This study investigates correlations of course level, gender, and ethnic identity labels with attitudinal dimensions toward Spanish by Spanish as a Heritage Language Learners in New Mexico. Participants in first-semester (n = 327) and fourth-semester (n = 174) Spanish as a Heritage Language courses rated twelve items designed to index language…

Drawing on linguistic anthropological notions of language ideologies and sociolinguistic approaches to stance, this study examines the meaning-making resources through which Spanish heritage language (HL) learners orient toward ideological perspectives on language value and linguistic expertise in classroom interaction. Part of a larger…

This case centers on a Vietnamese language and culture program situated within an urban context. It illustrates how sociohistorical and geopolitical contexts interplay in understanding relations within schools as well as school-community relations. A new ethnoburb creates both opportunities and challenges for the Vietnamese community related to…

This case study examined how one instructor navigated between two competing discourses in an intermediate Spanish heritage language (HL) classroom: on the one hand, teaching "Standard Spanish" to help students achieve professional success, and legitimizing home linguistic practices on the other. In addition to expressing both…

Texas Czech is a product of over a century and a half of contact between Moravian Czech and English in Texas. While Texans of this descent have largely maintained a sense of distinctive ethnic identity and have creatively re-authenticated their ancestors' traditions into a unique Texas Czech culture, their language is now on the verge of…

Critical approaches to Spanish heritage language (SHL) pedagogy have called for more meaningful engagement with heritage language communities (Leeman, 2005). In a recent survey, furthermore, SHL students expressed a desire for more community-based activities in SHL curricula (Beaudrie, Ducar, & Relano-Pastor, 2009). This paper reports on the…

The purpose of this article is to briefly describe the design and piloting of a branched, online placement and credit examination that measures receptive as well as productive and creative language abilities in the heritage language of college students entering the Spanish for Heritage Learners Program at the University of Houston, a major…

This study investigated self-assessed anxious learners who enrolled in online Spanish courses to determine if their anxiety was mediated by the lack of face-to-face (F2F) and other synchronous learning interactions. Participants were enrolled in courses at two postsecondary institutions located in south-central Texas. Narrative analysis was used…

This source book provides information on school, college, and community programs that teach American Indian languages in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. These programs were identified through leads provided by a nine-member regional task force of Native educators and language activists; consultation with federal and state…

A followup of 380 limited-English-speaking Hispanic children in 20 Texas elementary schools found that most acquired English oral language skills at expected rates and were reading in English at expected levels by third grade. Reading achievement was related to instructional factors and early oral competence in either language. Contains 22…

The papers from this conference are presented in three parts. Part 1 includes the panel sessions. Section 1 of part 1, "Trends, Policies, and Resources in Education," includes the following papers: "Continuing Higher Education and the Asian-American Perspective" (L.L. Hsu); "New Directions for Education: Minister Jin Wu's…