ABSTRACT
Using a lens from the theoretical perspective of glotopolítica, an approach described in this chapter, we examine the ideologies behind English language teaching of Latinx students in the US by analysing the assumptions about language, bilingualism, and language education that are part of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We argue that the standards display a technical perspective of language which views English as an autonomous neutral linguistic structure, disembodying it from its history as an imperialist instrument of colonization and assimilation and as a present perpetuator of social inequalities. We show how the epistemology of the standards movement justifies excluding Latinx students from educational opportunities as they fail to meet “standards” presented as objective measures of linguistic and intellectual capacity. To do so, we conduct an analysis of two documents produced by the New York State Education Department – one written pre-CCSS, the other produced post-CCSS. The analysis, following a glotopolítica approach, identifies the semiotic processes used to devalue language minoritized students’ language practices that are inherent in the original construction of the standards. We conclude that only a revision of the ideology of language that lies behind the standards movement and a defence of the flexibility of bilingual students’ translanguaging can generate educational and socioeconomic success for Latinx students in the US.
