ABSTRACT
Language specifically that of Spanish and English, has played a particularly important role in Latinx Studies scholarship. Inextricably bound up in notions of identity and civic belonging, language lies at the center of contemporary discourse about immigration, education, and citizenship”. Spanish-only and bilingual speakers in the US provide a huge demographic demand for Spanish language TV and radio across the country. Republicans and anti-bilingual education educator’s interest groups pushed against bilingual education; monolingual English immersion and Second Language approaches were pushed. Many scholars of language and education have shown that bilingual education, when done well and with adequate resources, does provide a space of learning where students can and do excel academically and where they also feel affirmed in their cultural identities. The long history of discrimination of Latinxs based on language led to the embracing of Spanish, Spanglish, and code-switching as a way of affirming one’s Latinidad.
