Language Goes To School
A podcast about multilingual education in New Mexico and beyond. We invite a wide variety of experts in the field of multilingual education to address theories, practices, policies, and issues related to multilingual education. The primary goal of the podcast is to provide a platform that brings the art and science of multilingual education from the classrooms, where it is practiced, to wider audiences. Your host is David Aram Wilson, a retired multilingual educator and university lecturer in New Mexico, who educates multilingual students and teachers of the future.
In addition to tapping the Send a Text Message in the episode view of your podcast app, you can contact us via Facebook and Instagram @languagegoestoschool. Our e-mail address is languagegoestoschool@gmail.com. Our website is https://languagegoestoschool.buzzsprout.com. You can subscribe to the podcast by tapping Support the Show in the episode view. And please leave us a review in the show view of your app. Music by E. Grenga, C. Lawry, D. Stevens, M. McMahon/Ionics/RimoMusic. Artwork by Simon Young at Guerrilla Graphix
Episodes
22 episodes
Ander Rojano: Keeping the Historical Languages of Spain Alive
Who decides which among many historical languages of a country gets to be the eponymous of the country? In the case of Spain, which is home to at least four widely spoken languages, as well as several others not as widely spoken, only Castellan...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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55:00
Is English Really the Official Language of the United States? It Depends.
On March 1, 2025, the President of the United States signed one in a seeming endless stream of executive orders, or EOs, as they are often known. This EO ostensibly established English as the official language of the United States. This isn’t t...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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39:52
Dr. Stephanie Zarrasola says, "Smile! Tu dentista es bilingüe!"
Teachers often wonder aloud, or with other teachers, whatever became of this student or that. Most of the time we never know. So, on those rare occasions when we are able to fill the gap in the life of a student between, say, fifth grade and ad...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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42:41
Philippe Bérard: Navigating the Language Triangle in Argentina
Humans have been multilingual for millennia. So have the various forms of education in which they’ve engaged. Modern trends toward bi- and multilingual education may seem new to some, but are actually a part of a much longer historical arc. Cas...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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46:29
Dr. Lillian Gorman (Part 2): Grow Your Own Bilingual Teachers
In this episode, we continue our discussion with University of Arizona Professor and native neomexicana, Dr. Lillian Gorman, whose book, Zones of Encuentro: Language and Identity in Northern New Mexico, which was published recently by ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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37:26
Dr. Lillian Gorman (Part 1): The Old and the New in New Mexican Spanish
What happens when varieties of Spanish spoken in northern New Mexico, still influenced by the Spanish spoken in the area 500 years ago, encounter more modernized varieties of Spanish spoken in present-day Mexico? This is a question Dr. Lillian ...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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38:16
Bonus (Part 2): More Boxing with Ben and Bob!
This is part two of our interview with Albuquerque boxing agent and promoter and sponsor of our podcast, Ben Wilson. In part one, we learned from Ben how boxing legend Bob Foster made his way from West Texas to Albuquerque as a boy and his mete...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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37:01
Bonus (Part 1): Boxing with Ben and Bob!
Those of you who have been listening to our podcast know our show is recorded in the Bob Foster Boxing Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. In fact, the museum is housed in the casita, or guest house, located in the back yard of my brother, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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34:11
Leslie Hernandez: Excelling in Bilingualism, Biliteracy, and Braille!
This is the remarkable story of Leslie Hernández, who immigrated from Mexico to the United States on her 4th birthday, as her parents sought better health care for her. As an infant, Leslie was diagnosed with retinal blastoma, a type of eye can...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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37:09
Dr. Curtis Chávez: Native Learning Meets Maria Montessori!
What happens when the ancient traditions of Native America encounter the modern traditions of Europe? One version of that story is the one we all know: the arrival of a certain Italian “explorer” that led to the violent colonization of the cont...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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46:53
David Rogers: Cosechando Bilingual Talent Since 1996!
Meeting David Rogers in 1997 at the second annual La Cosecha Dual-Language Education Conference in Albuquerque was memorable. That our meeting occurred just a few dozen feet from live giraffes, elephants, lions, chimps, and other exotic fauna, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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36:15
Warlance Chee (Part 2): The Planting of the Language!
In which we continue our conversation with Warlance Chee. Warlance is a Diné (Navajo) language and culture educator and co-founder of Saad K’idilyé, a Diné language nest in Albuquerque. Saad K’idilyé means “the planting of the language.” This u...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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27:05
Warlance Chee (Part 1): Fledging Speakers of Diné Bizaad from the Nest!
Create in your mind an image of a parent bird feeding its babies mouth-to-mouth and you have an apt metaphor for the concept of a human language nest. In a language nest, adults who are fluent in a language that is experiencing a steep decline ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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35:42
Fabiola Espinoza-Pacheco and Sinahi Oaxaca Seal the Deal!
On January 30 of 2024, South Dakota became the 50th and final state to establish bilingual seal for high school graduates. The seal, which is affixed to the graduates’ diplomas, signifies the graduate has completed coursework in another languag...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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46:27
Arin Peywa and the Woolly Warriors of Zuni Pueblo!
The Zuni language has been an enigma for anthropologists and linguistics ever since the people of Zuni Pueblo, located in western New Mexico, first had contact with Europeans and Africans in the 16th century. Zuni is related to no other languag...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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45:21
What's new in Season 2!
Midway between Seasons 1 and 2, we thought we'd give you a peak at what we have in store for Season 2. We hope to release our first episode on September 1. See you then!
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7:15
José Luis López Marín: From Old Spain to New Spain to New Mexico and Back!
If all you knew about José Luis was that he likes to travel, spend time with family and friends, and experience fine foods, you would be fulfilled. But lo! He teaches, too, in two different languages, and, in only sixteen years, has accr...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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45:07
Tee McDougal: From Bilingual Ranch Kid to Multilingual, International Educator!
When we suggested we pin the word “cowboy” to Tee McDougal’s boyhood identity, we were politely redirected to the term “farm and ranch kid.” But what an understated description! As a young boy and on into high school, he was milking cows, raisi...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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33:58
Judy Gordon: Multilingual and Multiage Teacher Pioneer!
Originally from New York State, Judy Gordon was one of the cofounders in 1995 of the Zia Elementary School dual language program in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was hired to teach the Kindergarten-first-and-second grade class, while anot...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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35:41
Michele Trujillo: Dual-Language Kindergarten Teacher and Artist Extraordinaire!
Michele Trujillo is the longest serving kindergarten teacher in the dual-language program at Zia Elementary in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She joined the program in 2006. Since then, she has experienced various demographic changes in the neighborh...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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36:18
Grigori Arrives in America—Again!
On this, our first full episode of the podcast, we meet Grigori Grigoriev, the star of the story we told in Episode 0. As a ten-year-old Russian immigrant to the United States in 1996, Grigori found himself enrolled in a 3rd-4th-an...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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36:12
What We're All About—Plus, Grigori the Great!
In this, our inaugural episode, we discuss the genesis of the podcast and present its mission, scope, and content. We then present the interesting case of Grigori Grigoriev, a student from Russia who, some years ago, arrived unexpectedly ...
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Season 1
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20:00