Abstract
This research analyzes and exposes the experiences of Latin American adult migrants who, having recently arrived in the United States, have resumed their studies in high schools in the State of Minnesota as a strategy to learn the English language by immersion. The study was based on the contributions of the sociology of migration and the sociology of education, which, incorporating as a methodological strategy “the case study” combined with “the life story”, managed to collect and share reflections regarding the barriers faced by migrants during the process of adaptation and insertion into American society, thus adopting a critical approach. The findings suggest the persistence of discrimination mechanisms that, together with processes of cultural assimilation by the dominant culture, are presented as significant obstacles to the integration of migrants into the society that receives them.
Esta investigación analiza y expone las experiencias transitadas por migrantes latinoamericanos mayores de edad que, recién llegados a los Estados Unidos, han retomado sus estudios en los institutos de High School en el estado de Minnesota como estrategia para aprender el idioma inglés por inmersión. El estudio se apoyó en las contribuciones de la sociología de las migraciones y la sociología de la educación que, incorporando como estrategia metodológica el estudio de casos combinado con el relato de vida, logró recopilar y plantear reflexiones respecto a las barreras a las que se enfrentan las personas migrantes durante el proceso de adaptación e inserción en la sociedad estadounidense adoptando un enfoque crítico. Los hallazgos sugieren la persistencia de mecanismos de discriminación que, junto a procesos de asimilación cultural por parte de la cultura dominante, se presentan como obstáculos significativos para la integración de los migrantes a la sociedad que los acoge.
Advisor
Beatriz DeSantiago-Fjelstad
Committee Member
Isabel Estrella Rodriguez Mendoza
Committee Member
Richard Ortega
Date of Degree
2026
Language
english
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Program of Study
Educational Leadership
Department
Educational Leadership
College
Education
Recommended Citation
Ochoa Veloz, G. M. (2026). Sociolinguistic challenges to the academic inclusion of Latin American immigrants of legal age and Spanish in high schools in Minnesota: A qualitative study on the learning of English as a second language [Doctoral dissertation, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1614/
Included in
Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, First and Second Language Acquisition Commons
Rights Statement
