This exploratory, mixed methods study proposes that pedagogical translation be implemented for biliteracy acquisition in mixed heritage language (HL)-second language (L2) secondary Spanish classrooms. It investigates the mediation of pedagogical translation for reading comprehension in two mixed HL-L2 secondary Spanish classrooms at a suburban…

This dissertation explored the perspectives of stakeholders within a university-level Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) program in Arizona, focusing on their language ideologies and critical language education efforts. The study, rooted in Critical Language Awareness (CLA) and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) frameworks, challenges deficit-based…

The most recent "Open Doors" report by the Institute of International Education (IIE, 2020) indicates that the number of non-white U.S. study abroad students has been steadily growing over the past 10 years, and now it accounts for 31% of all students pursuing part of their education abroad. This study focuses on four Spanish heritage…

This research investigated how a Critical Sociocultural Linguistics Literacy (CriSoLL) approach to authentic materials supports student literacy in a mixed Spanish heritage language (SHL) and additional language (L2) Spanish intermediate course at the university level. Using a qualitative approach (Cho, 2018; Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2021)…

This study sought to investigate the psychological network structure of adult Spanish heritage language (HL) learners' motivational profile by considering interconnections among the following variables: the possible HL selves, family influence, intended HL learning effort, HL achievement goal orientations, HL enjoyment, HL anxiety, perceived…

As the Hispanic population in the United States continues to grow, Spanish teachers are increasingly responsible for incorporating heritage language (HL) research and practice into their curriculum design. However, many language teacher preparation programs in the country are not tailored to equip future HL educators, focusing instead on second…

Due to globalisation and migration, multilingualism has become both a reality and an aim of education systems across Europe, affecting how language education is shaped. To improve the ways in which schools cater for language education in diverse settings, research is required on the potentials of multilingualism in order to design curricula that…

The Interface Hypothesis proposes that the pragmatic-discursive interface with syntax is more vulnerable to crosslinguistic influence than the syntactic-semantic interface [Tsimpli, Ianthi, and Antonella Sorace. 2006. "Differentiating Interfaces: L2 Performance in Syntax- Semantics and Syntax-Discourse Phenomena." In Proceedings of the…

A mindful teaching strategy helped improve the language and writing skills of students in a public secondary school in a rural province of Argentina. The authors share how they brought about this development.

This study used peer-led focus groups to investigate heritage language (HL) and second language (L2) students' language ideologies and identities in "mixed" Spanish courses. We analyzed students' perceptions of themselves and each other, their understandings of fairness in mixed classes, and the relationship of such perceptions to…

In a present-day global world, immigrant communities manage multiple cultural and linguistic contexts. To better understand these cross-cultural connections, and bridge the fields of linguistics and transnationalism, the present study analyzes the interconnection between language use and symbolic transnationalism among heritage speakers of…

There is no clear-cut division between orality and literacy (Street, 1993). This idea is central to literacy development in the Spanish heritage language (SHL) context because the opportunities to use heritage language (HL) skills are often oral, not written. Furthermore, the cultural situations that speakers find for their language are less…

Task-based research has investigated the learning opportunities (e.g. language related episodes) that emerge during heritage and second language learner interactions during writing tasks. However, to date, it is unknown how these peer interactions involving heritage language learners contribute to written texts. Further, given the rise of social…

In recent years, Heritage Language Programs have been attracting more and more attention in the European academic and educational policy contexts. In Germany, many efforts are being undertaken to foster the teaching of heritage languages in schools. This paper provides an overview of the teaching of Spanish as a Heritage Language in Germany…

This dissertation explores subject pronoun expression (SPE) in Palenquero Spanish (PL Spanish) and Palenquero Creole (PL Creole), two languages that have coexisted for centuries in San Basilio de Palenque (Colombia), share most of their lexicon, but differ in their grammar. Crucially, this study investigates how the contact between them and the…