Next Chapter in Spanish as Heritage Language Pedagogy: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Dear Colleagues,

The field of Spanish heritage teaching has seen significant growth in the last two decades. The main contributions of such change have been, on the one hand, problematizing normative approaches as the only pedagogical possibility for teaching Spanish to Latinx youth and, on the other, calling for interdisciplinary and critical theoretical approaches to design tracks/programs, pedagogical frameworks, curriculum, and teaching practices that better serve this population and communities.

Moving beyond deficit and normative perspectives, Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) research has clarified that strengthening speakers’ translingual and multicultural identities should center our teaching mission, curriculum, and assessment design. In recent years, SHL pedagogy has been informed by theoretical frameworks such as the ecological perspective on language development (Parra, 2023); dynamic theories on bilingualism and translanguaging (García, 2009; Prada, 2021, 2023); critical language awareness (Beaudrie & Loza, 2022; Leeman & Fuller, 2021; Wilson, 2021; Holguín-Mendoza, 2018, 2021, 2023); critical sociolinguistics (Leeman & Serafini, 2021) and  raciolinguistics (Flores & Rosa, 2015; Quan, 2021); the Humanities and multiliteracies (Martínez, 2016; Parra, 2016; Parra et al., 2018; Potowski, 2012; Torres et al. 2017; Zapata & Lacorte, 2018); language as a social determinant of health (Martínez, 2010; Martínez & Schwartz, 2012; Showstack, 2019, 2021); inclusion, equity, and social justice (Foulis, 2018; Foulis & García, 2022); interdisciplinary approaches for diverse and multicultural representation in the classroom (Padilla & Vana, forthcoming); and from technology and digital innovations (Elola & Ozkoz, 2017; Ozkoz & Elola, 2020; Guerrero-Rodriguez, 2022) as well as from new possibilities of online teaching (Amezcua, Brandl, Duran, & Rodríguez, 2021).

As researchers and educators greatly benefit from having constant opportunities to reflect critically on their own practices (Beaudrie, Amezcua & Loza, 2019, 2020; Higby, Gámez & Holguín-Mendoza, 2023) and from collegial dialogues about how the aforementioned theoretical frameworks can be transformed in best pedagogical practices to implement in the SHLS classroom, this Special Issue, committed to strengthening SHL teachers’ identities, invites original work to contribute to the next chapter in Spanish as a Heritage Language Pedagogy. We conceived this new chapter, including topics such as:

• Critical language and cultural awareness;
• Critical multiliteracies and creativity;
• Written language;
• Curriculum and assessment design;
• Digital Humanities;
• Oral histories;
• Pedagogies for transnational U.S-Mexico students;
• Community engagement and social justice;
• Teacher professional development;
• Heritage Language Program direction;
• Study abroad;
• Latinx/e student's high-impact education, attainment, and retention;
• Heritage Language Anxiety and linguistic insecurity;
• Trauma-informed pedagogy.

We request, prior to submitting a manuscript, that the interested authors first submit a proposed title and an abstract of 250–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors, Dr. María Luisa Parra ([email protected]), Dr. Anel Brandl ([email protected]) and Angélica Amezcua ([email protected]) before 30 September 2023. The Guest Editors will review abstracts for the purpose of ensuring their proper fit within the purview of the Special Issue. Notification of abstract acceptance will be given by 1 November 2023. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

References:

Amezcua, Angélica, Anel Brandl, Evelyn Durán Urrea, and Estrella Rodríguez. 2021. The switch to remote instruction in Spanish heritage language courses: Why social presence matters. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages 8: 185–214

Beaudrie, Sara, Angelica Amezcua, and Sergio Loza. 2019. Critical language awareness for the heritage context: Development and validation of a measurement questionnaire. Language Testing 36: 573–594. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532219844293.

Beaudrie, Sara, Angélica Amezcua, and Sergio Loza. 2020. Critical Language Awareness in the heritage language classroom: Design, implementation, and evaluation of a curricular intervention. International Multilingual Research Journal https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2020.1753931

Elola, Idoia, and Ana Oskoz. 2015. Toward Online and Hybrid Courses. In The Routledge Handbook in Hispanic Applied Linguistics.Edited by Manel Lacorte. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 221–237.

Elola, Idoia, and Ana Oskoz. 2017. Writing with 21st-century social tools in the L2 classroom: New literacies, genres, and writing practices. Journal of Second Language Writing 36: 52–60.

Flores, Nelson, and Jonathan Rosa. 2015. Undoing appropriateness: Raciolinguistic ideologies and language diversity in education. Harvard Educational Review 85: 149–171. https://doi.org/10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.149

Foulis, Elena. 2018. Participatory Pedagogy: Oral History in the Service-Learning Classroom. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement 22: 119–134.

Foulis, Elena, and Christina García. 2022. Building empathy and practicing social justice: Partnering with Latina/o/x communities in the Midwest. Journal of Service-Learning in Higher Education https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1347863.

García, Ofelia. 2009. Education, Multilingualism and Translanguaging in the 21st Century. In Social Justice through Multilingual Education. Edited by T. Skutnabb-Kangas, R. Phillipson, A. Mohanty & M. Panda. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp 140–158. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847691910-011

Guerrero, Paola. 2022. Telecolaboración: Discutiendo sus efectos e implicaciones pedagógicas para hablantes de herencia de español. [Doctoral dissertation].

Guerrero-Rodriguez, Paola, and Avizia Long. 2022. Exploring Instructor Feedback Provision in Heritage Language and Mixed Heritage-Second Language Classrooms. Spanish Heritage Language Journal 2: 1–36.

Higby, Eve, Evelyn Gámez, and Claudia Holguín Mendoza. 2023. Challenging deficit frameworks in research on heritage language bilingualism. Applied Psycholinguistics. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716423000048.

Holguín Mendoza, Claudia. 2018. Critical Language Awareness (CLA) for Spanish Heritage Language Programs: Implementing a Complete Curriculum. International Journal of Multilingualism 12: 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2017.1401445.

Mendoza, Claudia Holguín. 2022. Beyond Registers of Formality and Other Categories of Stigmatization: Style, Awareness and Agency in SHL. In Outcomes of University Spanish Heritage Language Instruction in the United States. Edited by Melissa A. Bowles. Washington: Georgetown University Press, pp. 149–68.

Loza, Sergio, and Sara M. Beaudrie. (Eds.). 2021. Heritage Language Teaching: Critical Language Awareness Perspectives for Research and Pedagogy. Oxfordshire: Routledge.

Leeman, Jennifer, and Janet M. Fuller. 2021. Hablar español en Estados Unidos: La sociopolítica del lenguaje. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Leeman, Jennifer, and Ellen J. Serafini. 2021. “It’s Not Fair”: Discourses of Deficit, Equity, and Effort in Mixed Heritage and Second Language Spanish Classes. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 20: 425–439.

Martínez, Glenn. 2010. Language and power in healthcare: Towards a theory of language barriers among linguistics minorities in the United States. In Readings in Language Studies: Language and Power. Edited by J. Watzke, P. Chamness Mill and M. Montero. California: Internal Society of Language Studies, pp. 59–74.

Martínez, Glenn, and Adam Schwartz. 2012. Elevating “low” language for high stakes: A case for critical, community-based learning in a medical Spanish for heritage learners program. Heritage Language Journal 2: 175–187.

Oskoz, Ana, and Idoia Elola. 2020. Digital L2 Writing Literacies. London: Equinox Press.

Parra, María Luisa. 2016. Understanding Identity among Spanish Heritage Learners: An Interdisciplinary Endeavor. In Advances in Spanish as a Heritage Language. Diego Pascual y Cabo. Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 177–204.

Parra, María Luisa, Araceli Otero, Rosa Flores, and Marguerite Lavallée. 2018. Designing a Comprehensive Course for Advanced Spanish Heritage Learners: Contributions from the Multiliteracies Framework. In Multiliteracies Pedagogy and Language Learning. Teaching Spanish to Heritage Speakers. Edited by G. Zapata and M. Lacorte. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 27–66.

Parra Velasco, María Luisa. 2023. The home–school connection, the development of Spanish repertoires, and the school adaptation process in Latino children: A dynamic ecological understanding. Journal of World Languages 9: 89–110.1

Prada, Josh. 2021. The critical awakening of a pre-service teacher in a Spanish graduate program: A phenomenology of translanguaging as pedagogy and content. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2021.1881945

Prada, Josh. 2023. Sensescapes and What it Means for Language Education. In Linguistic Landscapes in Language and Teacher Education. Multilingual Education. Edited by S. Melo-Pfeifer. Cham: Springer, Vol 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22867-4_13

Quan, Tracy. 2021. Critical Approaches to Spanish Language Teacher Education: Challenging Raciolinguistic Ideologies and Fostering Critical Language Awareness. Hispania 104: 447–459. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27095474

Showstack, Rachel E. 2019. Patients don’t have language barriers; the health care system does. Emergency Medicine Journal 36: 580–581.

Showstack, Rachel E. 2021. Making Sense of the Interpreter Role in a Healthcare Service-Learning Program. Applied Linguistics 42: 93–112.

Dr. María Luisa Parra
Dr. Anel Brandl
Dr. Angélica Amezcua
Guest Editors

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• Spanish heritage language pedagogy
• innovation; new perspectives
• multiliteracies; humanities
• creativity
• interdisciplinarity
• technology
• dynamic bilingualism