Desgarrandonos de Nuestra Lengua: Ripping Us from our Language

Authors

Lillian Ramos, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow
Julia Ramirez, University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Abstract

Using a testimonio methodology, this study provides insight on how language ideologies, family, and education in the Texas Borderlands impacted two Latina teachers’ view and understanding of their identity. Through our personal experiences as PK-16 students, classroom teachers, and doctoral students, we were able to understand the colonization of our language and the subsequent endangerment of our bilingualism, which upon reflecting, had an impact on how we see ourselves as individuals, bilinguals, teachers, and Latinas. Our experiences with our bilingualism affected the way in which we perceive ourselves and our community. The reflection and analysis of our experiences allowed us to adjust our mindset towards a culturally sustaining lens, to improve our instructional practices, and to accept ourselves for who we are and where we were raised. Findings reveal how others’ ideologies about language and education can have a lasting consequence on us as well as how we go about changing our mindset to one of acceptance and pride.

Keywords

testimonio, bilingualism, culturally sustaining pedagogy

Author Bio(s)

Lillian Ramos is a teacher in south Texas. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley. Please direct correspondence to lillian.ramos02@utrgv.edu.

Julia Ramirez is an assistant principal at a high school in south Texas. She is currently studying at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley to obtain her doctoral degree in Bilingual Education. Please direct correspondence to julia.limon01@utrgv.edu.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank our professors for their guidance continued encouragement to push ourselves to reach our goals. We look forward to continuing our educational journey.

Publication Date

12-16-2021

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4993

Recommended APA Citation

Ramos, L., & Ramirez, J. (2021). Desgarrandonos de Nuestra Lengua: Ripping Us from our Language. The Qualitative Report, 26(12), 3963-3971. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4993

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6786-4781

ResearcherID

AAM-7575-2021