Negotiating Language Ideologies in Adolescent Bilingual Peer Mentoring

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Yohimar Sivira-Gonzalez & Melanie Jones Gast (25 Jul 2025): Negotiating Language Ideologies in Adolescent Bilingual Peer Mentoring, Journal of Language, Identity & Education, DOI: 10.1080/15348458.2025.2516472

Introduction

Sivira-Gonzalez and Gast (2025) explore how bilingual adolescent mentors conceptualize language and academic success in a high school peer mentoring program for ESL-designated students. Grounded in raciolinguistic and language ideology theory, the study reveals the tensions mentors face between valuing home languages and privileging English as the path to academic legitimacy.

Methods

The study involved 10 Spanish- and Swahili-speaking high school mentors in the “Peers Making Change” program. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews, post-session reflections, and observations of 10 mentoring sessions. Grounded theory guided data coding and analysis.

Results

Most mentors endorsed an “English-first” ideology, reflecting broader school messaging that equated fluency with academic competence. This often led them to suppress home language use during sessions. However, two mentors demonstrated translanguaging practices, integrating Spanish and Spanglish to support mentees’ learning. Mentors viewed themselves as academically elite, often contrasting their diligence with mentees’ perceived lack of motivation.

Discussion

Sivira-Gonzalez and Gast (2025) highlight how institutional pressures and racialized language hierarchies shape mentors’ beliefs and practices. While some mentors resisted these norms, most replicated them—prioritizing English and inadvertently reinforcing deficit views of home languages. These dynamics underscore the importance of addressing raciolinguistic ideologies in school-based mentoring.

Implications for Mentoring Programs

Mentoring initiatives should incorporate explicit training on translanguaging, challenge “English-only” norms, and celebrate bilingualism as an academic strength. This reframing could foster more inclusive and affirming environments for both mentors and mentees.

Read the full paper here.