Pablo E. Requena, Ph.D.

Lutcher Brown Fellowship

Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures

Pablo E. Requena is a linguist whose area of expertise lies in language acquisition. His specific research interests include how children learn probabilistic patterns in the grammar of their native language.

Requena has examined children from Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. He studies how children in Texas learn regularities in a language that they only hear in the home as their heritage language. For example, Spanish-English bilingual children display a wide range of abilities in Spanish (their heritage language) depending on the opportunities that they have to use that language outside of the home. His research can help identify typical milestones for bilingual children, the role of education and socialization on heritage language acquisition, and how to keep heritage languages alive, providing those children all the advantages of bilingualism.

Requena has published several refereed book chapters and articles in academic journals including the Journal of Child Language, Journal of Spanish as a Heritage Language, Language Variation and Change, Children’s Literature in English Language Education, and Language Acquisition. His work has also been presented at conferences in the U.S. and internationally. 

“I hope my publications will continue to inspire UTSA students to be curious about how language works and how speakers use it." Requena said. "I work actively with students pursuing the B.A. in Spanish and I am excited to start working with students of the newly created B.A. in Linguistics in the Local and Global Community. In addition, I hope my research can assist educators and speech-language pathologists as they apply research findings to help bilingual children.”

Requena currently serves as associate chair for the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and as graduate advisor of record for the Spanish M.A. program. Prior to joining UTSA, he spent time teaching at the University of Montana, the National University of Córdoba (Argentina), and in elementary and high schools.

Requena earned his Ph.D. in Spanish and Language Science from Penn State University.