Empowering Hispanics in Higher Education Through the Operationalization of Academic English Strategies

Abstract

Incorporating purposeful academic English strategies into higher education promotes equitable access to instruction and supports understanding through different perspectives and experiences. This is especially true for Hispanics (which refers here to anyone from a Spanish-speaking background). Because the perspectives and experiences of the Hispanic student population is so diverse, approaches for operationalizing academic English should include the following: viewing the various language backgrounds of Hispanic students as opportunity rather than deficit; using a holistic approach to assess content and academic English proficiency of students; creating academic supports that weave together