Dual Language Teachers: An Exploration of Teachers’ Linguistic Identities and Pedagogy in a U.S.-Mexico Frontera Dual Language Program

Abstract

This chapter serves to inform on a study that explored the linguistic identities and pedagogical practices of Latina/o bilingual-certified K-2 teachers in a dual language (DL) program along the U.S.-Mexico border. In this study, the author drew from sociocultural theory (NLG in Harvard Educ Rev 66(1):60–92, 1996; Hornberger in Int J Bilingual Educ Bilingualism 7(2):155–171, 2004) and applied methods of data collection and analysis focused on linking DL teachers’ identity formation with both their conceptions of teaching and pedagogical practices related to language use. The findings painted a portrait of how DL teachers’ languages, literacies, and identities intertwined to shape their pedagogical practice. It was found that language dynamics were influenced by language ideology, non-standard varieties of Spanish and/or English. The individual and collective stories of DL teachers, which are integral to this study, indicate that teacher preparation programs need to give their students the opportunity to explore identity formation, develop academic Spanish skills, and also to increase their knowledge about bilingual education goals and the practices that support the programs’ goals.