There are many challenges in teaching heritage language learners because of the different levels of linguistic proficiency, cultural competence and identity. In the case of Spanish heritage speakers in the Central Washington region, most of them share a common background: their families come from rural areas in Mexico, and therefore, speak a Spanish vernacular that stigmatizes them. While some critics argue that it is important to teach a formal variety of Spanish and improve students’ writing skills, Kim Potowski (2002) contends that error correction should not be the framework. It would be more beneficial if heritage language teachers expanded their knowledge of Spanish vernacular to account for the fact that their students have a unique way of speaking, rather than dismissing such traditionally stigmatized forms of colloquial speech

Luna, Itzia

Meza, Isaac

Pinto, Edward

Teaching heritage students requires a wide variety of best practices that focus on the development of the students’ vocabulary, cultural competence, and grammar, in addition to the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking). I will focus on the best practices of encouraging students to read many genres, providing a range of writing topics, assigning oral interviews with the community, and granting students the freedom to speak both English and Spanish in the classroom. Another effective teaching strategy for heritage language learners is using a macro-approach

ScholarWorks at Central Washington University

Itzia Luna Isaac Meza Edward Pinto  Se puede y se debe: Educating Heritage Students   KEY TERMINOLOGY  Heritage language (HL)  Heritage language learner (HLL)  Heritage language speaker (HS)  Heritage culture (HC)  Second Language Learner (L2) HERITAGE LANGUAGE   “A heritage language is a language which was first for an individual with respect to the order of acquisition, but has not been acquired fully because of the switch to another dominant language” (Polinsky 2008).  HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNER  “Someone who has had exposure to a non-English language outside an education system” (Webb & Miller, 2000).    Overly broad and overly narrow HERITAGE LANGUAGE SPEAKER   “Raised in homes where a language other than English is spoken and who are to some degree bilingual in English and the heritage language” (Valdés 2000).  HERITAGE CULTURE  Tangible and intangible items passed down from generation to generation.  SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNER  Student learns a second language after being proficient in first language. BILINGUALISM  Receptive   Sequential   Simultaneous   How each type of bilingualism creates a different curriculum for K-12 TYPES OF CLASSES HLL L2   • Students are all at various levels and confident with speaking • Teachers focus on  vocabulary and grammar • Students are all at a similar level and confident with grammar/  content • Teachers focus on applying knowledge • Students are intimidated and at a variety of levels   • Cultural Competence • I.D. Mixed  ASSESSMENT   Diagnostic Tests i. “Developed for English speakers learning Spanish or English-dominant Spanish speakers” (Otheguy & Toro, 2000)  Placement Tests i. Schools vary placement based on: Oral interview, student-self selection, or AP scores  ii. AP exams focus on listening, speaking, reading, writing, and grammar           Disadvantages  i. When schools use various placement tests the students will be at different language levels   Ex. 2 year institution 4 year institution   CHALLENGES  Mixed classrooms are one of the biggest challenges (HHL and L2).   HLL’s process Spanish differently than L2.   “This difference in processing results from the fact that heritage speakers have been exposed since early childhood to Spanish. Thus, they have acquired the core language, with a higher or lower degree of proficiency” (Parodi, 2008).   HLL have different levels of language proficiency and cultural competence.   However, HLL’s oral communication skills are highly developed, but their reading and writing skills are weaker; they share that it common.      Students have common backgrounds    The majority of HLL in the Central Washington region share a common background.   HLL Spanish vernacular stigmatizes them because it is different from standard Spanish.    Some HLL are raised bilingual and incorporate loan words from English in their speech.  “This type of Spanish stigmatizes them because it is considered “incorrect” and uneducated” among monolingual speakers of standard Spanish”(Parodi, 2008).  “Monolingual speakers of Spanish often feel that the introduction of foreign words to their language corrodes the overall integrity and preservation of the Spanish language”(Parodi, 2008).  Monolingual speakers want to keep their language “pure” but HLL Spanish has triggered grammatical and sociolinguistic changes do to their high exposer to English.  Often times, error correction  has a negative impact on HLL because it gives them the idea that their Spanish is wrong; therefore, discouraging them from speaking their language.  HLL educators need to know that:   “The features that these native speakers stigmatize are usually Old Spanish forms that were common in the Spanish American koine spoken in colonial times in Latin America, during the 16th to 18th centuries”(Parodi, 2008).  Teachers take away from HLL culture when they constantly correct their students.  There are not enough:   Courses for heritage language learners.  Trained HLL educators.   HLL’s classes are difficult to teach because of the disparity students have in their development of the language.  WHAT WORKS IN A HERITAGE CLASSROOM? AND HOW DOES IT WORK? GOALS IN THE HERITAGE CLASSROOM  Reconnect students with their culture.  Strengthen students reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.  LUPE  Born in Mexico.  Parents did not graduate from high school.  Participated in a bilingual program for 3 years  Speaks only Spanish to parents and both English and Spanish to siblings. JUAN  Born in the United States.  Parents completed high school.  Did not participate in bilingual program.  Speaks some Spanish to parents and only speaks English to siblings.  DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION  Definition:  “Learner-centered teaching that varies instruction  and tasks according to individual learner profiles.” (Thomlinson 2000) DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION (CONT.)  “Differentiated instruction is not about giving a ‘normal’ assignment to most students and a different assignment to struggling or advanced students.”   “Nor is it about assigning a greater or lesser quantity of the same assignment to different students, or grading “easier” or “harder” for different students.”   “It is about assignments and assessments with a different nature altogether.” (Potowski 2014)  BEST PRACTICES  Reading  Writing   Interviews in the community  Code switch  Spanglish READING  Exposing heritage speakers to different literary genres in order to help them learn vocabulary and syntactical structures.  Poems  Short stories Newspaper articles  Essays  Letters   Songs NOTABLE SPANISH SPEAKING  WRITERS  Jorge Ramos Recognized newscaster and writer.   Gabriel Garcia Marquez   Considered one of the most important authors of the 20th century.   WRITING    Giving students a variety of writing assignments allow them to explore diverse methods of expression.  Persuasive essays  Argumentative essays Descriptive essays Narrative essays  Poems   Book Reviews ORAL ASSIGNMENTS  Oral interviews with members of the community allow students  • To speak and listen to the Spanish language. • To learn more about their heritage culture.  ENGAGING WITH THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY  “Making doctors’ appointments for families and interpreting.”  “Making appointments and interpreting for parent-teacher meetings.”  “Spending time in families’ homes.”  “Tutoring in afterschool programs.”  “Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to adults in community-based programs such as the YMCA.” (Gresilda 2012) BENEFITS OF ENGAGING IN THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY  They develop an appreciation for and understanding of diversity.  They have authentic cultural experiences.  They see the world from the perspective of recent immigrants.  They are required to speak Spanish. CODE-SWITCH  Definition:  Code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation.   Examples: Russell Wilson es un quarterback muy pequeño. Me gusta jugar tennis because es un buen exercise.    SPANGLISH  Definition: Modalidad del habla de algunos grupos hispanos de los Estados Unidos, en la que se mezclan, deformándolos, elementos léxicos y gramaticales del español y del inglés. (Diccionario de la lengua española)  A hybrid language combining words and idioms from both Spanish and English, especially Spanish speech that uses many English words and expressions.   EXAMPLES OF SPANGLISH  Voy a parquear mi carro enfrente de la tienda.  Dejame chequear mi e-mail.  Yo me gradué de Big Bend Community College.  WHY IS IT USED?  Reasons why it is used. Word exists in only one language.  To distinguish cultural identity.  Creative style. (Carreira 2008)   GRACIAS Thank You  SOURCES  Carreira, M., & Vinci, M. C. (2008). ¡Sí se puede!: un curso transitional para hispanohablantes. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin.  Code-switch. In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching.  Espanglish. Diccionario de la lengua española. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=spanglish.  Hornberger, N. and Wang, S.C. (2008) “Who Are Our Heritage Language Leaners?” in Brinton, D., Kagan, O., and Bauckus, S. Heritage Language Education: A New Field Emerging. New York: Routledge.   Gonzalez, A. L. (2010). Life in Spanglish for Latino youth. BBC News. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/10209213  Gresilda, A. (2012). Reaching Out to the Spanish-Speaking Community through Service-Learning. NCLRC | About Teaching | Heritage Learners. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://nclrc.org/about_teaching/heritage_learners.html  Parodi, C. (2008) “Stigmatized Spanish Inside the Classroom and Out” in Brinton, D., Kagan, O., and Bauckus, S. Heritage Language Education: A New Field Emerging. New York: Routledge.   Peyton, J.K. (2008) “Spanish for Native Speakers Education” in Brinton, D., Kagan, O., and Bauckus, S. Heritage Language Education: A New Field Emerging. New York: Routledge.   Polinsky, M. (2008) “Heritage Language Narratives” in Brinton, D., Kagan, O., and Bauckus, S. Heritage Language Education: A New Field Emerging. New York: Routledge.   Potowski, K. (2014, March 22) "La enseñanza de español a los hablantes de herencia," Instituto Cervantes. Retrieved May 14, 2014N.Y.http://potowski.org/SNSresources#sthash.iXzxDlZW.dpuf  Tomlinson, C. (2000). Fulfilling the promise of differentiation. . Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.caroltomlinson.com/  Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America. (2013, July 1). Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project RSS. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/12/11/between-two-worlds-how-young-latinos-come-of-age-in-america/ 