Research Statement
I am a community-based researcher who uses approaches such as case study, critical discourse analysis, arts-based research, and community based action research to promote social change in adult and secondary multilingual communities and classrooms.
Publications
McHolme, L. & Feinberg, I. (Accepted). Empowering refugees and immigrants through transformational home language health education. Health Literacy and Adult Education - Responding to New Healthcare Realities [Special Issue], Adult Literacy Education Research Journal.
McHolme, L., De Costa, P., & Cárdenas Curiel, L. (2025). “Yeah, but I don’t speak English”: Critical language portrait dialogues with adult emergent multilingual language learners. Journal of Language, Identity and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2024.2441681
McHolme, L. (2024). Adult emergent multilingual language learners’ identity positioning and English-only ideologies in the United States: A quantcrit case study. Journal for Research on Adult Education / Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s40955-024-00289-7
Kennedy, L., McHolme, L. & Symons, C. (2024). Refugee background youth workers as social change agents: Building bridging relationships one story at a time. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 28(1), 97-111. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/2980/3417
Cárdenas Curiel, L., McHolme, L. & Lundeen, A. R. (2023). Translenguaje y el arte en unión: Fostering pre-service teachers’ languaging and multiliteracies through bilingual community art gallery lessons. Language and Education, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2022.2162828
McHolme, L. (2023). (Un)patterning of adult education from a critical multilingual literacies perspective (Order No. 30521692). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ Big Ten Academic Alliance: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; ProQuest One Literature. (2820226668).
McHolme, L. (2015). Measuring the adult literacy rate in English: The case of the west hope zone (Publication No. 778) [Master’s thesis, Grand Valley State University]. ScholarWorks@GVSU.
Cárdenas, C., Reichmuth, H., Domke, L., McHolme, L., Masso, M., Deng, M., Kennedy, L., & Gordon, R. (Under Review). D(d)iscourse beehive: A translanguaging social justice-oriented approach for ESL pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly.
Cárdenas Curiel, L. & McHolme, L. (Under review). El arte as traveling embodiment of critical consciousness: “Se hace el camino al andar.” In L. Herrera, D. Palmer, B. Caldas, & C. Faltis (Eds.), Handbook of Bilingual Teacher Education.
McHolme, L. (Proposal under review). Decolonizing English education for adults from a critical multilingual literacies perspective. TESOL Journal, Special Issue 2026: Critical Race Praxis in English Language Teacher Education. [Impact Factor: 1.3]
Kaldes, G. & McHolme, L. (Proposal under review). Interrogating deficit-based narratives of adult literacy in multilingual communities: The benefits of being a bilingual reader. In K. M. Wong & F. Jaumont (Eds.), Vol. The Beauty of Imperfect Language Learning, Center for the Advancement of Languages, Education, and Communities.
Conference Presentations
McHolme, L. (2024). “Without any fear”: Adult MLLs negotiating raciolinguistic identity in a multilingual book club [Roundtable, SIG - Adult Literacy and Adult Education Sig]. American Education Research Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
McHolme, L. (2024). “It’s good, these graphic novels for us”: Picturebooks and adult multilingual language learners [Roundtable, SIG - Bilingual Education Research]. American Education Research Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
McHolme, L. Kennedy, L., & Symons, C. (2024). Refugee-Background Youth Workers’ Model for Social Change: Building Bridging Relationships through Storytelling [Paper Session, SIG - Adolescence and Youth Development]. American Education Research Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
McHolme, L. & Cárdenas, L. (2023). “Yeah, but I don’t speak English”: Raciolinguistic chronotopes in an adult emergent multilingual classroom. American Education Research Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois.
Cárdenas, L., Deng, M., Domke, L., Gordon, R., Kennedy, L., Masso, M., McHolme, L. & Reichmuth, H. (2023). A discourse analysis of translanguaging pedagogy in a social justice-oriented teacher education program. American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference. Portland, Oregon.
Cárdenas, L., McHolme, L., & Lundeen, A. (2022). Fostering equitable language learning through bilingual community art gallery lessons. American Education Research Association Annual Meeting. San Diego, California.
Cárdenas, L., McHolme, L., & Lundeen, A. (2021). Critical bilingual literacies: Examining language ideologies in teaching bilingual Latinx students. National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention. Virtual.
Apol, L., McHolme, L., Evalt, S., Peña-Pincheira, R., & Lockart, R. (2020). Globalizing an undergraduate children’s literature course: texts, stances, questions. Literacy Research Association 70th Annual Conference. Virtual.
Symons, C., Kennedy, L., & McHolme, L. (2020). Poetry, portraits, and prose: Humanizing (im)migration through collaborative narrative inquiry. American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Denver, Colorado. (Canceled due to COVID-19).
McHolme, L. (2014). Grand Rapids Adult Literacy Survey: West Hope Zone. Workshop presentation. MITESOL 2014 Conference. Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI.
Current projects
As a postdoctoral researcher in adult literacy, my work at Georgia State University centers the voices of multilingual and multicultural adult learners.
Health Literacy in Clarkston, Georgia
Multilingual Diabetes Education
Reading Comprehension Strategies in Adult Education Programs
Multiple Case Study
Systematic Literature Review
Non-refereed Publications
Literacy Center of West Michigan (2013). Community literacy initiative literacy report: Part I: third grade reading. (S. Ledy & L. McHolme, Eds.). http://johnsoncenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/06/CommunityLiteracy.pdf
McHolme, L. (2015, May 26). Young authors release new book with reading and signing at Wealthy Theatre. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/kid-authors-read-their-work-book-launch-and-signing
McHolme, L. (2015, May 15). Our place, your voices: Why I <3 The Rapidian. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/our-place-your-voices-why-i-love-the-rapidian
McHolme, L. (2013, February 12). Story Cafe to include free samples, live music, storytelling in grand opening. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/story-cafe-owners-invite-community-get-habit-visiting-west-side
McHolme, L. (2011, June 30). Music of cantarte choir floats above the eyebrows. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/cantarte-community-spanish-choir
McHolme, L. (2011, June 30). La música de coro cantarte flota más allá de las cejas. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/clase-de-coro-castellano-en-cook-arts-center
McHolme, L. (2011, June 16). Words to live by. RapidBlog, Rapid Growth Media. https://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/dogood/06162011lmcholme.aspx
McHolme, L.(2011, April 28). Family literacy program. RapidBlog, Rapid Growth Media. https://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/04282011mcholme.aspx
McHolme, L. (2011, April 12). Educating adults plants seeds of hope. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/plaza-comunitaria-opens
McHolme, L. (2011, April 12). Educar adultos es sembrar esperanza. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/educar-adultos-es-sembrar-esperanza
McHolme, L. (2011, March 31). Pathways to prosperity. RapidBlog, Rapid Growth Media. https://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/03242011lmcholme.aspx
McHolme, L. (2011, March 4). Refugees connect and contribute to the community through rhododendron crafts. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/rhododendron-crafts
McHolme, L. (2011, February 24). Schools of hope. RapidBlog, Rapid Growth Media. https://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/02242011McHolme2.aspx
McHolme, L. (2011, February 24). A tutor’s impact. RapidBlog, Rapid Growth Media. https://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/11112010TutoringBl.aspx
McHolme, L. (2010, October 5). World premier of lines: The lived experience of race. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/lines-lived-experience-race
McHolme, L. (2010, September 20). [Eat & Drink ArtPrize 2010] Founders Brewing Company. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/founders-brewing-co
McHolme, L. (2010, September 20). [Eat & Drink ArtPrize 2010] Bitter End Coffeehouse. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/bitter-end-coffee-house
McHolme, L. (2010, June 7). Local artist invites you into the living room of an immigrant family. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/americans
McHolme, L.(2010, May 17). GR30K to premier at thriller! chiller!. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/gr30k-local-rebirth-cult-classic-coming-soon-thriller-chiller
McHolme, L. (2010, April 15). Local writer Keleigh Wolf releases second collection of poetry. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/local-writer-keleigh-wolf-releases-second-collection-poetry
McHolme, L. (2010, April 5). The thread that binds us: A look at maids' lives during women's history month. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/thread-binds-us
McHolme, L. (2010, April 1). The revolution is not like a faucet: A reading by John Ross. The Rapidian. https://www.therapidian.org/revolution-not-faucet-reading-john-ross
Non-refereed Presentations
McHolme, L. (Accepted for 2024). Adult immigrant students’ identity positioning and English-only ideologies in the United States: A quantcrit case study. Lightning talk. Adult Literacy Research Center (ALRC) Mini-Conference. Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
McHolme, L. (2023). “Yeah, but I don’t speak English”: Raciolinguistic chronotopes in a super-diverse adult multilingual classroom. Lightning Talk. 2nd Annual Postdoctoral Symposium. Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
McHolme, L. (2016). Measuring the adult literacy rate in English: The case of the west hope zone. Poster presentation. 2016 Graduate Showcase: Education for the Future. Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI.
McHolme, L., & Kraley, S. (2010). Meaningful life skills for your ELL learner. Workshop presentation. Michigan Adult Education & Training Conference. Lansing, MI.