Spanish as a heritage language in the

United States:
An overview
FECHA DE RECEPCIÓN: 20 de octubre de 2014

FECHA DE APROBACIÓN: 10 de noviembre de 2014
Pp. 31-52
Por
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte*
Abstract
Day by day, the Latino cultural influence in the United States becomes more significant,
so the importance of Spanish language has risen considerably. This study analizes the
possibilities that new generations of people born in North America and brought up in a
Spanish-speaking household have regarding their culture and language. The document
provides an overview of the language programs that have become a necessity in many
states due to their high number of Latino residents, and how these programs influence the
Hispanic community, as well as the increasing importance that the community is taking
since Latino vote is now an objective for most US politicians.

Keywords

Brought up, hispanic, spanish-speaking, program.

El español como lengua de herencia en los Estados Unidos:
Una vision general
Resumen
Día a día, la influencia cultural latina en los Estados Unidos se hace más significativa, por lo
que la importancia del idioma español ha aumentado considerablemente. Este estudio analiza las
posibilidades que las nuevas generaciones de personas que han nacido en América del Norte y han
sido criadas en un hogar hispanoparlante tienen con respecto a su cultura e idioma. Este documento
ofrece una visión general de los programas de idiomas que se han convertido en una necesidad en
muchos estados debido a su elevado número de residentes latinos, y cómo estos programas influyen
en la comunidad hispana, así como la creciente importancia que la comunidad está tomando desde
que el voto latino se ha convertido en un objetivo para la mayoría de los políticos estadounidenses.

Palabras clave

Criados, hispano, hispanoparlante, programa.

____________
* Doctoral ABD, University of South Florida.
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
32 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

Le patrimoine de la langue espagnole aux Etats-Unis:

un aperçu complet

Résumé
Jour après jour, l’influence culturelle des communautés latines implantées aux États-Unis devient plus
significative, et l’importance de la langue espagnole s’est considérablement accrue. Cette étude analy-
se les opportunités dont disposent les nouvelles générations de personnes nées en Amérique du Nord
et ayant grandi dans un foyer hispanophone à l’égard de leur culture et de leur langue maternelle. Le
document donne un aperçu des programmes linguistiques spécifiques devenus une nécessité pour de
nombreux États en raison du nombre élevé de résidents Latino-américains, et de la façon dont ces pro-
grammes affectent l’importance croissante prise par la communauté hispanique du fait que « le vote
latino » est désormais une cible pour la majorité des hommes politiques américains.

Mots clés
Race, hispanique, hispanophones, programme.

O Espanhol como língua de herança nos Estados Unidos:

uma visão abrangente.
Resumo

Dia após dia, a influência cultural latina nos Estados Unidos torna-se mais significativa, por isso
a importância da língua espanhola aumentou consideravelmente. Este estudo analisa o potencial
que a nova geração de pessoas nascidas na América do Norte e criadas em famílias de língua
epanhola têm em relação à sua cultura e língua. O artigo fornece uma visão geral dos programas
de línguas que se tornaram uma necessidade em muitos estados por causa de seu alto índice de
residentes latinos, e como esses programas afetam a comunidade hispânica, e também a crescente
importância que a comunidade está tomando já que voto latino é agora um alvo para a maioria
dos políticos americanos.

Palavras-chave
Criados, hispano, hispano-falante, programa.
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 33

1. Introducción

K nown as a country of immigrants, the melting pot, and more recently the
salad bowl, the United States continues to be shaped and reshaped as
new cultural groups become ubiquitous. Among the many cultures present in
the American tapestry, Latinos lead the minority population growth and thus
their cultural influence has become more preponderant. Latinos continue to
be one of the fastest growing cultural groups in the United States, and it is
estimated by the US Census Bureau that this minority group could become the
majority in 2042 (Aemisegger, 2014).

Latinos have traditionally populated states such as California, New

Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois. However, recently
this cultural group has shown considerable growth in states such as North
Carolina, Georgia, and other traditionally White states such as Tennessee and
Kansas.

This population growth has contributed to the notoriety of this cultural

group at the national level. Particularly education and politics have seen how
Latinos moved from the background to the front page. Spanish speaking
students challenge the mainstream American educational system with their
bilingualism and biliteracy. The K-16 educational system grapples with
Spanish heritage speakers as their needs differ from those among monolingual
English speakers. Heritage language (HL) programs have become a must in
those states with high number of Latino students for their needs are particular
and differ from those among foreign language learners.

With high numbers in a group, political power may become a reality. The
Latino vote is now an objective for most politicians in the United States and
its significance was particularly evident during the 2012 presidential election
when 7 out of every ten Latinos voted for president Obama, compared to 2 out
of 10 for candidate Romney, according to López and Taylor (2012), researchers
from the Pew Institute. Politicians in American counties make education-
related decisions they deem are best for their constituents, regardless of how
much they know about their real needs. Education is commonly used as a way
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
34 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

to attract voters and therefore minorities may be appropriately represented in

such decisions. In states where the Latino presence has been a constant the
fight to implement or eliminate bilingual education has divided people and
their political representatives.

2. The Latino presence in the United States

Even though the term Latino is rather recent, the Latino presence in the American
territory is older than the country itself. The thirteen original colonies included
people who spoke languages such as English, German, French, and Dutch
among many others. To the south and the west of these territories, Spanish was
the official language in what is today Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
California and parts of Utah. This continuous Latino presence in the American
territory, added to the growing numbers of people who identify themselves
as Latino or of Latino descent create new realities in the American life style,
particularly in education and politics.

3. Latinos: a definition
The word Latino is supposed to cover a variety of people under the premise that
they speak Spanish or have been brought up in a Spanish-speaking household.
It is usually interchangeable with Hispanic, although originally these two words
meant two different things. In a country where race permeates every aspect
of society, individuals are classified according to a race or ethnicity. People
with Latin American/Spanish ancestry or origin challenge this American
way of categorizing people since they do not fit the descriptors assigned to
the other races. Thus, a person from Argentina may look White but does not
speak English and has not been brought up in a Caucasian household. People
from Latin America and Spain are already a mixture of races and cultures and
therefore the easiest way for the American system was to label them Latinos
or Hispanic.
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 35

The U.S. Government defines a Latino or Hispanic as “persons who

trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South
America, and other Spanish cultures” regardless of their race. Thus, Latinos
are a mix of racial and ethnic groups from 22 different countries of origin and
any assumptions made about them will most likely be inaccurate.

Four decades after the United States governmental mandate implementing

the term “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize Americans who trace their roots
to Spanish-speaking countries, a nationwide survey of Hispanic adults in
2012 found that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics
themselves. A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their
family’s country of origin; just 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label (Taylor,
Lopez, Martínez, & Velasco, 2012). Identifying with a label perceived as
not appropriate contributes to the confusion among Latino students. Many of
these students were born in the United States and grew up speaking English
as their first language while Spanish was only the language to interact with
grandparents. However, when these students enter the American education
system, they are classified as Latino due to their physical appearance. There
have been cases of students who were placed in English as a second language
classes even though English was their first language.

4. Latino students in the American

educational system
Many Latino students are classified in the American educational system as
Spanish heritage language (SHL) speakers if they have achieved a level of
proficiency in Spanish that allows them to interact with other speakers of
Spanish. The term heritage language (HL) had its origins in Canada when the
Ontario Heritage Languages Programs started in 1977. In the United States the
construct only became part of the American scholastic community in the late
1990s (Kagan & Dillon, 2008). It has been both widely adopted and criticized
by many scholars. According to Beaudrie and Fairclough (2012), on the one
hand the term evokes the idea of ancient, past, or even going back to colonial
times, and a detriment of great gains during the civil rights era. The term has
also developed more neutral and even positive connotations that include the
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
36 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

importance of cultural and linguistic patrimony as part of the richness of the

American individuals. Some second language acquisition (SLA) scholars have
also welcomed the field of heritage language since “it allows us to address
fundamental theoretical debates in our field from different perspectives,
including debates on the role of age, input, and environment, language transfer,
linguistic mechanisms and the type of linguistic knowledge acquired before
and after a critical period” (Montrul, 2008, p. 487).

This positive perspective of HL has generated the creation and

implementation of instructional HL programs in the United States, particularly
in those states with large populations of immigrants. Additionally, several
areas of HL research have sprung up in the last two decades. Yet to date,
finding a single definition for heritage language speakers (or learners) that has
been adopted by most scholars is a rather illusive task.

5. Heritage language speakers (learners)

In order to be considered a speaker of a foreign or second language, a certain
level of proficiency is expected. When it comes to heritage language learners
(HLLs), proficiency is not necessarily a determinant factor. Most definitions in
the literature considered it a key factor to decide whether or not someone can
be considered an HL speaker. Others favor personal connections to the HL or
to an HL community, even if the speakers are not able to use the language for
real life purposes.

Fishman (2001) introduced the first categorization of HLLs according

to the socio-historical connections to heritage groups in the United States.
The first group included speakers of indigenous languages spoken by Native
Americans before the arrival of Europeans. Some of the languages continued
to be used by large communities of speakers while some others have become
endangered. Speakers of languages such as Spanish, French, or German,
which came from Europe or Latin America, were part of a second group, while
speakers of Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cambodian, or Korean
were classified as immigrant languages since they were more recent influxes
of immigrant populations (Horneberger & Wang, 2008).
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 37

Another categorization of HLLs was outlined by Valdés (1995, 1997), in

which she classified them according to their academic skills in English and
their HL as well as their proficiency in the HL. It can be inferred from her
categorization that HLLs could vary considerably within the groups. In a later
publication, Valdés (2001) introduced what has become the most often cited
definition of HL, particularly within the academic context. She described an
HL as an individual “who is raised in a home where a non-English language is
spoken. The student may speak or merely understand the heritage language and
be, to some degree, bilingual in English and the heritage language” (Valdés,
2001, p. 1).

According to her, the term heritage language is relatively new in the field of
foreign language teaching. Before the National Standards in Foreign Language
Learning project of 1996, these learners were referred as native speakers of
the language, quasi-native speakers, or bilingual students. Because of the
dissatisfaction among teachers and scholars with these terms, the Canadian
term heritage language was adopted. Draper and Hicks (2000) defined an HL
learner as:

Someone who has had exposure to a non-English language outside the

formal education system. It most often refers to someone with a home
background in the language, but may refer to anyone who has had
in-depth exposure to another language. Other terms used to describe this
population include ‘native speaker’, ‘bilingual’, and ‘home background’.
While these terms are often used interchangeably, they can have very
different interpretations. (as cited in Hornberger & Wang, 2008, p. 3).

This definition, as the previous one by Valdés (2001), placed importance on

the proficiency in the heritage language the speaker has acquired. This aspect has
received criticism because it may leave out many HLLs who do not necessarily
have a level of linguistic proficiency but possess knowledge of cultural aspects
of the heritage language or those who may self-identify as an HLL.

Recently, Kagan (2008) introduced a more conciliatory definition that

included a broad and narrow perspective. Under a broad perspective, an HL
learner is someone who grows up in a home where a language other than English
is spoken, while the narrow perspective implies that the speaker has some basic
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
38 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

level of proficiency in the heritage language that allows interactions between

them and proficient speakers of the language without major breakdowns.

One of the major challenges for researchers has been the continuum of
bilingualism that HLLs have. It can be a daunting activity for both teachers
and researchers to establish concrete findings about a population that includes
individuals who have been exposed to the HL at home but who may have
limited proficiency in it. Particularly, when the same definition is used to
include learners who speak the HL for many years before beginning to learn
English or who were even schooled in a country where the HL is spoken.

Although recognized authors such as Beaudrie and Fairclough (2012,

p.7) advocated for a broad definition of HL as “an individual who has a
personal or familial connection to a nonmajority language”, supporting the
definition introduced by Fishman (2001), my personal experience as a high
school Spanish HL teacher for almost a decade showed me that the level of
proficiency in the HL plays a major role not only to be identified or to self-
identify as an HL but also to succeed academically in the HL. Unfortunately
being able to speak a heritage language does not imply that the student is able
to perform academically in the HL.

I consider an HL speaker someone whose level of proficiency in speaking

allows him to interact with other proficient speakers of the language, but who
has developed even higher levels of listening comprehension due to years of
exposure to the language at home. The learner may be illiterate in the HL but
has developed academic skills in English that allow them to transfer skills
or literacy in the HL through home schooling, community or public heritage
language programs, or schooling in a country where the language is spoken,
oftentimes their country of origin.

Thus, the definition coined by Valdés (2001) aligns more with my own
ideas learned through years of working with Spanish heritage language
learners. When an HL teacher has to make a decision whether to assign an
HL learner to a class, time is of an essence and the easiest observable element
is the learner’s ability to use the language orally. If a student is assigned a
class where participants have higher levels of proficiency in the HL, it can
have detrimental effects for the student’s motivation. During my experience
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 39

as a Spanish HL instructor, many students who had filled out their school
application form indicating that Spanish was the first language spoken at
home were assigned to my classes. However, they could not or did not want to
interact with me and their classmates because they perceived their Spanish as
incomplete and preferred to participate in English. Many requested a change
of class and ended taking Spanish as a foreign language. Thus, an HL teacher
may face a class where students have different levels of proficiency in the HL
with challenges that this type of environment creates.

6. Spanish as a heritage language program

The large numbers of people who claim Latino heritage in The United States
and who consequently have some level of language proficiency in Spanish
would presuppose an array of robust Spanish heritage programs in the country.
This, however, is not the case. Most states with high Latino population have
not developed unified heritage Spanish programs. In a state rather than federal
education system, states make educational laws according to their perceived
needs. This may have prevented noticing that there is a dire need to create a
national program tailored specifically for heritage Spanish students.

Traditionally Spanish heritage language courses are instructed by teachers

who are certified in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language but who
most times have not received any training on how to deal with the needs
of Spanish speakers’ linguistic, cultural and academic needs. According to
Valdés, Fishman, Chávez, and Pérez (2008), in the United States there is a
need for programs that prepare instructors who can teach heritage speakers,
particularly Spanish speakers. This lack of professional preparation has
generated instructors who:

Provide instruction to a category of students whom they have not been

trained to teach and about whom they know little. These instructors
frequently have little understanding of bilingualism and bilingual
individuals, contact varieties of language, and factors influencing the
retention or abandonment of heritage languages (Valdés, Fishman,
Chávez, & Pérez, 2008, p. 5).
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
40 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

The lack of college preparation on how to instruct heritage Spanish

speakers has generated heritage Spanish teachers who use a range of practices
traditionally found in a foreign language setting. Thus, the oral practice of
particular grammar structures and grammar explanations were found among
the most common (64% and 81% respectively) in the study conducted among
high school teachers by Valdés, Fishman, Chávez, and Pérez (2008).

Lacking the necessary professional training on how to educate heritage

language learners may lead to inappropriate teaching practices. A common
practice among heritage language teachers is their preference of one variety
of Spanish as more valuable and socially accepted than others. HL teachers
tend to be biased towards their own particular variety of language or that of
a chosen country while undermining the varieties among their students. This
practice usually contributes negatively to the development of the students’
linguistic skills (Carreira, 2000) since they feel unfit or incompetent and
default to English as their language of communication.

Similarly to what happened in second language teaching, in heritage

language there is a ubiquitous idea that there is one ideal native speaker
of Spanish. Traditionally that native speaker has been someone from Spain.
According to Said-Mohand (2011), the best way to demystify the construct of
native speaker requires instructors to be sensitive when dealing with it in the
classroom, particularly among heritage language speakers. Heritage language
learners usually have acquired their speaking skill at households with parents and
relatives who may not have finished their formal education and therefore possess
more colloquial ways of speaking with a regional vocabulary and grammar uses
commonly unaccepted among more educated speakers of Spanish.

Not having professional development courses where HL teachers discuss

about recent scholastic advancements deprive teachers of the possibility of
offering the best available education for their Spanish HL students. The use of
the term native speaker or its avoidance needs to be included in professional
development programs at any school county where heritage language
curriculum is implemented or there must be heritage language classes for
those who want to become foreign language teachers in the United States.
Currently due to the lack of training for in-service teachers, many of them
continue to believe there is an ideal native speaker of Spanish and they instruct
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 41

their students towards that goal. I advocate for Spanish HL classes where
teachers help their students develop their Spanish as they learn to function in a
country where there are several varieties of the same language with their value
and contribution to the linguistic richness of the country.

Heritage language programs contribute positively to HLLs’ identity

development. The role language plays in the construction of a speaker’s
identity has long been researched in sociology, psychology, and SLA. Identity
can be understood as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the
world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the
person understands possibilities for the future” (Norton, 2005, p. 5). Besides,
identity “is not fixed for life, but fragmented and contested in nature” (Block,
2007, p. 864) and is also “a contingent process involving dialect relations
between learners and the various worlds and experiences they inhabit and they
act on them” (Ricento, 2005, p. 895). Identity is therefore dynamic, and its
construction is intricately related to first, second, or heritage language learning
(He, 2006).

HLLs’ identity, similar to what happens to any other language learners, is

constantly reshaped as they switch languages according to the context where they
interact, sometimes developing a sense of ambivalence. Students in HL classes
emphasize the fact that they gain a new sense of identity and understanding
of their linguistic and cultural knowledge, leaving the classes with a better
understanding of who they are (Beaudrie, Ducar & Pelaño-Pastor, 2009).

The role of school in the shaping of a learner’s identity was researched by

Otcu (2010) at a Turkish Saturday school program in New York. By exploring
the beliefs and practices among teachers, administrators, parents, and students,
Otcu claimed that Turkish was the main way to develop a Turkish identity in
the United States and school was the bridge that made the connection between
language and culture possible. This study corroborates school as a key factor
in the developing of heritage identity and the contribution of HL programs to
the development of an HL learner’s identity.

In a study among Mexican American adolescents, González (2009)

surveyed 122 Mexican Americans in tenth grade who attended a low
performing school with a high Hispanic population. She selected 12 second-
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
42 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

generation participants and interviewed them. The selection was based on

the level of academic engagement and their experiences with negative racial/
ethnic encounters in school. The findings reveal the importance of HL in the
development of HLLs’ identity. By allowing students to participate in events
that dispel stereotypes and/or allow students to use their bilingual competence,
students feel schools can renew their commitment to their ethnic selves and
their identity as member of a valued community heightened, which also turns
into a higher commitment to school and academic endeavors.

7. Research on Spanish heritage language

Depending on the area of interest, researchers in SHL learning and teaching
have used quantitative, qualitative, or a combination of both. Scholars in areas
related to linguistic components of the language such as morphology and
syntax have favored quantitative methods. Montrul’s (2010) study of dominant
language transfer with 72 second language learners and 67 Spanish heritage
speakers included statistical analysis such as factorial analysis of variance
(ANOVAS) and detailed tables that require from the reader high levels of
statistical understanding. However, researchers interested in attitudes and
motivation have used quantitative methods to answer their research questions
as well. Yanguas (2010), for instance, conducted a study among twenty-one
college students in Washington, D.C. using the well-known AMTB tool
designed by Gardner (2001) to measure motivation and attitudes among
second language learners. Alarcón (2010) uses surveys, a suitable tool to help
her answer questions related to attitudes. She investigated the sociolinguistic
profiles, attitudes, language contact, and linguistic behaviors of college HL
students attending a small private college.

Similar to what has been happening in SLA research in general, SHL

researchers have also welcomed qualitative methods that allow them to tell
the stories behind just numbers. Thus, despite a clear favoritism among SHL
researchers for surveys, the inclusion of a qualitative paradigm is contributing
to unveil the world of Spanish HL learning and teaching. Interviews and
observations are the most commonly used way to collect data, although some
researchers also include field notes and journals.
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 43

Scholars doing research in SHL learning and teaching have begun to

include approaches conventionally used in other fields such as anthropology or
psychology. One of those is Felix (2009, p.147) who uses a phenomenographical
methodology that emphasized the importance of “revealing the qualitatively
different ways in which a phenomenon is experienced rather than on defining
the phenomenon itself”. This methodology changed the focus from the
researcher’s perception and explores the participants’ reflection and awareness
of the chosen phenomenon. Interviews become more a dialogue where
researcher and participant interact and reflect on the phenomenon.

Scholars investigating Spanish as a heritage language seem to be more

inclined to use quantitative methods based mainly on survey, but there is also a
push for the inclusion of qualitative research or even a combination of the two.

8. Major research finding in Spanish

heritage language

Researchers concerned with the Spanish production by HL learners and second

language (L2) learners of Spanish have found that these two groups share
more similarities than differences. Results show that L2 learners surpass HLLs
in the written mastery of the language but HLLs have more oral production
skills and are able to use grammar according to standard varieties of Spanish,
but struggle when having to read or write. SHLLs possess more native-
like knowledge of Spanish and, therefore, may benefit more from focused
grammar instruction (Bowles, 2011; Cuza, 2013; Lynch, 2008; Montrul, 2009,
2010, 2012; Potowski, Jegerski, & Morgan-Short, 2009). These findings are
related to other areas of research such as motivational factors since HLLs have
reported their desire to improve their reading and writing skills as their major
motivational factor to join SHL classes (Alarcón, 2010; Berho 2009). However,
Schwarzer and Petrón (2005) found that participants in their study expressed
a common desire for more emphasis on vocabulary, culture, and conversation
and less on grammar use. Ducar’s (2008) study showed that learners were not
particularly interested in learning academic Spanish.
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
44 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

Research in the area of students’ experiences and perceptions has also

provided the SHL learning and teaching field with findings that can contribute
considerably to how SHL programs are being implemented in the country.
Giving culture a more central role within the SHL curriculum and promoting
a sense of self-identity and cultural pride by engaging students in community-
based activities were perceived as highly important among SHLLs (Beaudrie,
Ducar, & Relaño-Pastor, 2009).

Schools and SHL programs can contribute significantly to identity

development among SHLLs by having them participate in community-
based activities where students have the opportunity to use their bilingual
competence as an asset as well as in activities that dispel negative stereotypes
of Hispanic students in the United States (González, 2009). HLLs join their
SHL classes with both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, but inappropriate
materials, curriculum, and or teaching methodologies can negatively impact
them replacing their interest by frustration and boredom (Defeo, 2011).
Unfortunately, research on SHL teachers is rather scarce and isolated and most
programs in the country continue to be developed and implemented based on
assumptions rather than on facts based on empirical research.

Gaps in research include not only insights on teaching practices but

also qualitative studies that provide evidence of how identity processes take
place among SHLLs and how this construct may be impacting the academic
achievement of this population. Similarly, there is a dire need for empirical
studies that investigate the materials being used to instruct SHLLs and the
role that technology is playing in this instruction. As of this literature review,
there is no single study on technology and Spanish heritage language teaching.
Besides, as Beaudrie (2012) indicates, in order to gain comprehensive insights
into SHL programs, studies that utilize both qualitative and quantitative
methodologies are needed.
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 45

9. Insights from Spanish heritage

language research
HL learning and teaching research has flourished but many areas of interest
are still in their infancy. It has been established, for example, that SHLLs
and second language learners of Spanish share some similarities, particularly
those with low proficiency in the heritage language. However, these findings
do not imply that these populations can be grouped together and assigned
to the same class as it has traditionally done in Spanish as foreign language
classes where SHLLs have to receive instruction. Research shows that HLLs
have very specific needs and that their instruction must prioritize culture and
identity development over linguistic mastery of the language. HLLs usually
have good command of the spoken language but need activities that foster their
reading and writing skills in formal varieties of the language. SHL teachers
need to be aware of the need to avoid perpetuating stereotypes and negative
ideas about the different varieties of Spanish and should welcome students with
all their linguistic and cultural richness. They should motivate them as well by
engaging them in activities where they feel valued and in which their bilingual
competence is appreciated as an important asset in today’s American academic
life and job market. Yes, there is still a dire need for research on motivation and
the role identity plays, particularly in high school where learners become aware
of who they are and how they are perceived by others in the United States.

Regarding curriculum design and implementation, researchers need to

invest more in finding out what teaching methodologies are more conducive
to better academic achievement and studies that include methodology and the
application of the latest technologies need to be conducted. Similarly, studies
that assess the effectiveness of the current SHL programs, materials, and
placement procedures are necessary. Knowledge on the appropriate sequence
for learners in these programs is vital so that students are not retained in classes
that are not appropriate for their academic needs or that correspond to personal
motivational factors. Thus, the area evaluating programs and the effectiveness
of instruction needs attention so that a justification for the need of this kind of
program in American public school be generated, curriculum improvement be
a reality, and teachers development opportunities be based on the needs of the
faculty currently teaching HLLs in the country.
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
46 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

Language teachers usually bring their own ideas and prejudices to the
classroom. Research has established that, even unconsciously, teachers are
influenced by ideas about particular varieties of Spanish that should be taught,
something that may be detrimental for SHLL. Thus, research on SHL teachers’
attitudes towards linguistic variation is an area that needs to be explored, since
it has serious implication for pedagogical practices.

Studies on biliteracy such as the one conducted by Shin (2005) among

Korean children demonstrate contributions of HL literacy to academic
achievements and are therefore necessary among Spanish HLLs. English
and Spanish share a large number of words and many of them are necessary
to perform well on standardized tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test
(SAT). Studies that show the effects of SHL learners’ literacy development
on standardized tests can help validate the importance of SHL programs in
the country. Similarly, these students can contribute to changes in curriculum,
textbook preparation, and HL implementation.

10. Latinos, bilingualism, and politics

Politicians in states such as California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and even
Illinois and North Carolina make huge attempts to attract the Latino vote.
Politicians such as Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio from Florida are considered
among the leading contenders for the Republic nomination to run for the
White House in 2016. Their English-Spanish bilingualism is certainly one of
their most outstanding characteristics. Politics in the United States has seen a
change of focus from the Black vote towards the Latino vote.

In the tight presidential election in 2012, the Latino voter was crucial.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, the levels of Hispanic support for
President Obama are the highest ever seen for a Democratic candidate since
1996 when the Latino support for President Clinton was measured at 72%.
Thus, it is clear that hardly any Republic or Democrat candidate will be able to
gain the White House without that Latino support.
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 47

The 2014 congressional and gubernatorial elections will most like be

also influenced by the Latino vote. According to Loren McArthur from the
National Council of La Raza (NCLR):

It is estimated that Latino will contribute to determine the future of as many

as 33 narrowly contested House seats, including 14 held by Republicans
and 19 held by Democrats. The Hispanic vote also has potential to be
highly influential in a number of tightly contested gubernatorial races,
including the swing states of Florida and Pennsylvania, with potential
implications for the 2016 presidential race.

The number of Latino voters does not necessarily correspond to

representation in the government or a direct effect on the decisions affecting the
Latino population. The Latino population is about 17% of the US population,
yet only a few Latino representatives are in the house and a couple in the
senate. This lack of representation when making decisions that affect the largest
minority in the country creates a sense of lack of belonging among its members.
Education has always been seriously affected by decisions made at top. The
implementation or discontinuation of bilingual education has been one of them.

11. Bilingual education

Bilingual education has been the concern of different groups with high stakes
regarding the benefits or harms it can mean to learners in the American
educational system. Some groups use the findings in second language
acquisition and pedagogy of language instruction to support its implementation.
These groups claim that bilingual education not only fosters the learner’s
ability to function in more than one language, to interact with people from
other cultures, but also consider that the American community benefits too.
Those groups that oppose it consider bilingual education as a threat to the
American identity since it interferes with the use of English as the glue that
keeps the country united and contributes to the creation of a linguistically
divided country.
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
48 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

Behind the purely linguistic reasons may hide some more delicate. In
states such as Texas, for example, race and the continuous growth of the Latino
population was established to be considered a threat to the historically dominant
race. According to Hempel, Dowling, Boardman, and Ellison (2013, p. 1),
“the increasing opposition to bilingual education among Whites corresponds
to changes in the Hispanic population”. Their research findings also highlight
“the relevance of the interaction between minority group size and minority
growth rates in generating majority opposition to bilingual education programs
in the United States.”

Bilingual education, heritage language programs and their contributions

to the Latino community in the United States continue to generate controversy.
However, it is undeniable that Spanish is a language that should not be
considered foreign in the American educational system. Foreign means that
the language is spoken in a distant land from the one where it is being taught.
Spanish in the United States is present, vivid and evolving in every corner of
the country. The need for heritage language programs shows a new reality and
makes evident the need for college language programs that prepare teachers to
better address the needs of the Latino population.
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 49

12. References
Aemisegger, C. (2014). Hispanics remain fastest-growing minority. Latin
American Herald Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.laht.com/article.
asp?ArticleId=334801&CategoryId=12394.

Alarcon, I. (2010). Advanced heritage learners of Spanish: A sociolinguistic

profile for pedagogical purposes. Foreign Language Annals, 43(2),
269-288.

Beaudrie, S., Ducar, C., & Relaño-Pastor, A. M. (2009). Curricular perspectives

in the heritage language context: Assessing culture and identity. Language,
Culture, and Curriculum, 22(2), 157-174.

Beaudrie, S. M., & Fairclough, M. (2012). Spanish as a heritage language

in the United States: Introduction. In S. M. Beaudrie & M. Fairclough
(Eds.), Spanish as a heritage language in the United States: The state of
the field, 1-17. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Block, D. (2007). The rise of identity in SLA research, post Firth and Wagner
(1997). The Modern Language Journal, 91(s1), pp. 863-876.

Carreira, M. (2004). Seeking explanatory adequacy: A dual approach to

understanding the term “heritage language learner.”. Heritage Language
Journal, 2(1), pp. 1-25.

Cuza, A. (2013). Crosslinguistic influence at the syntax proper: Interrogative

subject–verb inversion in heritage Spanish. International Journal of
Bilingualism, 17(1), 71-96.

Draper, J. B., & Hicks, J. H. (2002). Foreign language enrollments in public

secondary schools, Fall 2000. US Department of Education, Office
of Educational Research and Improvement, Educational Resources
Information Center.
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
50 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

Felix, A. (2009). The adult heritage Spanish speaker in the foreign language
classroom: A phenomenography. International Journal of Qualitative
Studies in Education (QSE), 22(2), 145-162.

Fishman, J. (2001). 300-Plus years of heritage language education. Heritage

Languages in America: Preserving a National Resource in the United
States, pp. 87-97.

Gonzalez, R. (2009). Beyond affirmation how the school context facilitates

racial/ethnic identity among Mexican American adolescents. Hispanic
Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31(1), pp. 5-31.

Hempel, L. M., Dowling, J. A., Boardman, J. D., Ellison, C. G. (2013). Racial

threat and White opposition to bilingual education in Texas. Hispanic
Journal of Behavioral Sciences, XX(X) 1– 18.

He, A. W. (2006). Toward an identity theory of the development of Chinese as

a heritage language. Heritage Language Journal, 4(1), pp.1-28.

Hornberger, N. H., & Wang, S. C. (2008). Who are our heritage language
learners? Identity and biliteracy in heritage language education in the United
States. Heritage language education: A new field emerging, pp. 3-35.

Kagan, O. (2008). What is a heritage language? Retrieved from http://www.

international.ucla.edu/languages/news/article.asp?parentid=93215

Kagan, O., & Dillon, K. (2008). Issues in heritage language learning in the
United States. Encyclopedia of Language and Education, pp. 1242-1255.
New York, NY: Springer.

López, M. H., & Taylor, P. (2012). Latino voters in the 2012 election. The
Pew Research Hispanic Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.
org/2012/11/07/latino-voters-in-the-2012-election/

Lynch, A. (2008). The linguistic similarities of Spanish heritage and second

language learners. Foreign Language Annals, 41(2), pp.252-381.
Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 51

McArthur, L. (2014). The Latino Vote Can Make a Difference in the 2014
Elections. The National Council of La Raza. Retrieved from http://www.
huffingtonpost.com/national-council-of-la-raza-/the-latino-vote-can-
make-_b_4654424.html.

Montrul, S. (2008). Second language acquisition welcomes the heritage

language learners: Opportunities of a new field. Second Language
Research, 24(4), 487-506.

Office of Management and Budget (1997). “Revisions to the Standards for the
Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. Federal Register”.

Potowski, K., Jegerski, J., & Morgan-Short, K. (2009). The effects of

instruction on linguistic development in Spanish heritage language
speakers.Language Learning, 59(3), pp. 537-579.

Ricento, T. (2005). Problems with the `language-as-resource’discourse in the

promotion of heritage languages in the USA. Journal of Sociolinguistics,
9(3), pp. 348-368.

Said-Mohand, A. (2011). The teaching of Spanish as a heritage language:

Overview of what we need to know as educators. Port Linguarum, 16, p.
89-104.

Schwarzer, D., & Petrón, M. (2005). Heritage language instruction at the

college level: Reality and possibilities. Foreign Language Annals 38(4),
pp. 568 -78.

Taylor, P., Lopez, M. H., Martínez, J., Velasco, G. (2012). When labels don’t
fit: Hispanics and their views of identity. Pew Research Hispanic Trends
Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/04/when-
labels-dont-fit-hispanics-and-their-views-of-identity/.

Valdés, G. (2001). Heritage language students: Profiles and possibilities. In

J. K. Peyton, D. A. Ranard, & McGinnis, (Eds.), Heritage languages in
America: Preserving a national resource, pp. 27-37. Delta Systems Inc.,
ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, & Center for Applied
Linguistics.
 Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the
52 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview

Valdés, G., Fishman, J. A., Chávez, R., & Pérez, W. (2008). Maintaining
Spanish in the United States: Steps toward the effective practice of heritage
language re-acquisition/development. Hispania, pp. 4-24.

Yanguas, Í. (2010). Oral computer-mediated interaction between L2 learners:

It’s about time. Language Learning & Technology, 14(3), pp. 72-93.