Pedagogies of Resistance and Healing: Latinx Dual Language Bilingual Education Teachers Battling Racialized Ideologies of Languagelessness in Arizona

Language ideologies of Latinx dual language bilingual education (DLBE) teachers have been increasingly examined, but few studies have chosen a race-based analytical approach. This study examines the language ideologies of six Latinx K-5 DLBE teachers in Arizona through the lens of “racialized ideologies of languagelessness.” At the time of the study, all six teachers considered themselves bilingual. Yet, they shared experiences with linguistic violence during their upbringing and K-12 schooling and identified areas of vulnerabilities that had undermined their self-perception of bilingualism. We report the complexities of these teachers’ racialized language ideologies, shaped by their experiences with linguistic violence as well as positive reinforcement during their upbringing and teaching careers. As DLBE teachers, our participants reflect on their complex experiences with language to stop the cycle of linguistic violence and racialized ideologies of languagelessness for the next generation of bi/multilingual children in their classrooms. We call their critically conscious practices “pedagogies of resistance and healing.”.