Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Language Positioning Within Peer Discourse In Dual Language Classrooms, Sophia Jones

Senior Theses and Projects

Bilingualism and biliteracy represent one of the goals for dual language education, but prior research shows that the separationist manner through which programs are structured contradicts this goal. To understand these problems, this study applies a critical framework. Through the lens of positioning theory, I explore peer discourse to discover how students are positioned as bilingual or monolingual speakers in peer interactions in order to understand the nuance of bilingualism within dual language classrooms. This is important for the group of students researched in this study because the language positions they continually undertake ultimately have long-lasting impacts on their emerging …

Parent Experiences Navigating The Hartford Youth Scholars Program Application, Maria Vicuña

Senior Theses and Projects

In the United States, large disparities in education and educational attainment across racial and ethnic groups continue to exist. To combat this disparity, families may look for opportunities that will help their child succeed such as academic programming/enrichment. Hartford Youth Scholars (HYS) is one such program, located in Hartford, CT. While programs such as HYS exist, these programs are usually in demand and unfortunately, due to lack of resources and funding, there are only a limited number of students programs have the capacity to admit. While this is the case, it’s important that all families have a fair shot at …

Proficiency Assessment In Bilingualism Research: How Valid Are Our Measures?, Sara Saez-Fajardo, Melissa A. Bowles

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Many Spanish HL acquisition studies have used proficiency assessments developed for L2 learners to meet investigation standards. However, few researchers present any validity evidence of these instruments’ appropriateness for HL learners. In this presentation, I inspect the validity evidence of one of the most popular proficiency tests: the DELE test.

Actitudes En Pro Y En Contra Sobre El Uso Del Lenguaje Inclusivo Y Su Enseñanza En El Salón De Clases De Shl., Brisa Del Bosque, Mica Boh

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Con esta investigación, buscamos predecir si la enseñanza del lenguaje inclusivo en español en los salones de clase de español como SHL y como L2, provocará que su uso continúe en la lengua española o pase como una moda efímera.

Encuestamos a 75 instructores de Español K-12 en los Estados Unidos, que compartieron sus opiniones sobre la enseñanza y el uso del lenguaje inclusivo. La mayor parte de los instructores que respondieron nuestra encuesta, han enseñado a estudiantes de SHL y L2.

Como instructores de español, se puede ignorar la propuesta del lenguaje inclusivo y seguir enseñando de la forma …

The Gen Z Heritage Learner: Redefining The Shl Program For A Post-Pandemic Generation, Alejandro Acero Ayuda

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

The purpose of this presentation is to reflect on some of the perspectives, beliefs and policies that lie behind the definition, understanding and framework of ‘success’ (Beaudrie, 2020) according to the Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) programs, and the design on which these programs rely to develop their curricular foundation for the upcoming generation of heritage learners.

How ‘success’ materializes depends on what is the specific profile of Heritage Language Speaker (HLS) used as reference according to each SHL program’s perspective (Carreira, 2012). The larger vision upheld on what is the SHL Education specific purpose, deeply influences the theories and perspectives …

Towards Shl Benchmarks From The Bottom-Up: High-School Teachers As Curriculum Designers, Isabel Torrubia Gortari, Maureen Wrightson, Elisa Gironzetti

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Spanish heritage language (SHL) programs at the secondary level lack a set of standards that address the linguistic, social, affective, and professional needs of students (Potowski & Carreira 2004) and guide the curricular decisions of administrators and teachers. While several curricular proposals currently exist for post-secondary education (e.g., Beaudrie, Amezcua, & Loza, 2021), these are not always easily adaptable or applicable in a secondary school program and can be perceived by secondary teachers as a top-down imposition disconnected from their reality. To address this need, our project engaged researchers, high-school teachers, and administrators in a long-term initiative aimed at: a) …

Consejos Y Enseñanzas From The Graduate Student Perspective: Implementing Culturally Responsive Practices And Creating Teaching Moments In Spanish As A Heritage Language (Shl) Classrooms, Maria Vielma, Jorge A. Hernández

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

We center our own consejos y enseñanzas to bring a critical focus to the experiences and perspectives of graduate student SHL instructors and how they should be central to addressing, examining, and implementing best teaching practices, especially culturally responsive teaching (CRT).

“Eres Un No Sabo Kid”: How Linguistic Discrimination Online Is Shaping Young Heritage Spanish Speakers’ Language Attitudes, Identities, And Community Connections, Diana Camberos, Claudia Pozzobon Potratz

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

We explore how a social media phenomenon impacts the identity, language development, ideologies, and sense of community and self among Heritage Spanish Speakers (HSS) at a PWI in the Midwest. The data reveals the unique experiences and challenges faced by HSS and their perspective on language ideologies and identity.

Creating A Culture For Heritage Speakers In The Midwest: Promoting Spanish And French As Heritage Languages Among Undergraduate Students, Elise M. Dubord, Elizabeth Zwanziger

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

No abstract provided.

From Language Brokering To Professional Translation In Hl Education, Laura Gasca Jiménez

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Research has shown that language brokering—i.e., the language practice whereby bi/multilingual individuals with no formal training in translation or interpreting linguistically mediate between two or more parties, usually adult family members and individuals from the dominant culture (Kam, 2011)—is a common language practice of heritage language (HL) speakers (e.g., Antonini, 2015; Cline et al., 2010; Hall & Sham, 2007; Kwon 2014; López, Lezama & Heredia, 2019; Orellana, Dorner & Pulido, 2003). Despite HL education’s recognition, validation, and integration of students’ language varieties and diverse community practices, language brokering is rarely acknowledged in pedagogical proposals and consequently not integrated as a …

Us Spanish: A Revivalistics Approach For Community Engaged Practices And Cultural Reclamation In 21st Century ‘Merica, Alejandro Acero Ayuda

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

While the number of Latinos/as/x who speak Spanish at home increased along with the growing Latinos/as/x population, the share of Latinos/as/x who speak the language has declined over the past decade (Pew Research Center, 2021). Particularly in the top US metro areas with the largest Latinos/as/x population, having the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro areas the largest declines. The predominance of new births over immigration as a source of Latinos/as/x population growth in the 21st century represents a reversal of historical trends, however the percentage of Latinos/as/x who speak Spanish at home has declined dramatically in 2021, especially among the U.S.-born …

Empowering Spanish Heritage Learners Through A Community Informed, Online Medical Spanish Curriculum, Bonnie C. Holmes Ph.D., Kenneth Rhee Md

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

The lack of standardized medical Spanish curriculum leads to variable content and quality, often neglecting heritage language learners. Also, community engagement efforts seldom extend to curriculum development. Learn about a collaboration between Spanish faculty and a physician to create an innovative, virtual Spanish for healthcare curriculum that addresses these challenges.

Yosoy. Language Education Through Culture: A Project For Spanish-English Bilingual Children And Families., Maria Luisa Parra, Marcela Fritzler

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

About one-third, 17.9 million, of the nation’s Latina/o/e population is younger than 18 (Krogstad & Gonzalez-Barrera 2018), being the majority bilingual (Krogstad & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2015), with no access to quality bilingual education to address their strengths and needs (García 2014). Questions about this group’s future capabilities to speak Spanish are central to current theoretical and pedagogical inquiries, efforts, and research. The linguistic dynamism between Spanish and other languages that characterizes this group also raises essential questions about the intergenerational continuity of Spanish and its meaning for young Latina/o/e identities (Valdés 2015).

Many families experience interactions in Spanish with sentimientos encontrados …

Cultura Y (Ataque De) Corazón: A Training For Health Professionals Needing Medical Interpretation Services, Elizabeth Dudek, Shelby Edwards

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Limited English proficiency is a known barrier to quality health care outcomes (Green 2017, Helmi 2021). Inclusion of a certified language interpreter during health care encounters improves outcomes among ESL (English as a Second Language) patients (Karliner, Jacobs, Chen, and Mutha 2007). Interpretation with a certified interpreter promotes understanding between patients and their medical providers, and advances both health and race equity (Foiles Sifuentes, Robledo Cornejo, Castaneda-Avila, Tija, and Lapane 2020). Most health care workers receive no formal training in how to use an interpreter with limited English-proficiency patients. Located in the Hispanic Heritage District of an increasingly Latine mid-sized …

Factors In Developing Sustained Community Engagement Among Spanish Heritage Language Learners, Kelly Lowther Pereira

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Please see attached file.

Nuestras Raíces: Recovering The Radical And Critical Past Of Spanish As A Heritage Language In Arizona And Beyond, Lillian Gorman

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

This presentation recovers the Latinx community voices around the understudied critical linguistic legacy of Spanish as a Heritage Language in Arizona. Specifically, I turn to the reconstruction and recovery of the archive around Adalberto “Beto” Guerrero’s impact on Latinx language experiences in Tucson and the greater Southwest.

Unveiling Critical Language Awareness Through Tiktok: Fostering Community, Dialogue And Student Perspectives In The Spanish Heritage Language Classroom, Sarah Henderson

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

“What are the students saying?” examines students’ reactions towards critical language awareness-laden media presented in the Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) classroom. Critical language awareness (CLA) emphasizes how “language practices are invested with power relations and ideological processes which people are often unaware of” (Fairclough, 1992, p.7). In the classroom, CLA manifests in ways that “helps students understand how language prejudice is intertwined with broader social hierarchies and power relations. Further, it seeks to promote students’ development of critical resources for resisting and challenging those hierarchies” (Leeman 2018, p. 348). The present classroom-based study furthers CLA research by advancing …

¿Es Bienvenido El Uso De “Haiga” En Clases De Shl? Reacciones Y Experiencias En Clases De Herencia En Los Estados Unidos, Brisa Del Bosque

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

En esta investigación cualitativa, he entrevistado a 5 instructores de SHL y a 5 padres/madres de familia con estudiantes de herencia en grados K-12, para escuchar sus opiniones sobre el uso del “haiga” en el salón de clases SHL en los Estados Unidos y en los hogares de hablantes de español como lengua de herencia.

Algunos de los temas y preguntas durante las entrevistas fueron:

¿Cómo se enseña el uso de “haiga”?

¿Se debe enseñar?

¿Se promueve su uso?

¿Lo usas en casa o en tus clases?

¿Se debe corregir?

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre haiga y haya?

El corregir …

Los Hablantes De Lengua Heredada En Tiempos De La Cultura Snack, Marcela Fritzler

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Los hablantes de lengua heredada en tiempos de la cultura snack

Los formatos breves multimodales presentes en el ecosistema mediático brindan muestras de lengua auténticas, en un rico abanico de registros, que favorecen el desarrollo lingüístico de los hablantes de lengua de herencia. De allí que, su inclusión como recursos didácticos genera la posibilidad de crear actividades motivadoras y significativas para este colectivo de estudiantes.

Resumen

Diseñar un programa para hablantes de lengua de herencia requiere tener presente, ante todo, que constituyen un grupo heterogéneo que abarca desde hablantes nativos hasta hablantes de tercera generación y más, si fuera el …

“Su Español Es Incorrecto”: Challenging Spanish Teachers’ And Students’ Linguistic Beliefs Through Cla In A Dialectology Course, Silvia Perez-Cortes

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

With the number of Spanish heritage classes and bilingual students being on the rise (Beaudrie, Amezcua & Loza, 2021), there is a pressing need to incorporate pedagogical practices that foster inclusivity and challenge dominant language ideologies (Holguín-Mendoza, 2018; Leeman, 2012; Lacorte & Magro, 2021; inter alia). This necessity is particularly dire at the K-12 level, where teachers ­oftentimes lack the training to deconstruct their own –as well as their students’– linguistic beliefs to offer a more socially-conscious instruction (Hudgens-Henderson & Hackman, 2021).

Following the work of Beaudrie et al. (2021) and Wilson & Marcin (2022), this study examines …