UC Davis

There is a pressing need for language instructors and programs to develop a critical consciousness of how teaching and institutional practices may perpetuate harmful language ideologies and an urgency to promote structural changes (e.g., at the curricular level, via teaching training and equitable pedagogies) to meet the needs of both L2 and Heritage Language Learners (HLL) within higher education (Holgun Mendoza, 2018; Valdés and Parra, 2018; Beaudrie, 2020). Similarly, scholars have recently emphasized a call for more research investigating the "emotional dimensions" of ideologies and how they interact with language (Cavanaugh, 2020). Therefore, this dissertation evaluates instructors’ and students’ emotions and perceptions surrounding bi-/multilingual speech and pedagogical practices, which serve as sources of insight that allow us to rethink the ways in which language ideologies and affective states continue to shape the language classroom experiences. By asking language learners and instructors to report on how they view and feel when engaging in fluid bi-/multilingual linguistic practices (e.g., spontaneous translanguaging), the first investigation (Study 1) revealed that language learners experienced vast and nuanced states of being, such as feeling “normal,” “connected,” and “enthusiastic about language growth” when utilizing their language(s). Further, their responses also alluded to a wide range of monoglossic standard language discourses, suggesting a potential link between emotions and broader belief systems about language, which has previously been overlooked. Further, this research proposes a workshop to have graduate teaching assistants engage with critical pedagogies like translanguaging pedagogy and Critical Language Awareness (CLA) in the context of L2 acquisition and within a university language department. An in-depth case study identified many structural and ideological factors that contribute to implementing these pedagogies (Study 2). Lastly, the proposed workshop (Study 3) highlighted the benefits and limitations of providing graduate teaching assistants with focused training on critical pedagogies to combat harmful language ideologies that continue to linger in classes for emergent bilinguals within higher education.