Finding the Rhythm: Assistant Professor Karen López Alonzo Reimagines Heritage Spanish Courses
When Assistant Professor of Languages, Cultures and Literatures Karen López Alonzo, PhD, reflects on teaching, she thinks about salsa dancing. Not the choreography, but the feeling — moving with confidence, understanding the rhythm instinctively and expressing something deeply-rooted. It’s the same experience she hopes to create for heritage Spanish speakers in her classrooms at the University of San Diego.
“I instantly thought, this is like me taking a salsa lesson, learning to deconstruct the steps, when I already dance salsa,” López Alonzo shared. “I grew up dancing salsa at home. So, I went to a beginner’s salsa lesson, which frustrated me and made me feel like a bad salsa dancer.”
That moment became a metaphor — and a mission. As a graduate student teaching introductory Spanish, López Alonzo noticed native and heritage speakers sitting in class studying grammatical rules for a language they were already proficient in. “They were not getting a deserving education. They struggled following up a lesson filled with concepts that were not helpful; they already could do all that in real life and more without taking the steps to understand those concepts,” she recalls when thinking about the moment that made her pursue teaching.
Today, that purpose guides her new role as an assistant professor in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Literatures, where she teaches Spanish for Heritage Speakers and Writing and Composition for Heritage Speakers, as well as additional language and linguistics courses.
López Alonzo is committed to developing academic spaces where heritage speakers feel seen, challenged and able to grow. She believes that heritage speakers should be able to study the main principles of Spanish in a way that honors and builds upon their own lived experiences.
She sees her classes as dynamic, evolving spaces shaped directly by student needs. “Every class I teach is a learning opportunity,” she says. “This semester has inspired new topics and insights for developing a curriculum that is directly responsive to my students’ language needs.”
USD’s cultural and linguistic landscape has also offered inspiration. Being surrounded by different Spanish dialects in everyday life, López Alonzo says, helps her guide students toward a deeper appreciation for variation, identity and the lived reality of multilingual communities.
López Alonzo looks forward to contributing to USD’s mission of educating students who approach the world with compassion, curiosity and purpose. She is especially motivated by the university’s support for strengthening heritage language initiatives.
“I look forward to continuing to refine this curriculum to maximize students’ language skills and expand their linguistic knowledge,” López Alonzo shares. “I am eager to engage students in experiential learning opportunities at USD, fostering a deeper understanding of cultures and societies.”
López Alonzo credits both the department and the College of Arts and Sciences for their encouragement as she refines and expands the heritage Spanish curriculum. Beyond classroom learning, she envisions building experiential opportunities that help students engage deeply with cultures, communities and multilingual environments.
To better understand the needs of USD’s heritage Spanish population, she is developing a survey-based research project that will directly inform the design of her courses and contribute to broader scholarship in the field.
“My teaching and research are incredibly connected,” she says. “[Research allows] me to create enriching teaching materials.”
López Alonzo’s scholarship is closely tied to her teaching. She has launched new studies on heritage Spanish pedagogy and curriculum development. Her recent presentation, “Creating Materials for the Heritage Spanish Curriculum and Open Educational Resources,” reflects her commitment to advancing accessible, evidence-based resources for both students and teachers.
Her love of stories comes from growing up close to her grandparents and learning about their experiences. Hearing students share their own stories, she adds, is one of the most meaningful parts of her role. “I believe it is important to hear students’ stories and what their dreams and visions are for their future. It is my wish to perhaps be in their path to give them a little push towards that professional dream.”
By celebrating students’ lived experiences, refining the curriculum and building innovative research, she brings to USD not only her scholarship but also her deep belief in the joy, community and pride that language can cultivate. Just as salsa dancing combines intuition and structure, López Alonzo’s approach blends linguistic expertise with cultural affirmation. She aims to help heritage speakers trust the rhythm they already know — and give them the academic tools to dance even further.
— Emma Pirhala