Luis David Gaytán-Soto

Contact Information

4024 Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building
707 S. Mathews Ave. | MC-176
Urbana, IL 61801
Edit Your Profile
Graduate Student
Research Assistant

Biography

Luis David Gaytán-Soto is a 1st generation Mexican-American graduate student who was born in Southern California but lived in Villa de Alvarez, Colima, Mexico, between the ages of 7 and 11. As a McNair Scholar, Luis graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (CPP) majoring in Spanish with minors in history and philosophy. That same year, Luis joined UIUC to pursue graduate studies in Hispanic Linguistics. As a first generation student, Luis is aware the impact that being a first gen student has on ones self. Navigating higher education can be daunting and confusing. As a result, Luis is dedicated to giving back to his community and students. Hence, Luis has served as a mentor to 4 students from his alma mater, 1 from UCLA, and 1 from UIUC. In his spare time he enjoys playing the diatonic accordion.  

Research Interests

  • (Instructed) heritage literacy development
  •  Quantitative & Qualitative research methods
  • Mixed methods for research in language acquisition and teacher education
  • Cognitive processes in language learning
    • Depth of Processing
  • Corpus Linguistics
  • Phonological Awareness Training 

Education

  • Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Currently)
  • M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) 2022-2024
  • B.A. (Cum Laude) in Spanish Linguistics and Literature with minors in History and Philosophy. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (CPP), 2018-2022

Awards and Honors

(•= University Internal) (†=External)

Awards

  1. Spring 2024-Xiaohui Zhang Diversity & Community Engagement Award | UIUC • $500
  2. Spring 2024-We-Cu Community Engaged Scholar Award | UIUC •
  3. Spring 2024-Best Hispanic Linguistics Abstract | Georgetown University †
  4. Fall 2023-Graduate Student Leadership Award-Master's Student | UIUC • $500
  5. Fall 2022-Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program | Cal State University System †
  6. Spring 2022-McNair Scholars Research Award | CPP • $400
  7. Fall 2021-Research Distinction Award | CPP •    

Research Grants

  1. Fall 2023-Graduate College Master's Project Travel Grant | UIUC • $500

Scholarships

  1. Fall 2022-Inspire Initiatives Scholarship | NAACP † $5,000
  2. Summer 2022-Latino Faculty Association Leadership Scholarship | CPP • $1,000
  3. Spring 2022-McNair GRE Scholarship | CPP • $200
  4. Spring 2021-Cecil B. Brown Scholarship | CPP • $6,000
  5. Spring 2021-English & Modern Languages Scholarship | CPP • $500

Courses Taught

  1. SPAN 252: Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics (Summer 2025)
  2. SPAN 208: Oral Spanish (Spring 2025)
  3. SPAN 122: Intensive Elementary Spanish (Spring 2025)
  4. SPAN 228: Spanish Composition for Heritage Speakers (Fall 2024)
  5. SPAN 130: Intermediate Spanish (Fall 2024)
  6. SPAN 204: Advanced Grammar in Context (Spring 2024)
  7. LLS 100: Intro to Latina/Latino Studies (Spring 2024)
  8. LAS 112: First Year College Success (Fall 2023) *co-taught
  9. SPAN 141: Introduction to Spanish Grammar (Fall 2023)
  10. LAS 292: Global Perspectives in Cross-Cultural Contexts (Spring 2023)
  11. LAS 291: Global Perspectives for Inter-Cultural Learning (Fall 2022)

Recent Publications

(2026) Gaytán-Soto, L. Spelling in Spanish Heritage Language Education, by Amalia Llombart-Huesca, 2024. Georgetown: Georgetown University Press, in Heritage Language Journal. https://doi.org/10.1163/15507076-bja10056

(2025)  Beristain, A., Bryant, S., Cox, J., Dees, J., Gaytán-Soto, L., Ghanim, L., Johnston, A., McCarvel, M., Perdomo, M., Silvano, E., Truong, T. (January 9th to 12th). "Advocating & Navigating in the (Non)   Academic Landscape". Proceedings from the 25th annual  meeting of the Linguistic Society of America.10 (1)  https://doi.org/10.3765/plsa.v10i1.5921

(2024) Bowie, D., Dees, J., Gaytán-Soto, L., McCarvel, M., Mantenuto, I., Truong, T. "Identifying, understanding, and supporting diverse first-generation scholars in linguistics". Proceedings from the 24th annual meeting of  the Linguistic Society of America, Vol 9, No. 2, Pg, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3765/plsa.v9i1.5712

(2023) Llombart-Huesca, A., Gaytán-Soto, L. “Spanish Heritage Language Learners: Reading difficulties and spelling errors”. Spanish as a Heritage Language Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2, Pg. 65-87. https://journals.upress.ufl.edu/shl/article/view/1947