51³Ô¹ÏÍø

An interview with Dr Iria González-Becerra about her recently published chapter, ‘Contested hybridities and powerful selves: becoming multilingual at the margins of the STEM curriculum’.

Dr Iria González‑Becerra, Languages Field Leader at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication (CLCC), has had a chapter published in , edited by Yolanda Cerda and Jules Winchester and published by University of Exeter Press on 17 March 2026.

Iria has spent years working closely with 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Horizons and I‑Explore students who choose to study languages alongside demanding STEMMB degrees. Her chapter, ‘Contested hybridities and powerful selves: becoming multilingual at the margins of the STEM curriculum’, brings together these experiences in a powerful exploration of identity, resilience, and the transformative potential of multilingual learning.

We spoke with Iria about the inspiration behind the chapter, what she learned from students, and why language education matters profoundly within a STEM‑focused institution like 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.

What prompted you to write this chapter?

Iria: “Over the past several years, my work with Horizons and I-Explore students has offered an intimate window into how multilingualism shapes identity at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. I’ve seen first‑hand how students carve out space for curiosity and self‑discovery within demanding STEMMB programmes. The publication of this chapter marks a milestone in that journey.”

Iria explains that the research emerged from deep listening: “It’s drawn from conversations, interviews, and moments of candid reflection—moments of truly listening. I wanted to understand how language learning becomes an unexpected anchor for students navigating a fast‑paced, high‑pressure environment.”

What stood out to you in these conversations?

Iria: “One of the clearest patterns was the resilience students show in pushing back against the discursive pressures that suggest languages don’t matter—or that ‘English is enough’. Their stories reveal how strongly they feel the value of multilingualism, despite external expectations.”

Students spoke about the personal and academic significance of learning another language. “As one student told me, ‘Learning languages is me.’ That line captured so much. It shows how language modules help learners step outside tight disciplinary boundaries and reconnect with their individual values, identities, and aspirations.”

But Iria emphasises that this discovery does not come easily. The same student described the struggle of justifying her interest to peers, lecturers, and even herself—questioning why a future scientist and English speaker should devote additional time and effort to language learning. “Those tensions are real,” Iria notes. “And yet, students persist because the experience is meaningful.”

Another student described language classes as something that “bring you down to ground level… make you humble.” For Iria, this comment is deeply revealing: “It highlights how these spaces offer not just knowledge, but perspective—an invitation to pause, reflect, and consider the kind of person they want to be.”

How do these insights connect to the broader picture at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø?

Iria: “This work arrives at a moment when 51³Ô¹ÏÍø is actively reflecting on how best to educate global, agile, reflective graduates—people who can think across disciplines, engage ethically with complexity, and contribute meaningfully to society.”

She believes multilingual learning offers one of the clearest paths to these qualities. “Students’ narratives show that multilingual learning is where these developments happen most vividly. At the margins of the STEMMB timetable, they learn to navigate uncertainty, encounter differences, and observe the world through a wider lens.”

These attributes, she says, sit at the heart of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s educational mission as it strengthens its interdisciplinary culture and places people, learning, and societal impact at the centre of its priorities, including through the Class of 2030 vision.

What role does the CLCC play in enabling this kind of growth?

Iria: “The chapter reflects the CLCC’s ambition to offer every student a rich, human‑centred educational experience. Students don’t see their language classes as a simple ‘extra’. They see them as a rare opening—a space to develop resilience, broaden their worldview, and question the assumptions shaping their academic lives.”

She describes the CLCC as providing the “marginalia” of the STEMMB curriculum: “As a medievalist, I relish the marginalia effect. We are the glosses—the spaces where creative juices flow, where interdisciplinary conversations thrive, and where human connections take root. These margins matter.”

The findings show how deeply students value the safe, reflective environments the CLCC cultivates. “The vision of creating spaces for exploring identity, fostering curiosity, and situating disciplinary knowledge within wider social contexts threads through all of the findings in the chapter.”

What do you hope readers will take away from your work?

Iria: “Ultimately, the chapter celebrates the quiet, determined agency of students who choose to swim against the current. These are STEMMB undergraduates committing to multilingualism even when it doesn’t ‘fit’, even when it raises eyebrows, even when their workload is unforgiving.”

She stresses that these choices are far from peripheral. “They’re transformative. They shape students into more reflective, worldly, human(istic) versions of themselves. And that is something worth celebrating.”

Iria ends by expressing gratitude for the students who shared their experiences: “I’m proud to see this long‑term research become part of a wider conversation about the role of languages, identity, and interdisciplinarity both within and beyond 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. Above all, I am grateful to the students who trusted me with their stories—their voices, honest, thoughtful, and often courageous, are what make this work matter.”