Spanish Graduate Programs - George Mason University

Department of Modern and Classical Languages (MCL)

PLEASE JOIN US!

Spring 2026 MCL Graduate Studies
Virtual Open House | Friday, March 27 (12-1pm EST)

Learn about our Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Foreign Languages with 6 concentrations, Dual M.A. with Global Affairs, and online Graduate Certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education.

Find out about graduate funding opportunities, resources, and tuition funding for VA educators
Enter raffle to win an application fee waiver ($50 value)!

Registration for this virtual event is free but required!
Please register via the link below or QR code in the flyer.

https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/hOumsbDlSYWGT4vfXCSS_w

Questions? Contact Ellen Serafini ([email protected])

George Mason University
Spring 2026 Spanish Heritage Language Education Online Lecture Series

“Linguistic Liberation: Critical Language Awareness in the Mixed HL/L2+ Spanish Classroom”
Dr. L. J. Randolph, Jr. – University of Wisconsin-Madison

March 24, 2026 (4:30-5:30pm EST)

Mixed Spanish classes are classes whose enrollment includes students studying Spanish as a heritage language (HL) as well as students studying Spanish as a second/additional language (L2+). As this class model is the most common context in which HL speakers of Spanish study the language, it is important to consider the challenges and opportunities that might impact the engagement and success of HL learners in such classes. This talk will examine how foundational principles of critical language awareness (CLA) and liberatory linguistics can transform mixed HL/L2+ classes into inclusive, empowering, and liberating spaces for all learners. Drawing on recent research, we will explore counterhegemonic ideologies and practical strategies that promote CLA in mixed classes and that guide HL and L2+ learners alike to engage with, critique, and reject oppressive language ideologies.
Registration for this virtual event is free but required!

Please register via the link below or QR code in the flyer:
https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/mZ2nFyL-TxCBLG9JkND22w

George Mason University
Spring 2026 Spanish Heritage Language Education Online Lecture Series

“Linguistic Liberation: Critical Language Awareness in the Mixed HL/L2+ Spanish Classroom”
Dr. L. J. Randolph, Jr. – University of Wisconsin-Madison

March 24, 2026 (4:30-5:30pm EST)

Mixed Spanish classes are classes whose enrollment includes students studying Spanish as a heritage language (HL) as well as students studying Spanish as a second/additional language (L2+). As this class model is the most common context in which HL speakers of Spanish study the language, it is important to consider the challenges and opportunities that might impact the engagement and success of HL learners in such classes. This talk will examine how foundational principles of critical language awareness (CLA) and liberatory linguistics can transform mixed HL/L2+ classes into inclusive, empowering, and liberating spaces for all learners. Drawing on recent research, we will explore counterhegemonic ideologies and practical strategies that promote CLA in mixed classes and that guide HL and L2+ learners alike to engage with, critique, and reject oppressive language ideologies.
Registration for this virtual event is free but required!

Please register via the link below or QR code in the flyer:
https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/mZ2nFyL-TxCBLG9JkND22w

Read more about our invited speaker:
Dr. L. J. Randolph Jr. is current assistant professor of World Language Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research and teaching address critical issues in language education, including teaching Spanish to heritage and native speakers, incorporating justice-oriented/anti-racist/anti-colonial pedagogies, and centering Blackness and Indigenousness. He has published widely in these areas and is coeditor of the book (with Kathy Davidson & Stacey Margarita Johnson), How we take action: Social justice in PK-16 language classrooms (2023, Information Age Publishing).

Dr. Randolph has also served broadly in leadership roles including past president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), president of the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina (FLANC), president of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), and founding vice-chair of ACTFL’s special interest group for Critical and Social Justice approaches.

The online graduate certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education (SHLE) is excited to announce the Fourth Annual 2025-2026 Virtual Lecture Series. The series kicks off this fall with invited speakers, Dr. Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera and Dr. Cora Monroe González from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, who will engage with our community and share their work, "On the Puertoricanization of US Higher Education: Or, the Awkward Constraints of Using One Language" (Wednesday, November 19, 4:30-5:30pm).

Read the abstract and register for this free online event on our website (https://mcl.gmu.edu/events/17503) or via the QR code in the image. We look forward to seeing you there🤩

There is still time to register for our Graduate Virtual Open house today (April 11, 2025 - 12-1pm EST)! Register here: https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/iZJOCyhXTPyNym7W3J-e9A

Don't forget: TOMORROW (aka Tuesday April 8th) Josh Prada will give the last talk in George Mason's 2024-25 online lecture series, sponsored by our graduate certificate program in Spanish Heritage Language Education. All are welcome!!
As usual, I will record the talk and send the link to everyone who registers (though its always nice to see folks 'live'!)

Centering Repertoires, not Target Languages: Translanguaging Pedagogy in the Heritage Language Classroom Tuesday, April 8, 2025 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT: Click for registration link.

Representation Matters: Critical Pedagogies and the Afro-Latinx Experience in the Spanish Curriculum Tuesday, March 25, 2025 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT: Click for registration link.

Registration is FREE for the National Symposium on Spanish as Heritage Language that will be hosted at Northwestern University May 12-14, 2025 and feature keynote talks by Dr. Claudia Holguín Mendoza, Dr. Julio Torres, & Dr. Myrna García 🤩🤩🤩 ¡No se lo pierdan!

Dr. Jennifer Leeman, Professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at George Mason University and founding Director of our online Graduate Certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education, gave an invited talk this week hosted by the Observatorio de la lengua española y las culturas hispánicas en los Estados Unidos at Harvard University titled “Critical Language Awareness in the Teaching of Spanish: Expanding Antiracist and Social Justice-Oriented Pedagogies.” https://cervantesobservatorio.fas.harvard.edu/es