Experiences in language learning and identity of retorno students in the BA program in Language Teaching and Translation in a Mexican state University on the border region with the U.S.

Abstract

Migration has been part of the history of Mexico and the United States for some time. There has been significant research recently on this migration, particularly the crossing and re-crossing of the border and its impact on social, cultural and linguistic issues. In this article, we discuss the experiences of retorno students in the BA program of Language Teaching and Translation in a Mexican state university on the border with the U.S. They lived in the United States a certain period time and have returned to Mexico to attend university. We include the voices of these participants to gain insight into their perceptions of their identities and the changes they witnessed regarding language learning. Though a qualitative framework and drawing on semi-structured interviews, data reveals how these students feel about their identities from a cultural, social, personal, and linguistic stance, as well as how these two educational contexts relate, and other transnationalism issues. Findings support Casinader´s (2017) view of transnationalism as a “dynamic instability” revealing that transnationalism is perceived diffrently by each of the participants and that these experiences they have had effect how they view themselves.