Language, Space, and Demographic Change: Examining the White Space of Dual Language Education in the U.S. Midwest

Giselle Martinez Negrette

Demographic shifts in the United States have exposed persistent racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in education; these have spurred the creation of learning spaces, such as dual language (DL) programs, to support diverse students while also providing opportunities for integration. However, research has highlighted significant inequities in these programs. Furthermore, many DL programs have been created in locales with homogenous populations (mostly White), where people of color are usually absent or not expected (Anderson, 2015). This study is guided by three interrelated questions: How do teachers and students in a midwestern DL program perceive the space where they interact? How do their sociolinguistic perceptions, and the space where the program operates, impact their interactions? How do their interactions reflect socially constructed ideas of race, ethnicity, social class, and language? Drawing on concepts of "The White Space," spaces of multilingualism, and raciolinguistics, this qualitative study will examine how individuals perceive and co-construct DL spaces, and how spatial considerations may be implicated in the (re)production of inequities in multilingual, multiracial, multicultural learning contexts. This study will illuminate the processes that may enable or foreclose opportunities for integration and educational change, thus contributing to the elucidation of possibilities for the (re)shaping of relationships and outcomes in U.S. schools.

About Giselle Martinez Negrette

Giselle Martinez Negrette is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She specializes in bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) education, sociolinguistics, and educational policy studies. Her professional background includes work as a language teacher and early childhood educator across diverse global contexts, including Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Dr. Martinez Negrette's research engages critically with the intersections of language, equity, and social justice, with a particular focus on the educational experiences of linguistically and culturally diverse children in the United States and globally. Her scholarship centers on bi/multilingual education and investigates how socially constructed categories‚ such as language, race, ethnicity, and social class intersect to influence the academic pathways and opportunities of multilingual learners. Dr. Martinez Negrette's work contributes to a deeper understanding of multilingual learning environments and advances both theoretical discourse and pedagogical practice in the field. Her work has been published in TESOL Quarterly, Race Ethnicity and Education, Linguistics & Education, International Journal of Bilingual Education & Bilingualism, Journal of Latinos & Education, Journal of Early Childhood Research, and NABE Journal of Research & Practice among others.