KIMBERLY ADILIA HELMER

Kimberly Adilia Helmer received her Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) from the University of Arizona, where she specialized in linguistic anthropology and pedagogy. Professor Helmer received her MA TESOL from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and her BA in Communication Studies from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).   Professor Helmer's research interests include educational and linguistic anthropology, heritage and second language acquisition, ethnic identity construction, and second-language/second-dialect issues in composition.

Professor Helmer has won several research awards and fellowships. These include the University of Arizona's President's Award, the University of Arizona's Centennial Doctoral Student Achievement Award for exemplary academic achievement and service by a minority scholar, and a research fellowship granted by Washington State University. Professor Helmer's dissertation, Year One at City High School: An Ethnographic Study of Spanish Heritage-language Learners in an Innovative Charter School , critically investigated Mexican-origin students' engagement and resistance to academic learning in their humanities and Spanish heritage-language classes. Professor Helmer aspires to continue her ethnographic work in New York City's public schools and John Jay College.