Nemiliztli Ortega Trinidad: Life is Bilingual

Nemiliztli means “life” in Náhuatl, the language of the Mexica people who inhabited Tenotitchlán, a beautiful city in the middle of beautiful Lake Texcoco, that bore no resemblance to Mexico City, the massive, modern city located there now. And “life” adequately describes the path Nemiliztli Trinidad Ortega followed to becoming a bilingual teacher. Her mother taught bilingual kindergarten in Los Angeles and started a doctoral program in bilingual education at the University of Utah even before Nemiliztli was born. So, by the time she was born, she was surrounded by a world steeped in bilingual education. As a result, it was not surprising she attended dual-language programs from K-12 in the Albuquerque public schools, a 13-year effort whose crowning achievement was symbolized by the district's and the state's bilingual seals, which Nemiliztli received upon graduation from high school. It was also no surprise that, upon graduating, she entered the College of Education at the University of New Mexico, where she studied—what else?—bilingual education. So, “life” for Nemiliztli is not limited to the biological and social elements we normally attribute to it; “life” also represents the professional path she has traveled literally since the day she was born. Join us to learn about this path—and much more—from this enthusiastic and engaging young teacher. We also discuss the deficit and the asset views of language development.