Valdes, Guadalupe
Academic Title
Other Titles
Bonnie Katz Tenenbaum Professor of Education
Founding partner of Understanding Language, an initiative that focuses attention on the role of language in subject-area learning, with a special focus on helping English Language Learners meet the new Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.
Contact Info
Admin. Support
Program Affiliations
Research
Dr. Valdes' research explores many of the issues of bilingualism relevant to teachers in training, including methods of instruction, typologies, measurement of progress, and the role of education in national policies on immigration. Specifically, she studies the sociolinguistic processes of linguistic acquisition by learners in different circumstances--those who set out to learn a second language in a formal school setting (elective bilingualism) and those who must learn two languages in order to adapt to immediate family-based or work-based communicative needs within an immigrant community (circumstantial bilingualism). Her research in these areas has made her one of the most eminent experts on Spanish-English bilingualism in the United States.
She is a founding partner of Understanding Language, an initiative that focuses attention on the role of language in subject-area learning, with a special focus on helping English Language Learners meet the new Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards (https://ell.stanford.edu).
Language, education and armed conflict on the US-Mexico border
Second language acquisition in post-secondary students
Immigrant families in Latino communities
The challenge of "curricularizing" language
Heritage language teaching and learning
Quote
"The teaching of English to immigrant students, rather than a straightforward and unproblematic practice, is a contested site in which there is a struggle about the role and the future of immigrants in our society. As Americans, we can decide not to address these larger issues and to proceed with our discussions about how many years to teach English. We can pretend that programs, methodologies, and pedagogies are entirely neutral, and we can refuse to examine ESL [English as a second language] ghettos, poor teaching, and the isolation of English-language learners in our educational institutions. . . . If what we want, on the other hand, is to develop the full intellectual potential of all of our citizens and future citizens, the challenge before us is enormous. We must plan carefully, and we must work quickly."
- from her article, "The World Outside and Inside Schools: Language and Immigrant Children"
Education
- PhD (Spanish), Florida State University, 1972
- MA (Spanish), Florida State University, 1970
- BA (Spanish), University of West Florida, 1968
Time at Stanford
Since 1992
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor, Department of Language and Literature, Western New Mexico University (1972-1973)
Assistant Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, New Mexico State University (1973-1976)
Associate Professor (1976-1982), Professor (1982-1986)
Professor, Division of Language and Literacy, School of Education, University of California, Berkeley (1986-1992)
Courses Taught
- Theory and Issues in the Study of Bilingualism (Ed 249/149)
- Research in Second Language Classrooms (Ed297)
- Language Policy and Planning: National and International Perspectives (Ed 335X)
- Latino Immigrants, Families and Schools (Ed 178x)
- Critical Perspectives on Tutoring English Language Learners (Ed 148x)
Recent Publications
Latino Children Learning English: Steps in the Journey: (Teachers College Press. 2010)
Faltis, Chris., & Valdés, Guadalupe. (Eds.). Education, immigrant students, refugee students, and English learners. National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) Yearbook, Volume 109 Issue:2. (2010).
“Ethnolinguistic Identity: The Challenge of Fomenting and Maintaining Spanish-English Bilingualism in American Schools. In Jason Rothman, Kim Potowski and Mercedes Nino-Murcía eds. Bilingual Youth: Spanish in English Speaking Societies. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp.113-146.(2011)
Valdés, Guadalupe., & Gioffrion-Vinci, Michelle. Heritage Language Students: The Case of Spanish. In M. Diaz-Campos (Ed.), The Handbook of Hispanic Sociolinguistics. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 598-622.(2011)
Valdés Guadalupe and Martha Castillon. “English Language Learners in American Schools: A Look at the Broader Context. In Tamara Lucas, ed. Teacher Preparation for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: A Resource for Teacher Educators. Erlbaum/Taylor and Francis, pp. 18-34.(2010)
Current Activities
Member, National Academy of Education
AERA Fellow
Member, Board of Trustees, Educational Testing Service
Member, Editorial Board Written Communication
Member, Editorial Board, Modern Language Journal
Member, Editorial Board, Español en Contexto
Member, Editorial Board, Language Policy
Member Editorail Board, Research on the Teaching of English
Member Editorial Board, Journal of Language, Identity and Education
