The influence of language ideologies on the beliefs and practices of four Latina bilingual educators

This investigation examined the beliefs and practices of four Latina bilingual educators. The participants were part of a federal grant program to allow personnel from local school districts to earn a bachelor's degree in bilingual education. The researcher analyzed the language ideologies that were articulated and practiced by the participants as they worked with English language learners in local elementary schools. In particular, this investigation addressed the participants' understanding of how to use native language instruction (in this case, Spanish) in bilingual education to improve writing and other aspects of academic success in the second language (in this case, English). Using questionnaire data, interviews, and observations, the researcher concluded that the way the participants used Spanish in instruction depended significantly on their own language learning ideologies and on the assimilationist context of the larger society