Choosing Korean, Reclaiming Chicano Spanish: A Critical Linguistic Autoethnography of Discursive Language Ideologies and Multilingual Identity Construction

• In Event: Crossing Borders: Immigrant, Migrant, and Transnational Teacher Identities

Abstract

This critical linguistic autoethnography explores how intersecting identities, including being queer, Chicano, and a first-generation college student, shape multilingual identity construction across English, Spanish, and Korean language learning contexts. Drawing from personal vignettes, course artifacts, and memory-based data, the study examines cultural dissonance, queer masking, and language reclamation through a sociocultural and intersectional lens. Guided by theories of investment, identity-in-interaction, and intersectionality, this work centers lived experience as a site of inquiry to challenge monolingual ideologies and affirm the role of language learning in multilingual identity development and healing. Findings underscore the need for equity-focused, identity-affirming pedagogies that reimagine teacher education as a space for collective liberation and multilingual justice.

Author

• Kevin Perez, New York University