High School Students Offer Insights for Improving the Accessibility of Scholarly Writing
Demystifying Language Project Empowers High School Students as Experts
The Demystifying Language Project (DLP), a research and social justice initiative, aims to make academic scholarship on language and power accessible to public high school students and undergraduates. This project, co-directed by a team of linguistic anthropologists and interdisciplinary scholars, including Ayala Fader, Lynnette Arnold, Justin A. Coles, Britta Ingebretson, Mike Mena, Johanna S. Quinn, and Bambi B. Schieffelin, is bridging the gap between complex linguistic research and practical understanding in educational settings focused on equity and social justice.
The three-day workshop, supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and Fordham University, aimed to break down academic hierarchies and change who has access to knowledge. It achieved this by recognizing high school students as experts on their own reading and having them work with established anthropology professors to transform original research articles into short pieces that high school students would want to read.
On the first day, each team created a 90-second "elevator pitch" that included four elements: the main idea from the original article, research methods, an ethnographic story, and a "so what" message. The students actively participated in the workshop, asking questions and making suggestions during the pitch creation process.
Athalia McCormack, a high school student who presented at the workshop, described her experience as exciting and cool, working with an author who is "known for doing these big things." The presentation, based on original research by Ariana Mangual Figueroa, focused on the story of a fifth-grade student named Aurora, who had to protect her undocumented family from questions about their citizenship status, and the impact this had on her school life.
The next day, students delivered their own elevator pitches in teams, receiving applause and appreciation. The process of making academic writing more accessible was referred to as "transposition" by linguistic anthropologist and DLP co-director Mike Mena. The authors were initially nervous to give their elevator pitches, but the students voted for the winning pitches, making them the experts.
The DLP resources, including the essays created during the workshop, are now available as an open-access educational resource for all to use. The initiative calls for empathy towards undocumented students and immigrant children, suggesting that by understanding their experiences, polarizing debates about immigration can be overcome.
For more in-depth information about the project's goals, leadership, and activities, you can consult the article published on the SAPIENS website dated July 22, 2025. This provides both an overview of the project’s mission and some context about the social and educational implications of their work. Additionally, the project has been featured in social media posts, where participants share experiences and reflections on the project's impact, especially at events that involve public high school students in conversations about language and power.
To explore more about the project, visit the SAPIENS article for a comprehensive background and the scholarly framework supporting DLP. Follow related social media accounts or hashtags that frequently post updates and participant insights. Look for academic presentations or talks by the co-directors, many of whom are active researchers in linguistic anthropology and language education.
- The Demystifying Language Project encourages a shift in the traditional academic landscape, merging science, education-and-self-development, and lifestyle by empowering high school students to adapt complex linguistic research articles into accessible formats.
- By participating in the Demystifying Language Project, high school students gain expertise not only in language and power but also in science and lifestyle, as they transform academic research into practical educational materials aimed at promoting empathy and social justice.
