de padres y madres de estudiantes bilingües de niveles pre-escolar al doceavo grado en clases de español, programas duales o bilingües, en los Estados Unidos. Durante la investigación se entrevistó a cincuenta inmigrantes con diferentes niveles de escolaridad, la primera etapa, se concentra en aquellos adultos migrantes con un nivel académico más elevado: graduados universitarios. En la segunda etapa de esta investigación se entrevistaron a maestras bilingües jubiladas. Se presenta el uso del español de los diferentes grupos, y las actitudes que hay sobre diferentes variaciones y formas del español en diferentes áreas donde se habla esta lengua. ¿Existe un español mejor, peor, superior, inferior, bueno o malo?
Brisa del Bosque es estudiante de primer año del doctorado en Lingüística Hispánica en la Universidad de Nuevo México, en Albuquerque. Es graduada del Tec de Monterrey (ITESM) en su ciudad natal de Monterrey, México. Estudió Literatura británica en la Universidad de Cambridge, Inglaterra, y la maestría en Español en la Universidad Estatal de Nuevo México. Brisa ha trabajado como entrenadora de maestros bilingües en México y Estados Unidos. Es también fundadora de varios programas de Español como Lengua de Herencia en Denver, Colorado. Brisa es instructora y supervisora de SHL (Spanish as a Heritage Language) en UNM donde ha enseñado los niveles del 1 al 3 y actualmente está desarrollando el nivel 2 de SHL en línea, así como produciendo recursos en línea para SHL. Ha realizado investigación sobre actitudes de pronunciación en Monterrey, México; las prácticas de enseñanza en clases de español en los Estados Unidos, enseñanza del español como lengua de herencia, y sobre variación del español. Su pasión es promover la enseñanza y el habla del español en los Estados Unidos para que no se pierda.
The effects of priming on liquid on-target and off target production in the L2 Spanish of Chinese-origin participants
In the present study an assessment of the effects of priming as a cognitive stimulus on the production of on-target and off-target liquids (laterals and rhotics) is undertaken in a corpus of second language (L2) Spanish. The Chinese-origin participants in our study have immigrated to Mexicali, Mexico where they have acquired their L2 Spanish in a natural setting. As a major aim, the quantitative analysis of the data is performed to determine the way that priming determines the patterns of production of on-target and off-target articulations in lateral, tap, thrill, and syllable-coda rhotics. The naturalistic Spanish L2 data confirm a wide-ranging phonological diversity that was overwhelmingly produced in line with target language patterns. However, while the production of on-target and off-target articulations was constrained by the articulatory ease and difficulty that participants face such as syllabic structure constraints, this preliminary analysis also shows that priming seems to have an effect on the L2 Spanish of the Chinese-origin participants.
José Esteban Hernández (University of New Mexico, Phd Hispanic Linguistics) is Professor of Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. His research interests include sociolinguistic variation, dialect and language contact in a U.S. setting, and the study of discourse analysis and discourse markers. Most recently, he has focused on language and identity issues under language contact situations. His main interests lie in understanding the interface of the complex, social and linguistic issues that affect small language minorities in the Diaspora. He has authored in venues such as Journal of Sociolinguistics, Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, Revista Internacional de Lingüística Iberoamericana, Revista Española de Lingüística, Lengua y Migración, Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, Semas, and Southwest Journal of Linguistics. He has taught courses on the dynamics of language variation and change, and the sociolinguistics of U.S Latina/o communities.
Learning about multilingualism as a tool for inner peace: Insights from an undergraduate bilingualism course
Culture, language, and identity are intimately related, and young multilinguals sometimes struggle to come to a place of acceptance and inner peace regarding their languacultural identities, in particular in their adolescence (Grosjean, 2010). Additionally, previous studies have called for inclusion of evidence-based metalinguistic and sociolinguistic knowledge in L2 classrooms, especially those including or focused on bilingual and heritage speakers. The current study explores the effects of learning about bilingualism and sociolinguistics in a 200-level undergraduate applied linguistics course on cognitive and social aspects of bilingualism. Conducted over the course of an academic semester, the study asks: How does taking a course on the cognitive and social aspects of bilingualism affect participants’ a) conceptualizations of bilingualism; b) their relationship to bilingualism on the level of personal identity? The data came from four sources: 1) language background questionnaire; 2) pre-and post-semester surveys exploring participants’ beliefs about bilingualism; 3) pre-and post-semester individual Zoom interviews expanding on their survey responses and exploring their personal relationships to the concept of bilingualism; 4) four written reflections completed throughout the semester in response to course readings and concepts. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using discourse analysis.
Drawing on theoretical concepts from Positive Psychology (MacIntyre & Gregerson, 2012) and Foreign Language Peace of Mind (Zhou, Dewaele, Lochtman and Xi, 2023) this talk will report on how participants negotiate their personal relationships with bilingualism in light of the cognitive and social information learned in the course. Findings reveal an emerging discourse of bilingualism as ‘complex’ as the semester progressed, with participants more likely to use terms such as ‘nuance,’ when describing bilingualism, and less likely to feel confident about creating their own definition of the word ‘bilingual’ at the end than at the beginning. Also noted among participants was the development of a discourse around the inseparability of culture from language, and the importance of (inter)cultural knowledge and practice in their conceptualizations of bilingualism. Finally, many participants changed their mind about self-identifying as bilingual (whether towards or away from that label) over the course of the semester, and reported changing their standards for identifying others with the label ‘bilingual.’ Despite being left with some questions, participants both identified the exploration of a language-culture connection as bringing about a greater sense of inner peace and acceptance about their own bilingual practices and identities. Implications of teaching explicitly and in detail about bilingualism and bilingual language practices for L2 education policy, including for bilingual and heritage programs, are discussed.
Katharine E. Burns is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition and Hispanic Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, where she is a faculty member in the M.A and Ph.D. programs in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Her current research focuses on sociolinguistic variation in L2 contexts, bi/multilingual identities, language ideologies, language policy, and heritage and minority language education. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Program at the University of Arizona, as well as an M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her teaching experience includes courses on various applied linguistics topics at the graduate and undergraduate levels, as well as Spanish and English language courses in a variety of contexts (domestic, international, heritage, non-heritage).
Using textos fronterizos to challenge the social vs. academic language binary in bilingual teacher education
This talk explores the “social vs. academic” language binary that has shaped bilingual education and teaching, and influenced the ways in which the language practices of minoritized communities are positioned in schools. Additionally, it looks to how the linguistic landscape of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands can support bilingual teacher education to help teacher candidates shift towards a more holistic approach that embraces communities’ linguistic resources.
Dr. Christian E. Zúñiga is an Associate Professor of Bilingual & Literacy Studies at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. Her research examines the language ideologies of bilingual communities in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands that shape how bilingualism and biliteracy are supported and developed in schools and homes. As a teacher educator, she also explores the ways in which bilingual teacher education can develop teacher candidates confidence in professionally, culturally and linguistically relevant ways. Her work has been published in journals such as the Bilingual Research Journal, Language & Education, and the Journal of Latinos & Education.
Slang at UTRGV and Beyond
I've been studying college slang at UCLA since 1983, where I've worked with student co-editors to produce six separate collections of U.C.L.A. slang. I've also spoken to audiences at Cal State L.A., U.S.C., Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and the University of New Mexico on slang used on those campuses. In this talk I'll describe my research on college slang, present a working definition of slang, examine some misconceptions about slang, and illustrate how to work to create a slang dictionary, using examples recently collected from UTRGV students in ENGL 2315 Humans and Language, ENGL 3362 English Grammar, and ENGL 4361 Modern English Syntax and those attending the Linguistics Seminar this semester.
Dr. Pamela Munro is a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her primary research focus is on the study of all aspects of the grammar of various American Indian languages, working with native speakers to produce not only linguistic analyses but accessible descriptive and pedagogical materials. She has published dictionaries of Chickasaw, Wolof, and San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec and researched and written extensively on these languages and others, including Cahuilla, Garifuna, Luiseño, Mojave, Pima, Tolkapaya Yavapai, Tongva, and other Zapotec languages, among many others. Since 1983, she has also been compiling a longitudinal database of slang as used by undergraduate students at UCLA.
Frameworks of Servingness through the Teaching of Writing at our Hispanic-Serving Institution
In this session, we examine frameworks of servingness by centering the power of languages and writing instruction that draw on what Higher Education Studies scholar Gina Garcia describes as “a multidimensional and conceptual way to understand what it means to move from simply enrolling students to actually serving them.” The session will include time for a conversation on what servingness looks like and the role of writing and language instruction within the context of UTRGV’s Hispanic-Serving Institutional designation.
Dr. Caleb González is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies at UTRGV. He is a 2022 national recipient of the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award in Higher Education from the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). His research focuses on what it means for college writing programs at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions to make meaning of their designation through transformative and liberatory practices of writing. His work is forthcoming in journals like Teaching English in the Two-Year College (TETYC), College English, Open Words: Access and English Studies, and other edited collections focused on supporting students through the teaching of writing across disciplines.
Methodological Choices and Personal Responsibility of Researchers: Doing Fieldwork and Linguistics in Palenque (Colombia)
The race to describe, document, archive, and perhaps save, endangered languages is the most pressing issue facing all language scientists today. We all know the prognosis: Out of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today, only half of them will survive The Great Extinction of the next one hundred years. Faced with this dire reality, fieldwork is the most urgent work that any linguist can do. It is also the most important movement that our field and its institutions should get behind. While we may differ on how fieldwork should be done, we all agree that it should be done right.
The goals of this talk are: First, to raise awareness about what is going on in the community where I conduct linguistic research. Second, to lay bare the problems that inevitably arise when doing fieldwork but which are not always discussed in the public domain. I hope to reframe the conversation about ethical self-management of researchers. Third, to give researchers, especially graduate students and first timers, a sense of how to navigate pitfalls, listen to the community, and not be oblivious to their concerns, or naïve about our role as researchers. Finally, I will briefly discuss a couple of linguistic studies I have conducted.
Drawing on over a decade of research that I have conducted on Palenquero Creole, spoken in San Basilio de Palenque, a small Afro-Hispanic village in northern Colombia, this talk engages ethics, methodological choices and personal responsibility of researchers who work in marginalized speech communities (Smith 2024). Since our work is not just about linguistics for linguistics’ sake, but always has social and political implications, it is important to acknowledge the impact that our presence and work may have on a community long after we’re gone. Since researchers and readers of their work are not immune to implicit biases, I argue that we must actively incorporate into our projects design strategies that militate against such biases. I will demonstrate how this can be done at every phase of the research process.
Using data based on my own fieldwork, I discuss specific ways in which this plays out on the ground in a variety of areas: integrating one’s self into the community (without offending community members), accurate reporting (which implies allowing the subaltern to speak), methodological and transcription choices (implications of using simplified alphabets), sharing our research with the community (don’t ‘eat and run’), and involving community members in the scientific study of their own language (and caveats).
I will finish with a word on why we must be vigilant–yes, hypervigilant and hypersensitive–in this regard. This research is part of a project that aims to counter categorical perception and stereotyping of minority speech communities—especially Afro-Hispanic ones—and to put science in the service of the communities we serve.
Dr. Hiram L. Smith is an Associate Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Bucknell University. His research centers on language variation and change, with a particular focus on marginalized speech communities in creole-speaking and Anglophone regions of the Americas. He is currently studying language change in Palenquero Creole, an Afro-Hispanic language spoken in northern Colombia.
Dr. Smith describes his methodology as "theoretically eclectic" yet "empirically rigorous," drawing on fields such as variationist sociolinguistics, functional typology, creole studies, and critical race theory. His work explores questions like: “How can we measure language change in communities with limited historical documentation?”; “How can we empirically study grammaticalization in creoles?”; and “Are creoles typologically distinct from other languages?” Through these inquiries, Dr. Smith actively engages with ongoing debates in creole linguistics.
A key principle of his research is the inclusion of community members in the scientific study of their own languages. In Palenque, he collaborates with local speakers, involving them in every stage of research, from data collection to co-authoring scholarly publications.
Dr. Smith has also contributed to broader sociolinguistic discussions, publishing the first historical-comparative study of the n-word in American Speech (Duke University Press, 2019). He has served as an expert witness in legal cases involving African American English and the use of the n-word in schools and workplaces. His forthcoming book, The History and Usage of Nigga in African American English: Facts, Myths, and Misunderstandings (Georgetown University Press), expands on this research.
As a native speaker of African American English, Dr. Smith combines lived experience with scholarly expertise, offering unique insights into the intersection of language, identity, and society. He grew up in Oklahoma, where he learned Spanish, and has lived in Spain and New Mexico, as well as worked extensively in Colombia. Currently, he resides in Pennsylvania, where he enjoys opportunities to speak Pennsylvania Dutch with Amish and Mennonite communities.
Breaking Barriers and Fostering Belonging through Biculturalism and Bilingualism
Join us for an inspiring panel discussion featuring two UTRGV faculty and TEDx McAllen speakers, Dr. J. Joy Esquierdo and Silvia Vera- Huesca, who are redefining the landscape of education and the arts. Together, Dr. Esquierdo and Silvia Vera- Huesca will share their insights and experiences, highlighting the importance of embracing cultural and linguistic diversity in both education and the arts. This panel promises to be a thought- provoking and empoweing session that underscores the value of fostering various experiences and environments.
Dr. J. Joy Esquierdo is the Vice Provost for Bilingual Integration at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she advocates for bilingualism, bioculturalism, and biliteracy from early childhood to post-secondary education and career.
Sylvia Vera- Huesca is a Mexican theater and film producer, actress, writer, mother, and lecturer in the Department of Writing and Language Studies. She focuses her work on Mexican- American border life and biocultural experiences.
From the Borderlands to the Nation: How PSJA's Dual Language Program Began a Transformation in Bilingual Education
Erika Rendón-Ramos is an Assistant Professor in the Mexican American Studies Program. Rendon-Ramos received her PhD from Rice University in History. Her scholarship interests include dual-language education, Mexican popular culture, immigration and identity, transnationalism and the U.S. – Southwest borderlands.
Servingness & B3 Courses at UTRGV
The Office for Bilingual Integration at UTRGV offers courses taught in Spanish or bilingually (in Spanish and English) across a variety of different disciplines. As of Spring 2024, any student who takes a total of five B3 courses is eligible to earn the B3 Scholar Seal which is noted as an official institutional honor on students’ academic transcripts. This example of dual language education in higher education presents an example of servingness in Hispanic Serving Institutions. That is, it is a way for HSIs to move beyond simply enrolling Hispanic students to serving them (García, Núñez, & Sansone, 2009; García, 2019). Furthermore, it also presents an example of transformative and liberatory frameworks of teaching (García, 2023).
In this presentation, we first present an overview of the dual language program at this South Texas HSI and the corresponding certificate program. Then, we contextualize the program within the HSI framework of servingness and transformative and liberatory frameworks of teaching. Next, three professors from different disciplines describe their approaches to teaching college level courses bilingually and with culturally sustaining pedagogy. One professor describes her experience teaching business bilingually in an online asynchronous class which includes a Collaborative Online International Learning partnership with two institutions of higher education in Columbia. Another pr ofessor describes teaching music in a class incorporating a virtual exchange with a university in Colombia and how the use of flexible bilingual pedagogy and culturally sustaining pedagogy complement the ethnomusicological framework of culture as subsets of habits shared by distinct individuals and communities. Finally, a professor describes her experience and approach to teaching first year writing bilingually as a method of combating deficit perspectives and as an estrategia de resistencia. Together, the incorporation of Spanish, bilingual instruction, and culturally sustaining pedagogy across disciplines presents an alternative to the standard, English-only and monolingual ideologies which dominate higher education in the U.S.
Bios:
Dr. Katherine Christoffersen is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where she also serves as Director of B3 Scholarship & Student Connection for the Office for Bilingual Integration. She holds a PhD in Second Language Acquisition & Teaching and an MA in English Language & Linguistics from the University of Arizona. Her research examines bilingualism in the community and the classroom through the use of ethnographic, qualitative, and discourse analytic methodologies. Dr. Christoffersen's research has been published in venues such as the International Multilingual Research Journal, and she recently co-authored a chapter on the B3 Scholar Seal in an edited volume on the Seal of Biliteracy in Higher Education. Dr. Christoffersen is also the co-creator of an online database of sociolinguistic interviews which documents the language varieties of the Rio Grande Valley entitled the Corpus Bilingüe del Valle, for which she has received two federal grants from the National Endowment of the Humanities.
Dr. Caleb González is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies at UTRGV. He is a 2022 national recipient of the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award in Higher Education from the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). His research focuses on what it means for college writing programs at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions to make meaning of their designation through transformative and liberatory practices of writing. His work is forthcoming in journals like Teaching English in the Two-Year College (TETYC), College English, Open Words: Access and English Studies, and other edited collections focused on supporting students through the teaching of writing across disciplines.
Dr. Azucena Herrera is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Management at The College of Business and Entrepreneurship, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). She is an Ad-Hoc Reviewer for The Institute for Business and Finance Research. She has been a member of the International Journal of Management and Marketing Research (IJMMR) Editorial Board. She earned a master’s and Ph.D. in Business Management. Dr. Herrera was awarded the 2024 Faculty Excellence Award at the RCV College of Business and Entrepreneurship and the 2023 Excellence in Online Teaching Award at UTRGV. She is a Faculty of Management who collaborates with the Office of Bilingual Integration and contributes to the B3 Seal Program by designing and teaching management graduate and undergraduate courses in Spanish and bilingual. Her most recent research focuses on border studies, bilingualism, and diversity and inclusion.
Mrs. Yemin Sánchez is a Senior Lecturer with the Writing and Language Studies Department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has a MA in English as a Second Language from the University of Texas Pan American and she is currently a graduate student pursuing an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction. Her research centers on Latinx students and best practices or pedagogies at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). She is currently working with the First Year Writing (FYW) program teaching both English and bilingual courses for undergraduate students. In 2021, her contributions to the book “Border Writers, Latinx Identities and Literacy Practices at Hispanic-Serving Institutions,” were recognized with the Advancement of Knowledge Award by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Using Music to Develop Listening Comprehension in ESL Students
This study investigates the use of English-language music as a didactic strategy to enhance listening comprehension in students learning English as a foreign language at a language center in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The intervention was designed to improve not only listening comprehension but also grammar application in an authentic and engaging context. By integrating music into language instruction, students were exposed to real-life linguistic input that facilitated better retention and comprehension of English structures.
The research employed a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. The experimental design included a control group following traditional teaching methods and an experimental group exposed to English-language music as a learning tool. Data were collected through diagnostic tests, listening comprehension assessments, and structured interviews with students and teachers.
Findings indicate that students in the experimental group demonstrated significant improvement in their listening skills compared to the control group. Additionally, the use of music positively influenced students’ motivation and engagement with the learning process. Qualitative data revealed that participants perceived music as a valuable aid in acquiring vocabulary, understanding pronunciation, and reinforcing grammatical structures.
This study underscores the pedagogical potential of incorporating authentic materials, such as music, in English language teaching. The results suggest that integrating music can enhance listening comprehension and provide a more dynamic and enjoyable learning experience. Future research should explore the long-term effects of this approach and its applicability to different proficiency levels.
Andrea Ambriz was born on April 29, 1998, in Mante City, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She holds a bachelor's degree in Applied Linguistics from the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas in Victoria City, Tamaulipas, and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Educational Management and Intervention.
Her interest in research began during my undergraduate studies, where she explored language phenomena and the process of language acquisition. She is particularly passionate about investigating and implementing strategies that enhance foreign language learning, providing her students with a more engaging and effective learning experience that fosters meaningful learning.
A Decade of Studying Student Perspectives on Spanish in an Educational Setting: The Micro and the Macro
Damián Vergara Wilson (Ph.D. University of New Mexico) is the coordinator of the Sabine Ulibarrí Spanish as a Heritage Language Program. His main areas of research and teaching are historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and sociology of language. One of his chief goals is to use these areas of study to support and inform the field of teaching of Spanish as a heritage language in the Southwest. A second goal is to advance research that examines the utility of usage-based theories of linguistic representation as accounting for language change and variation. He also applies a combination of his expertise as an expert witness in federal court cases involving bilingual interactions with police that result in miscommunications and ambiguity.