About

Katharine E. Burns is an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, and Hispanic Studies at Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics. Her work in second language acquisition adopts an interdisciplinary approach to applied sociolinguistics, focusing on qualitative research that explores the ideological foundations of language use and how power dynamics influence language learning. Her research areas include language ideologies, L2 learner identity formation, language policy and planning, bilingualism and multilingualism, heritage language learning, endangered and minority languages, and L2 learners as emergent bilinguals. Dr. Burns mentors graduate students and teaches courses such as Second Language Acquisition: Theories and Research, Language Policy and Planning, Language and Identity, and Bilingualism, as well as undergraduate courses in Hispanic Studies and Applied Multilingual Studies. She has a background in teaching Spanish as an additional and heritage language in the United States and English and Spanish as additional languages abroad. Her educational credentials include a Ph.D. and M.A. in Second Language Acquisition & Teaching from the University of Arizona, an M.A. in Spanish Language & Literature from Marquette University, and a B.A. in Liberal Studies and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame. Her scholarly contributions include book chapters and journal articles that examine language ideologies, learner identity, and language policy, with a particular focus on endangered and minority languages and the sociocultural aspects of language learning.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Linguistics
• Psychology
• Pedagogy
• Multimedia
• Mathematics education
• Philosophy
• Mathematics
• Gender studies

Selected publications

• Educational language policy and indigenous language maintenance: a language ecologies study of intergenerational language shift and maintenance among Tuvan-Russian bilinguals

  International Multilingual Research Journal · 2026-03-14

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• L2 Korean Learners’ Socialization into Discourses Around the Non-Honorific ‘Banmal’ Style: Affective and Pedagogical Consequences

  Languages · 2025-08-30 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  This study examines L2 Korean learners’ self-reports of their socialization into discourses around the use of two categories of non-honorific (banmal) and honorific (jondaenmal) language. L2 Korean learners (n = 49) of varying proficiency levels completed a questionnaire aimed at capturing their beliefs, attitudes, and practices regarding learning and using banmal. A subset of questionnaire participants (n = 11) were interviewed, and transcripts were analyzed using discourse analysis to understand how banmal is positioned discursively in participants’ self-reported accounts of learning and using L2 Korean. Findings revealed three dominant discourses in learners’ self-reported accounts of their socialization into learning and using banmal: (1) jondaenmal is more important to them than banmal, (2) banmal does not belong in formal learning contexts such as classrooms, and (3) banmal instruction should be delayed until the intermediate or advanced level. Additionally, these discourses were connected to two overarching, at times contradictory, affective responses from participants. While they reported heightened anxiety over when to use banmal, they also described how using it instilled confidence in their sociopragmatic abilities. These findings highlight the connection between the affective experiences of learners and prevailing discourses on particular linguistic forms. Finally, we suggest the need for more integrated approaches to teaching speech styles in L2 Korean classrooms.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The ideological positioning of heritage language learners: A critical discourse analysis of world language teacher preparation textbooks

  Modern Language Journal · 2025-10-30 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract In recent years, critical applied linguists have increasingly prioritized uncovering and reckoning with language ideologies in language teaching and learning. Additionally, US‐based studies have documented various language ideologies in heritage and nonheritage language textbooks and departments. However, little work exists on the ideological foundations of instructional materials for training language instructors. Previous research shows that instructors in the United States often feel underprepared to teach heritage language learners (HLLs) because of how world language teacher education typically prioritizes nonheritage learners and separates these student populations. Using critical discourse analysis, this study systematically analyzes how HLLs are positioned in three popular textbooks (as determined by a nationwide faculty survey) used in US university‐level methodology courses for language teacher training. The findings reveal three recurring ideologies surrounding HLLs across the textbooks: (a) ideology of authenticity (e.g., HLLs are not associated with authentic speakers and contexts), (b) ideology of presumed target learner population (e.g., HLLs are typically erased or designated as a special case), and (c) ideology of a standard language (e.g., local and HLL language varieties are excluded and/or stigmatized). Implications for instructor training and classroom practices are discussed, such as the incorporation of critical language awareness and evidence‐based sociolinguistic information.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• English as an instructional resource for optimizing L2 Chinese use in the classroom

  Applied Pragmatics · 2025-11-04

  article

  Abstract Adopting an applied conversation analysis (CA) perspective, this study explores the sequential organization of English used by a Chinese as a foreign language instructor, the actions projected and achieved through the instructor’s use of English, and how the instructor’s use of English influences students’ use of English and Chinese. We draw on video-recorded data of an advanced-level business Chinese class and conduct a micro-analysis of the instructor’s use of English in sequence-initiating, sequence-expanding, and sequence-closing positions. Contrary to pedagogical concerns that an instructor’s use of English may encourage students to use English to the detriment of L2 learning, the data support the idea that L2 use and learning can be optimized when L1 resources (e.g., English) are used judiciously to advance the instructor’s pedagogical agenda. Thus, while English is an omnipresent potential resource in the classroom, the instructor and students orient to it as one tool among several that can enhance the main business of their interactions: learning Chinese for business purposes.

  PublisherDOI

• Challenging standard language ideology in L2 learning contexts for endangered and minority languages

  2025-01-16 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Recently, as part of the multilingual turn in applied linguistics, there have been growing calls for an approach to language teaching and learning that views learners as emergent bilinguals with rich, resourced, and diverse linguistic repertoires. This is in contrast to more traditional approaches, in which monolingual and monocultural speakers of the target language are held up as models for learners, who may be viewed as perpetually deficient versions of native speakers. The shift toward a multilingual perspective requires, more than ever, an acknowledgement of the role that language ideologies play in the ways in which we conceptualize, teach, and learn additional languages. For example, research indicates that L2 programs and pedagogical materials are frequently rooted in, and perpetuators of, standard language ideology (SLI)–or the belief that one standardized form of a language exists; is superior to other forms of the language; and is necessary for gaining economic, political, cultural, or social capital. SLI has been shown to be reinforced by the media, educational institutions, and other spheres of society and can result in language discrimination. This can be amplified in situations involving endangered and minority languages. This chapter aims to: 1) examine the impact of SLI in heritage, L2, and endangered/minority language learning contexts (including pedagogical materials, and insights from students and instructors) and 2) highlight some proposed models for counteracting SLI in instructional contexts, which underscore the need for evidence-based sociolinguistic information in L2 learning to empower learners as emergent bilinguals, particularly for endangered and minority language users.

  PublisherDOI

• French and Kreyòl in multilingual Haiti: insights on the relationship between language attitudes, language policy, and literacy from Haitian Gonâviens

  Critical Inquiry in Language Studies · 2021 · 3 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Sociology
  • Political Science

  This targeted, qualitative study examines language attitudes, educational language policy, and literacy in an underrepresented segment of Haiti’s multilingual society. Drawing on decolonizing theory, we take a critical stance, arguing that colonial language ideologies that privilege French and disempower Kreyòl are reproduced in the marginalization of Kreyòl in Haitian schools, which results in low literacy levels and exacerbates postcolonial power dynamics and socioeconomic inequalities. Most Haitians are monolingual speakers of Kreyòl, but most schooling is conducted in French, a language spoken only by an elite minority. Previous studies on Creolophones’ language attitudes have not focused on beliefs about community language use and have excluded the voices of Haitians who are non-urban and who have basic literacy or are illiterate. This study is an important first step in addressing this gap. Thirteen participant interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Findings revealed a complex set of attitudes and orientations toward Kreyòl, French, and educational language policy, with participants at times resisting and at times aligning with colonial ideologies. Overall, the majority displayed positive language attitudes toward Kreyòl as a language of cultural identity, and believed Kreyòl should be used for literacy education. Preliminary implications for language policy and future research are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University, USA

  Language Teaching · 2021

  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Psychology

  An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

  PublisherDOI

• A tale of two language ideologies: Discursive co‐construction of L2 learner identity in Japanese CMC interactions

  Foreign Language Annals · 2021 · 6 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Linguistics
  • Psychology

  Abstract This study investigates the relationship between learner perception, ideology, discourse, and identity in computer‐mediated communication (CMC) interactions between an advanced L2 Japanese learner and native Japanese speakers. Study findings show that, despite an invested identity as a proficient user of Japanese, the learner struggled to enact this identity in the face of two divergent language ideologies: one that promoted Japanese native speaker discourse as the goal of L2 learning and use, and one that promoted a particular Western “foreigner” discourse for non‐native speakers of Japanese. Furthermore, a third discourse—that of the CMC platform—also affected her discursive practices, both in terms of interaction and performance of multiple identities. These results reveal the complex, sometimes problematic, nature of CMC for L2 learning and use, while offering a unique perspective into the issue of the native speaker standard in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), particularly as it pertains to advanced learners.

  PublisherDOI

• Beyond the idealized native speaker in L2 Spanish contexts: Standard language ideology, authenticity, and consequences for learner identity construction

  ScholarSpace (University of Hawaii at Manoa) · 2019-01-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Previous studies have been critical of standard language ideologies in universitylevel L2 Spanish instruction for their role in contributing to the power of hegemonic groups through their language varieties, for example, Castilian and Latin American norma culta (Milroy, 2001; Pomerantz, 2002; Valdés et al., 2003). The notion of a “standard” language has been identified as an abstract construct by many scholars who have argued that it promotes an image of an idealized native speaker that is not reflective of authentic conversational contexts (Ortega, 1999; Pomerantz, 2002; Train, 2003). Therefore, reinforcing standard language ideology in L2 curricula not only contributes to the power of hegemonic groups while marginalizing others, it also leaves students unprepared for the linguistic diversity found in authentic conversational contexts. This study examines the ideological underpinnings of how sociolinguistic variation in Spanish is presented in beginning and intermediate-level Spanish as Foreign Language (SFL) and Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) curricula at a large, Southwestern university. Textbooks were analyzed and focus groups from both SFL and SHL courses were conducted. This study centers on the focus group interview data, and findings include evidence of a reinforcement of standard language ideology and particular stigmatization of U.S. varieties of Spanish in both SFL and SHL courses. It is argued that, at times, this stigmatization points to an ideology of racialization of Spanish-speakers in the United States (Cobas, Duany, & Feagin, 2009). In addition, the findings indicate that the ideology of Spanish as an exclusively “foreign” language is perpetuated, a claim that has been disputed in regard to the United States, since it is one of the world’s top Spanish-speaking countries (Train, 2009). Pedagogical suggestions for program directors and instructors seeking to enact paradigm changes that resist the discourses of standard language ideology are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Mixed Messages in the Spanish Heritage Language Classroom

  Heritage Language Journal · 2018-04-30 · 8 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  This paper explores the implications of prevailing attitudes about language variety found in a case study of a large, university SHL program. First, a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach was employed to examine the ideological underpinnings of the presentation of varieties of Spanish (including those of U.S. Spanish) in textbooks used in the program. Second, discussions with focus groups of SHL instructors were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed to gain insight into the practices fostered by the SHL program related to language variety. The CDA findings show evidence of reinforcement of an ideology of a monolithic “standard” Spanish in the SHL textbooks and curricula, with only cursory attention paid to regional varieties of Spanish and, at times, implicit and explicit de-legitimization of U.S. varieties of Spanish. The focus group data indicates that instructors identify tension between: 1) the program’s stated goals, which are to validate the students’ Spanish varieties and to develop an academic or professional register of Spanish; and 2) classroom reality, in which the “standard” is the overwhelming focus and the students’ own “home varieties” of Spanish are at times devalued by the textbook and course materials. Finally, based on these results, some pedagogical recommendations to validate heritage learners’ Spanish as a resource, rather than a deficit, are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Linda R. Waugh

  2 shared

• Joy Maa

  Carnegie Mellon University

  2 shared

• Nuria Ballesteros Soria

  1 shared

• Seth Wiener

  1 shared

• Zhe Gao

  Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  1 shared

• Khaled Al Masaeed

  1 shared

• Al Masaeed

  1 shared

• Gerdine M. Ulysse

  University of Chicago

  1 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Second Language Acquisition & Teaching (SLAT)

  The University of Arizona

  2014