Comistes vs. Comiste: Reproducing Colonizing Ideologies of Spanish Language in Writing

• In Event: Exploring Discourse Analysis as a Critical Methodological Tool

Abstract

This critical discourse analysis study examines an exemplar Spanish language arts lesson to illustrate how standardizing ideologies of language are enforced through teacher talk and classroom tools. Findings reveal how students’ everyday language practices contradicted the teacher’s construction of “correct” language in academic writing. This study reaffirms that merely acknowledging students’ home language practices is insufficient for achieving linguistic justice. Teachers need to be critically aware of how colonizing ideologies operate in writing instruction and classroom artifacts, especially texts and language tools recommended by institutions.

Authors

• Doris Villarreal, Ohio University

• Idalia Nunez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Thea Williamson, Old Dominion University