Return migration and schooling in Mexico: educating the transnational population

Abstract

Changes in migration patterns of Mexicans from the United States have resulted in the enrollment of some 600,000 students (Jensen and Jacobo-Suarez 2019) in Mexican schools who have completed part or all of their education in English in the United States. This article explores this phenomenon of transnational education with particular emphasis on the linguistic aspect. After outlining a brief history of immigration to and from the United States, the article presents the findings of a decade of ethnolinguistic research (2010-2020) carried out in the Mexican states of Puebla and Zacatecas. The results underscore the linguistic challenges that these transnational students face when they try to adapt a language from one purpose (home and social life) to another (school). The article concludes with an example from the state of Zacatecas of a course that offers  current and future teachers the skills they need to educate these students.