Turning Fear into Curiosity: A Novice Spanish Teacher’s Efforts Toward Enacting Critical Language Pedagogy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Language, Pláticas, and Testimonios In School and Community

Abstract

World language education in the U.S. continues to experience significant teacher shortages (Moser et al., 2019) with alternative pathways cultivating a more diverse candidate pool (Burke & Ceo-Difrancesco, 2022). However, minority teachers continue to grapple with limited professional support (Shin & Rubio, 2023). As language educators’ identities inform their practice (Fogle & Moser, 2017), this case study drew on intersectionality and critical pedagogy to understand how an alternatively-certified Latinx immigrant Spanish-language educator interprets her role as a world language educator in the Southeastern US and her moves towards a critical language pedagogy. Findings illuminate the importance of supportive professional communities as well as the complex ways in which her previous career and Latinx immigrant identity have influenced her classroom practice.

Authors

• Liv H. Detwiler, East Tennessee State University

• James Coda, University of Tennessee