‘You’re the one that needs help’: Examining racialized bias within a Two-Way Immersion Spanish classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article draws on qualitative data from a Two-Way Immersion Spanish environment classroom to explore how African American students lived experiences, language, and cultural practices are regulated and/or constrained. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Bahktin’s heteroglossia and raciolinguistics, the authors present two distinct qualitative scenarios where African American students negotiate their roles, identities, and linguistic and cultural voices within their classroom. Findings showed that African American students contributed in the Spanish environment in unique ways that went unaffirmed by fellow students and the teacher. These findings suggest a need to examine how Two-Way Immersion programs, despite their goals for linguistic pluralism and integration, can also reinforce racial inequity. The authors include implications for Two-Way Immersion programs to adopt a critical and anti-racist pedagogical framework.