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 K-5 multilingual educator and currently a full-time lecturer at the University of New Mexico, where he educates future multilingual teachers.
In addition to tapping the Send a Text 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. Final sound mixing by Auphonic.com. Music by E. Grenga, C. Lawry, D. Stevens, M. McMahon/Ionics/RimoMusic. Artwork by Simon Young at Guerrilla Graphix
Language Goes To School
Molly Arévalo: Babel in the Desert
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On this episode of Language Goes to School, we speak with Molly Arévalo, a lifelong educator and language learner, whose journey reflects the complexity of heritage language identity. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Molly was raised in an English-only household in the mainland U.S. She later worked intentionally to reclaim Spanish as an academic, professional, and personal language. She studied Spanish and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz (go Banana Slugs!), refined her Spanish while living in Chile, and began her teaching career with Teach For America on the U.S.–Mexico border in South Texas. Molly went on to teach bilingual elementary students, adult ESL and citizenship classes, and Spanish in Los Angeles for more than 20 years, earning two master’s degrees from California State University, Los Angeles in Bilingual/Multicultural Education and TESOL. She now serves as Associate Director of the Language Learning Center at the University of New Mexico, where she supports language learning across campus. Still studying French, while keeping her ambitions focused on several other languages, Molly embodies the idea that language learning is never finished.
To see a photo of Molly holding her award, go to Instagram and search for @unmllc. The photo was posted on February 19, 2026.
To listen to Ben Wilson on ESPN radio, go to:
https://cagedminds.com/2026/02/caged-minds-fight-hour-ep-4-ben-wilson-on-bob-foster/
Contact us!
Text: Click on Send us a Text Message in the episode view of your app
Instagram & Facebook: @languagegoestoschool
Email: languagegoestoschool@gmail.com
Website: https://languagegoestoschool.buzzsprout.com
