Faculty Member Brings Bilingual Education Research to Spain


Aquino-Sterling and Xavier Gisbert, president of Association of Bilingual Teaching in Spain

His research has shown that bilingual teaching in the United States requires systematic, strategic and research-based approaches to make sure teachers are equipped with the language competencies needed for teaching content-area knowledge in two languages.

But after presenting on the topic in Badajoz, Spain last month, Dr. Cristian Aquino-Sterling, a faculty member in the School of Teacher Education, concluded that these approaches are needed in other countries, too.

Aquino-Sterling’s presentation, titled “A Pedagogical Language Competencies Approach for Expanding Complex Linguistic Repertoires in Bilingual Teacher Education” took place at the V Congreso Internacional de Enseñanza Bilingüe en Centros Educativos (V International Congress of Bilingual Teaching in Education Centers). The conference brought together Spanish and international (U.S.) bilingual teacher education and applied linguistics scholars to discuss current significant issues in the field across national contexts.

“I feel truly grateful for the opportunity to share an aspect of my research with bilingual teachers, doctoral students and faculty-researchers working in the field of bilingual teacher education in Spain and other countries,” said Aquino-Sterling. “In the presentation, I described a working model for developing and assessing pedagogical language competencies in bilingual teacher education.”

Aquino-Sterling’s presentation is an example of how research conducted at San Diego State University is helping to bring recognition to the university outside the United States, and how SDSU is having an international impact in the field of bilingual education and bilingual teaching. It also helps SDSU solidify its position as one of the nation’s major public research institutions.

During his visit, Aquino-Sterling was able to speak with other conference participants who shared their perspectives on his research. “Drawing on their own teaching and learning contexts and positionalities, some of the participants shared with me perspectives and insights I had not previously considered,” he said. “I was able to better understand ways in which the research presented is also relevant to Peninsular and other bilingual teacher education contexts.”

Aquino-Sterling concluded by saying the topic of his presentation represents an aspect of his broader research on innovations in bilingual teacher education theory, curriculum, and pedagogies.

“My research on ‘pedagogical language competencies’ — and 'pedagogical Spanish,' in particular — is academically, professionally and personally meaningful given the fact that without linguistically qualified bilingual teachers, there can be no quality bilingual education,” said Aquino-Sterling. “My research is based on the premise that “[l]anguage is a critical and pervasive component of pedagogical practice. Every aspect of a teacher’s work—from establishing the social and disciplinary climate of the classroom to communicating the intricate details of complex concepts—relies on the effective use of language” (Maríage, Englert, & Garmon, 2000).