Meet the TexLER Committee

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The Texas Language Education Research (TexLER) Conference Committee is a student organization comprised of doctoral and Master's students in the Department of Bicultural & Bilingual Studies in the College of Education and Human Development.

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Committee Members

Kathryn I. Henderson is the faculty advisor for TexLER. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies, College of Education and Human Development at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Her education interests include language ideologies, language policy and dual language bilingual education programs.

David Martínez Prieto is the president of TexLER 2018. He is a 2nd year student in the doctoral program of Culture, Literacy and Language. His research interests relate to the effects of curriculum ideologies in the identities of Mexican (American) returnees. He teaches undergraduate courses in Spanish and English to future bilingual and TESOL educators.

Lina Martin received a B.A. in English and Spanish Education from Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (Bogotá, Colombia) in 2010. She also holds a Master's degree in Education from Carthage College. Currently, Lina is a third-year doctoral student in the PhD program in Culture, Literacy, and Language at UTSA. She intends to specialize in classroom discourse, academic discourses, and bilingual pedagogy.

Yangting (Tina) Wang is a first year student in the Cultural, Language and Literacy doctoral program. She received her BA in English Education and graduated from Michigan State University with an MA in TESOL. She taught Chinese at Concordia Language Villages and later taught English for two years at Marshall University. Her research interests lie in second language assessment, computer assisted language learning, and identity.

Alpha A. Martínez-Suárez is a two-time Academy for Teacher Excellence Presidential Distinguished Scholar, She graduated with a Master of Arts in Bicultural and Bilingual Teaching Education from UTSA and is currently on her first year into the Culture, Language, and Literacy Ph.D. program at UTSA. Her areas of interest include immigrant’s children’s rights, culture and linguistic equity in the classroom, and teacher education for the formation of culturally efficacious teachers for the multicultural classroom.

Janeth Martinez-Cortes is a Ph.D. student in the Culture, Language, and Literacy program at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She serves as the current treasurer of TEXLER. Her research centers on Latina/o students in higher education and practices and learning promoting college success and persistence.

Nguyen is the Academic Coordinator of the TexLER Committee. He is a first-year Ph.D. student in Culture, Literacy, and Language at UTSA. Before moving to San Antonio, worked as an ESL teacher in Vietnam. Then he earned his M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction from University of Houston. His research interests include language learning, literacy practices, and identity among Vietnamese Americans.

Jale M. Osten is a member of the TexLER networking committee and is a senior undergraduate student at UTSA. She is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education with a certification in ESL. Jale hopes to achieve a Master’s degree in the future after she has gained some teaching experience. She is interested in linguistics, second language literacy, and assessment development for English Language Learners.

Shiyi Sandra Han is an undergraduate student majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies at UTSA. Her current position in TexLER is UTSA Networking/Volunteer. In her spare time, she likes swimming, playing the ukulele, and the harmonica, traveling, and singing. She is bilingual and fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese. Shiyi is passionate about tutoring people on different subjects.