Laura Hamman-Ortiz

Laura Hamman-Ortiz

Biography

Dr. Laura Hamman-Ortiz is an Assistant Professor of TESOL and Bilingual Education and the Director of the Translanguaging Lab at the University of Rhode Island. She is bilingual (English/Spanish) and has nearly 20 years of experience supporting multilingual learners and their teachers, both across the United States (Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, Rhode Island) and internationally (Chile, Spain).

Dr. Hamman-Ortiz teaches courses related to second language acquisition, ESL/bilingual teaching methods, translanguaging pedagogy, qualitative research methods, and critical theories in education. Across her teaching, research, and service, she is committed to cultivating more affirming and inclusive learning spaces for multilingual learners.

Research

Dr. Hamman-Ortiz’s research is situated at the intersection of applied linguistics and education and explores how language practices, policies, and ideologies shape learning experiences for multilingual learners. Current projects address: the role of translanguaging pedagogies in destabilizing monoglossic ideologies, students’ (co-)construction of bilingual identities, teacher learning and agency within accountability-driven policy contexts, and designing for equity in two-way dual language programs. Dr. Hamman-Ortiz is also a collaborator on Project SEMBRAR, a $3.4 million project funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition’s National Professional Development Program to support bilingual teacher recruitment and retention through mentorship and sustained professional learning.

Education

  • Ph.D., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • M.Ed., Elementary Education, University of Notre Dame
  • B.A., English and Spanish, University of Notre Dame

Selected Publications

Hamman-Ortiz, L., Poza, L., & Palmer, D., Tian, Z., & Dougherty, C. (forthcoming). (Re)conceptualizing the transformativeness of translanguaging: A spectrum perspective. Modern Language Journal.

Hamman-Ortiz, L. (forthcoming). Toward a politics of care in language education: A case study of an equity-oriented two-way bilingual education program. In V. Tavares (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Education and Social Change, Routledge.

Hamman-Ortiz, L. & Hesson, S. (forthcoming). “I became more flexible”: Combating English hegemony in dual language bilingual education through translanguaging pedagogy. In H. Uysal & A. Gao (Eds.), Language Teacher Agency: Trans-Perspective Approaches and Actionable Strategies. Springer.

Holcomb, L., Musyoka, M., Wolbers, K., & Hamman-Ortiz, L. (forthcoming). Translanguaging stance, design, and shifts: A guide to programming and pedagogy in deaf education. In H. Dostal, J. Scott, & A. Lim (Eds.) Multilingual Approaches to Deaf Education.

Hamman-Ortiz, L. & Prasad, G. (2025). Reimagining bilingual education: A linguistically expansive orientation. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 24(2), 413-432. 

Hamman-Ortiz, L., Doughtery, C., Tian, Z., Palmer, D., & Poza, L. (2025). Translanguaging at school: A systematic review of US PK-12 translanguaging research. System, 129(103594). 

Hamman-Ortiz, L. & Romero, D. (2025). Translanguaging as mediated praxis: A comparative case study of bilingual and monolingual teachers experimenting with translanguaging pedagogy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 156(104878). 

Hamman-Ortiz, L., Reyes, J., & Sada, E. (2024). Exploring Latinx and non-Latinx families’ experiences of dual language Catholic schools: A national survey of parent engagement and satisfaction. Bilingual Research Journal, 47(2), 211-228. 

Mendoza, A., Hamman‐Ortiz, L., Tian, Z., Rajendram, S., Tai, K. W., Ho, W. Y. J., & Sah, P. K. (2024). Sustaining critical approaches to translanguaging in education: A contextual framework. TESOL Quarterly, 58(2), 664-692. 

Hamman-Ortiz, L. (2024). Cultivating a critical translanguaging space in dual language bilingual education. International Multilingual Research Journal, 18(2), 119-139. 

Hamman-Ortiz, L., Santiago Schwarz, V., Hamm Rodriguez, M., & Gort, M. (2023). Engaging teachers in genre-based pedagogy for writing arguments: A case study of shifts in practice and understanding. TESOL Quarterly. 57(2), 402-432. 

Hamman-Ortiz, L. (2023). “Because we are bilingual”: Transcending binaries in two-way immersion through collaborative bilingual identity texts. In L. Shepard-Carey & Z. Tian (Eds.), (Re)imagining the future of translanguaging pedagogies in classrooms through researcher-practitioner collaboration. Multilingual Matters.

Wolbers, K., Holcomb, L., & Hamman-Ortiz, L. (2023) Translanguaging framework for deaf education. Languages. 8(1), 59. 

Hamman-Ortiz, L., & Palmer, D. (2023). Student perspectives on two-way bilingual education: Introduction to the special issue. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 26(1), 1-6. 

Hamman-Ortiz, L. (2023). Becoming bilingual in two-way immersion: Patterns of investment in a second-grade classroom. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 26(1), 69-83. 

Compton-Lilly, C., Shedrow, S., Hagerman, D., Hamman-Ortiz, L., Chi, Y.K., Kim, J., Lee, S.Y., Papoi, K., Quast, E., Tiara, B.W., Zheng, B. (2022) Children in immigrant families becoming literate: A window into identity construction, transnationality, and schooling. Routledge.

 

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