Local Literacies as Counter-Hegemonic Practices Deconstructing Anti-Spanish Ideologies in the Rio Grande Valley
Abstract
Study begins on page 276 of the yearbook. From the introduction: As an educational anthropologist, a professor of reading, a Colombian and relative newcomer to the Valley, and as a native speaker of a different and less criticized variety of Spanish, I am interested in how the uses (and non-use) of Spanish literacies shape and reflect the language and professional identities of future bilingual literacy teachers. I encourage my students to talk to me in Tex Mex. They tell me that they speak like pochos and that “aqui no hablamos bien ni inglés ni español” (“Here we speak neither English nor Spanish well”). At the outset of our work together, most believe that local ways of speaking are incorrect and unacceptable in school because they have been taught for many years that code switching is emblematic of a kind of “linguistic disability” associated with poverty, illiteracy, and a lack of formal education. Thus, this study was motivated by my fascination with the ways my students speak and also by the fact that our university is located, almost literally, in Gloria Anzaldúa’s backyard. She attended the local university as an undergraduate, where, she wrote “…all Chicano students were required to take two speech classes. Their purpose: to get rid of our accent” (2007, p. 76). Although I had first read Anzaldúa’s work years before, re-reading her with my students helped me understand her ideas in new ways. For example, I didn’t fully understand why students were reluctant to speak Spanish with me until after we had read together and discussed Anzaldúa’s description of how Chicanas fear that conversation with Latinas will result in ridicule and shame. I undertook this study in order to learn better how to help my students become effective bilingual literacy teachers.
Reference
Murillo, L. A. (2010). Local literacies as counter-hegemonic practices: Deconstructing anti-Spanish ideologies in the Rio Grande Valley. In R. T. Jiménez, V. J. Risko, M. K. Hundley, & D. W. Rowe (Eds.), 59th yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 276-287). Oak Creek: WI: National Reading Conference.
Journal
Yearbook of the National Reading Conference
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- ELA methods course
- University
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
17
Other Participant Data
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Classroom Discussion
- Interviews
- Literacy history
- literacy narratives
- University coursework assignment (e.g. writing/project done for a grade)
Data Analysis Tools
- Constant comparative analysis
Researcher Positionality
- Inside (studying their own programs)
Research Questions
how the uses (and non-use) of Spanish literacies shape and reflect the
language and professional identities of future bilingual literacy teachers (276)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes