Raciolinguistic Ideologies and Latinx Students in Dual Language Bilingual Classrooms

Gladys Aponte

Dual language bilingual programs have become increasingly popular in school districts across the nation. While this model of bilingual education is meant to provide equitable and linguistically-sustaining schooling for emergent bilingual students, it is important to examine its pitfalls. In Spanish/English dual language classrooms, for example, uncritically teaching in a dominant, ?standard? Spanish may reinforce inferior views of Latinxs Spanish speakers as students learn to exist in relation to hegemonic standards in both English and Spanish. This dissertation draws on the study of raciolinguistic ideologies? those which position the language practices of racialized groups as inherently deficient (Flores & Rosa, 2015), to examine how fourth grade Latinx students in a Spanish/English dual language bilingual public school navigate raciolinguistic ideologies about the Spanish language. In particular, this study looks at the ideologies that surround the language practices associated with Dominicans?a Latinx group that is widely perceived as more Black than other Spanish-speaking Latinxs, and a group that is the demographic majority in the school?s New York City neighborhood. This ethnographic case study analyzes classroom observations, student classwork, and interviews with focal students across three dual language bilingual classrooms. This study contributes to the academic conversations geared towards challenging deficit framings of Latinx students and towards improving the schooling experiences of racially and linguistically marginalized students.

About Gladys Aponte

Gladys Yacely Aponte is a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Education at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Her research focusses on examining and disrupting raciolinguistic ideologies in Spanish/English dual language bilingual programs. As a first-generation Dominican New Yorker, Gladys is particularly interested in interrogating the widespread raciolinguistic stigmatization of Dominicans ? a Latinx group that is widely perceived as more Black than other Spanish-speaking Latinxs. Prior to pursuing a doctoral degree, Gladys was a dual language bilingual teacher in New York City public schools. As a Research Assistant with CUNY- New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals (NYSIEB) and an Induction Mentor at Columbia?s Teachers College, Gladys has continued to work closely with teachers of multilingual students to cultivate culturally/linguistically-sustaining classrooms. Her lens is also shaped by her work with pre-service teachers at CUNY?s City College and Bank Street College of Education, where she teaches and advises in the ESL and Bilingual teacher preparation programs. Gladys has created educational materials for The New York State Education Department?s Next Generation Learning Standards Bilingual Progressions. She was the recipient of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute?s 2019 Research Grant.