Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States

There is growing interest in heritage language learners—individuals who have a personal or familial connection to a nonmajority language. Spanish learners represent the largest segment of this population in the United States.

In this comprehensive volume, experts offer an interdisciplinary overview of research on Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. They also address the central role of education within the field. Contributors offer a wealth of resources for teachers while proposing future directions for scholarship.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States
Sara M. Beaudrie and Marta Fairclough

Part I: An Overview of the Field

1. Spanish Heritage Language Maintenance: Its Legacy and Its Future
Susana V. Rivera-Mills

2. Investigating Language Ideologies in Spanish as a Heritage Language
Jennifer Leeman

3. Policy and Planning Research for Spanish as a Heritage Language: From Language Rights to Linguistic Resource
Glenn Martínez

4. Key Concepts for Theorizing Spanish as a Heritage Language
Andrew Lynch

Part II: Linguistic Perspectives

5. The Grammatical Competence of Spanish Heritage Speakers
Silvina Montrul

6. Pragmatics and Discourse: Doing Things with Words in Spanish as a Heritage Language
Derrin Pinto

7. Code-Switching: From Theoretical to Pedagogical Considerations
Ana M. Carvalho

Part III: Learners' Perspectives

8. SHL Learners’ Attitudes and Motivations: Reconciling Opposing Forces
Cynthia M. Ducar

9. Identity and Heritage Learners: Moving beyond Essentializations
Kim Potowski

Part IV: Pedagogical Perspectives

10. Research on University-Based Spanish Heritage Language Programs in the United States: The Current State of Affairs
Sara M. Beaudrie

11. Meeting the Needs of Heritage Language Learners: Approaches, Strategies, and Research
Maria M. Carreira

12. Advanced Biliteracy Development in Spanish as a Heritage Language
M. Cecilia Colombi and Joseph Harrington

13. Language Assessment: Key Theoretical Considerations in the Academic Placement of Spanish Heritage Language Learners
Marta Fairclough

Afterword: Future Directions for the Field of Spanish as a Heritage Language
Guadalupe Valdés

Contributors

Index

Reviews

"This book is worth having on one’s shelf for the bibliography alone. It is a well-developed compendium of studies in each of the thirteen SHL subfields contained in its chapters, with clear outlines of the research that has been done, problems that occur in each area, and excellent suggestions for future studies. It is a valuable tool for researchers on SHL, Spanish in the United States, teachers of heritage speakers, and heritage speakers themselves."—Hispania

"A very welcome contribution, as it fills a much needed gap in the field . . . . This book provides the reader with a comprehensive picture of research trends on Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States."—Linguist

"Education and linguistics collections alike will find this a solid assessment of practices."—Midwest Book Review

"Sara Beaudrie and Marta Fairclough have pulled together the leaders in the field of Spanish as a heritage language in the areas of research and instructional practice to address the questions that those of us who work in the field have been asking for many years. This compilation moves us a huge leap forward in: understanding the place of Spanish in the United States, features of the Spanish of heritage Spanish speakers, instructional approaches and assessments for working with this population, and future directions in practice and research. We have been waiting for a book like this for a long time. It is a must-read for all of us who care about Spanish as a heritage language in the United States."—Joy Kreeft Peyton, Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC

"Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States: The State of the Field takes a systematic approach to the theoretical and pedagogical aspect of Heritage Language instruction. In thirteen essays, the volume’s contributors identify primary areas of interest related to SHL in the United States. Then, they balance their observations of the past and the present state of affairs of the field with suggestions for practical applications in the classroom and beyond."—José Esteban Hernández, associate professor of Hispanic linguistics, University of Texas Pan American (UTPA)

Contributors

Sara M. Beaudrie Maria M. CarreiraAna M. CarvalhoM. Cecilia ColombiCynthia M. DucarMarta FaircloughJoseph HarringtonAndrew LynchGlenn MartínezSilvina MontrulDerrin PintoKim PotowskiSusana V. Rivera-MillsGuadalupe Valdés

Supplemental Materials

Awards

About the Author

Sara M. Beaudrie is an assistant professor of Spanish and director of the Spanish for heritage learners program in the Spanish & Portuguese Department at the University of Arizona.

Marta Fairclough is an associate professor of Spanish linguistics and director of heritage language education in the Department of Hispanic Studies at the University of Houston. She is the author of Spanish and Heritage Language Education in the United States.