Katharine Burns

Katharine Burns serves as Assistant Professor of Second Language Acquisition and Hispanic Studies within the Department of Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her interdisciplinary research in applied sociolinguistics addresses real-world language issues through theoretical linguistics frameworks, focusing on second language acquisition, language use, learning, and teaching methodologies.

Burns earned her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, where she taught in one of the United States' oldest Spanish as a Heritage Language programs. Her academic journey began with Spanish studies in middle school, continued through a master's degree, and culminated in doctoral research centered on heritage language education and multilingual identity formation.

Her research critically examines three interconnected domains: (1) sociolinguistics of Spanish in U.S. contexts, (2) bilingual/multilingual identity construction, and (3) language policy implementation. Burns investigates how power dynamics and language ideologies marginalize non-standard language varieties, arguing that traditional pedagogy often fails to validate linguistic diversity. She specifically challenges stigmatization of bilingual practices like code-switching and advocates for evidence-based approaches that empower heritage speakers to embrace their full linguistic repertoires.

At CMU, Burns teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including 'Bilingual and Bicultural Experiences in the U.S.' and mentors students in the Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and M.A. in Applied Linguistics programs. Her advising philosophy emphasizes developing critical awareness of language ideologies to prepare students for diverse professional contexts while honoring their linguistic identities.