LIFT Project Research InternAt — CSUF - College of Humanities & Social Science

1B11 Research PathwaY-S lnternshiR #1

LIFT - Language, Identity,
and Fluency as Black Tradition

Project Description Overview
LIFT challenges the stereotype that Black people in
the U.S. only speak English, highlighting the rich multilingual heritage of the African diaspora. This project examines how lingual stereotypes impact Black students' interest in language learning, their classroom experiences, and their sense of identity

What You'll Do:

• Help prepare and submit an IRB application
• Create research materials for both quantitative (survey) and qualitative
  (interviews, focus groups) data collection
• Read relevant literature and engage in rich empirical discussions
• Contribute to research presentations, posters, and potential publications
• Attend a research conference in Puerto Rico

Skills You'll Gain:

• Hands-on research design & analysis experience
• Professional mentoring & collaborative problem solving
• Public speaking & academic writing for conferences
• Cultural competence
in understanding Black multilingual identities

General Qualifications:

• Minimum sophomore standing (30 to 59.9 units completed)
• GPA of 3.0 or higher
• No research experience needed
• At minimum 2 semesters until graduation remaining
• Passed intro to Ethnic Studies 101 (AFAM, Chicano, or ASAM)
• Passed or currently enrolled in AFAM 389 (Black Latinx Identity)

Tasks:

I will assess the student's learning by:
a. communication to assess comprehension
b. timeliness of task completion
c. attention to detail
d. their follow-through on tasks
e. their participation in research related activities

Training:

As the supervisor, I will provide the following:
a. consistent meeting times with an agenda to discuss the tasks that need to be done
b. structure tasks so that they are apportioned out by week and month to ensure consistent progress to completion
c. consistent and reliable feedback
d. discussion on how the skills they are learning can be brought to life in their future careers
e. provide a book - Looking Like a Language, Sounding Like A Race, by Jonathan Rosa - and related discussions that helps bring to life some of the concepts we are exploring in the research project

Learning Outcome:

Skills learned include:
1. hands-on research design and analysis
2. professional mentoring and collaborative problem-solving
3. public speaking and academic writing
4. cultural competence in understanding Black multilingual identities
5. transferrable skills to build from once the student graduates and enters the workplace

Application Requirements:

• Personal statement (500 words)
• Unofficial transcript
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Interview

Application Email/URL/Other
mnubia-feliciano@fullerton.edu

Required Documents  

• Résumé
• Cover Letter
• Transcript
• Application Form (see upload option below)
• Other

Other Required Documents
An interview is required to assess interest in the topic.