Redefining English Proficiency: Colombian Undergraduates' Experiences in U.S. Research Internships

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Interrogating Ideologies in Language Education: From Native Speakerism to Raciolinguistic Ideology (Table 10)

Abstract

This study examines how interactions with diverse ethnolinguistic groups affect Colombian undergraduate students’ perceptions of language skills during a six-month research internship in the Midwestern United States. Nine students were interviewed three times to explore their language ideologies. This data was analyzed deductively, followed by two stages of inductive analysis. Using critical sociolinguistics, findings demonstrate that most students amplify their English-dominant teachers and classmates as model English speakers while positioning non-native English speakers (NNES), particularly those from East and South Asia, as less intelligible. For three participants, their relationships with other NNES who did not share their native language profoundly shaped their language ideologies and generated more empathetic relationships among other NNES, fostering a more expansive understanding of linguistic variety.

Authors

• Alejandro Baquero-Sierra, Purdue University

• Trish Morita-Mullaney, Purdue University