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Advocating for language rights: Critical Latina bilingual teachers creating bilingual space in Arizona

ABSTRACT This qualitative research study documented the way in which two Latina bilingual teachers advocated for the language rights of emergent bilinguals who attended and resided in two particular school districts in Arizona. Drawing from qualitative and ethnographic approaches, we collected data from teacher interviews, classroom/school observations, district meetings, and community convivios to examine the ways in which two teachers championed language rights in various contexts. We employed Ruiz’s (1984) language planning framework to document the way in which bilingual teachers advocated for the language rights of emergent bilingual students. This study demonstrates how Latina bilingual teachers utilized their cultural knowledge to successfully educate, advocate for, and uplift their bilingual students and cultural community within multiple, and oftentimes hostile, spaces. Findings from this study suggest that Latina teachers enact their own agency to create bilingual space for their students in linguistically constraining environments.