Spanish Heritage Learners' Emerging Literacy


Book Description

Spanish Heritage Learners' Emerging Literacy: Empirical Research and Classroom Practice introduces a comprehensive, multi-level empirical study on the writing abilities of Spanish Heritage Learners at the beginner level; the findings guide a broad selection of instructional activities and pedagogical resources to support writing development in the heritage language classroom. This is the first book dealing exclusively with writing competence among Spanish Heritage Language Learners through the integration of empirical evidence and instructional perspectives to address core questions on heritage language literacy. In addition to the in-depth analysis of Spanish production—spelling, verb usage, grammatical features, vocabulary, and discourse organization—the volume revises the latest perspectives within the Heritage Language Education field, and provides effective teaching approaches, innovative classroom implementations, and up-to-date resources. This versatile volume, designed for researchers and practitioners in the fields of Bilingual Education, Language Teaching Methods, and Heritage Language Pedagogy, integrates empirical evidence, global perspectives on heritage language teaching, and suggestions for further research.




Multiliteracies Pedagogy and Language Learning


Book Description

This book is the first volume to be devoted to the examination of the application of the multiliteracies pedagogical framework to the teaching of Spanish to heritage language learners in higher education institutions in the United States. The Hispanic population is a growing minority, and the presence of heritage speakers can be observed in second language Spanish classes in all levels of education, which presents unique challenges for practitioners. This collection focuses on differing populations of learners in educational settings in a variety of geographical areas, such as Arizona, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas. The studies included in the volume offer invaluable data and methodological insights into the instructional advantages of multiliteracies pedagogies in heritage language classrooms, and they will appeal to Spanish practitioners and researchers, as well as those interested in the education and practice of heritage languages.




Mi lengua


Book Description

An increasing number of U.S. Latinos are seeking to become more proficient in Spanish. The Spanish they may have been exposed to in childhood may not be sufficient when they find themselves as adults in more demanding environments, academic or professional. Heritage language learners appear in a wide spectrum of proficiency, from those who have a low level of speaking abilities, to those who may have a higher degree of bilingualism, but not fluent. Whatever the individual case may be, these heritage speakers of Spanish have different linguistic and pedagogical needs than those students learning Spanish as a second or foreign language. The members of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) have identified teaching heritage learners as their second greatest area of concern (after proficiency testing). Editors Ana Roca and Cecilia Colombi saw a great need for greater availability and dissemination of scholarly research in applied linguistics and pedagogy that address the development and maintenance of Spanish as a heritage language and the teaching of Spanish to U.S. Hispanic bilingual students in grades K-16. The result is Mi lengua: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States. Mi lengua delves into the research, theory, and practice of teaching Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. The editors and contributors examine theoretical considerations in the field of Heritage Language Development (HLD) as well as community and classroom-based research studies at the elementary, secondary, and university levels. Some chapters are written in Spanish and each chapter presents a practical section on pedagogical implications that provides practice-related suggestions for the teaching of Spanish as a heritage language to students from elementary grades to secondary and college and university levels.




Outcomes of University Spanish Heritage Language Instruction in the United States


Book Description

Modality Matters! A Look at Task-Based Outcomes / Julio Torres -- The Differential Effects of Three Types of Form-Focused, Computer-based Grammar Instruction : The Case of Receptive Heritage Learners / Sara M. Beaudrie and Bonnie C. Holmes -- Effects of Instruction on Specific Measures of Accuracy in Spanish Heritage Learners' Writing / Adrián Bello-Uriarte -- The Secret Is in The Processing : Categorizing How Spanish Heritage Learners Process / Celia Chomón Zamora -- What Type of Knowledge Do Implicit and Explicit Heritage Language Instruction Result In? / Melissa A. Bowles and Sara Fernández Cuenca -- "Incorporating Our Own Traditions and Our Own Ways of Trying to Learn the Language" : Beginning-level Spanish as a Heritage Language Students' Perception of Their SHL Learning Experience / Damián Vergara Wilson -- Beyond Registers of Formality and Other Categories of Stigmatization : Style, Awareness and Agency in SHL Education / Claudia Holguín Mendoza -- Towards an Understanding of the Relationship Between Heritage Language Programs and Latinx Student Retention and Graduation : An Exploratory Case Study / Diego Pascual y Cabo and Josh Prada -- Heritage and Second Language Learners' Voices and Views on Mixed Classes and Separate Tracks / Florencia G. Henshaw - Afterword : Studying Outcomes to Bridge the Gap between Teaching and Learning / Maria M. Carreira.




Teaching in a Mixed Secondary Spanish Classroom: A Case Study of Strategies and Successes of Minnesota Teachers


Book Description

The population of Spanish heritage language learners is increasing throughout the state of Minnesota. This change in demographics impacts schools in a variety of ways; one such consequence is the creation of classes for Spanish for Native Speakers in locations with high Latino populations. However, in most locations, such programs currently do not exist, resulting in Spanish heritage language learners enrolling in Spanish foreign language classes. These classrooms, called mixed classes due to the combination of second language learners and Spanish heritage language learners in the same classroom, pose a unique challenge to the foreign language instructors. This qualitative multiple case study investigates the challenges of mixed classes, teachers’ personal and professional history with heritage language learners, and the strategies teachers employed to meet heritage language learners’ needs. To explore these topics, three Minnesota Spanish teachers were interviewed and observed during their mixed classes. The results of this study indicate that teachers are aware of their students’ linguistic differences but do not acknowledge the distinctions in their affective characteristics. However, although teachers are aware of linguistic differences in HL students, the teachers in this investigation employed few linguistic strategies, suggesting a reason for such a discrepancy may be the teachers’ lack of education on such instructional strategies. Furthermore, the results suggest a relationship in use of affective strategies for heritage language learners and the teachers’ connection to the heritage language community, thus identifying integrative motivation as key to creating a positive learning environment for heritage language learners.




Free Voluntary Reading


Book Description

"This book documents the latest research findings about the success of free voluntary reading in developing high levels of literacy"--Provided by publisher.




The Routledge Handbook of Spanish as a Heritage Language


Book Description

The Routledge Handbook of Spanish as a Heritage Language brings together contributions from leading linguists, educators and Latino Studies scholars involved in teaching and working with Spanish heritage language speakers. This state-of-the-art overview covers a range of topics within five broad areas: Spanish in U.S. public life, Spanish heritage language use and systems, educational contexts, Latino studies perspectives and Spanish outside the U.S. The Routledge Handbook of Spanish as a Heritage Language addresses for the first time the linguistic, educational and social aspects of heritage Spanish speakers in one volume making it an indispensable reference for anyone working with Spanish as a heritage language.




Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish


Book Description

The 3rd edition of "Practical Advice" is a collection of 37 essays written by classroom teachers who educate heritage learners of Spanish. The essays are organized into 8 sections: "Are Heritage Learners Different", "Essential Goals", "First Steps", "Several Different Approaches to an HL Course", "Heritage and non-Heritage Learners Together", "An Organized Reading Program is Powerful", "Confronting Culture", and "Activities, Projects, Lessons, Events". We outline approaches that respect the unique needs of heritage learners. Topics include: the differences between heritage and native speakers of Spanish, a surprisingly essay about the differences between native-speaking and non-native speaking teachers, reflections on appropriate goals to structure a school year, home-school communication and issues particular to working with non-English speaking families, how to develop an independent reading program and how to structure a class with extremely heterogeneous reading levels, working within school cultures that may inadvertently undermine the needs of heritage learners, and a host of activities that work well in heritage learner classes. There are four essays outlining entirely different approaches to the school year: one that modifies a traditional thematic approach including descriptions for monthly units, a second approach based on pleasure reading designed to develop a love of reading even among low-level readers, a language arts approach designed to work in tandem with teachers in the ELA program, and an identity-based approach explicitly designed to strengthen the connections between home, school and community. In addition, there are three essays detailing different approaches to leading mixed classes, with both heritage and non-heritage learners. The third edition offers a strong approach to reading, offering big picture advice on developing a pleasure reading program as well as concrete, day to day activities that are easy to follow.




Spanish across Domains in the United States


Book Description

This edited volume focuses on Spanish use in education, public spaces, and social media in five macro-regions of the United States: the Southwest, the West, the Midwest, the Northeast, and the Southeast.