Audience
"Pedagogical Praxis and Sociolinguistic Inquiry in Heritage Language Classrooms"
by Dr. Haley Patterson Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish and candidate for the position of Assistant Professor of Spanish
Nov. 7, 4:30 pm Anne Arundel Hall North Blackistone Room
This talk explores how classroom-based sociolinguistic research can transform both language pedagogy and student identity in heritage Spanish education. Drawing on student-generated data from an intermediate heritage composition course, the presentation reframes the bilingual practice of translanguaging as a structured, meaningful, and intergenerational form of linguistic inheritance. By engaging heritage speakers as researchers of their own speech communities, the project bridges linguistic theory with lived experience, challenging deficit-based ideologies and promoting linguistic confidence and maintenance. This integrated model of teaching and scholarship exemplifies how inquiry-driven pedagogy can foster equity, intellectual rigor, and affirmation of bilingual identity within the liberal arts context.