My name is Sergio Loza and I joined the Department of Romance Languages at the University of Oregon (UO) as an Assistant Professor of Spanish Sociolinguistics and Director of the Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) Program in the fall of 2019.

My research reflects current efforts within the field of Spanish as a Heritage Language to develop and assess instructional interventions that directly respond to the disparities that U.S. Latinx people (SHL learners) have historically faced both within and outside of language education. Idealized conceptions of what counts as “academic” or “legitimate” language often results in consequences for SHL learners whose linguistic varieties (e.g., dialectal words, sounds, and grammatical forms) do not receive the same acclaim as those emblematic of such ideological constructions of Spanish. Regrettably, one way that language programs and educators respond to the presumed gap between SHL learners’ varieties and the language of the classroom is via subtractive instructional practices that attempt to replace learners’ existing language with prestige/privileged varieties, thus devaluing their Spanish and creating “linguistic trauma.” As a critical applied linguist, my research agenda is committed to advancing instructional models that honor and respect the Spanish that SHL learners speak in their local community by focusing on three main areas of study: 1) language ideologies, 2) critical language awareness (CLA), and 3) oral corrective feedback (OCF).

My research makes two main arguments about SHL teaching and research: 1) the experiences of SHL learners are essential for uncovering gaps in language teaching knowledge; and 2) by applying critical frameworks of language ideology and pedagogy, we can understand these diverse experiences and develop transformative teaching approaches that meet learners’ needs. Through my research findings, I advocate for a future in which all Spanish language teaching professionals, not just SHL teachers, work to advance linguistic equity and for recognition of SHL learners and their varieties.

You can learn more about my recent publications by clicking on my CV page or by visiting my Google Scholar page and/or my ResearchGate profile.