This study analyzes the programs and policies for Spanish heritage language (SHL) students in Iowa high schools. Previous research suggests that SHL students do not enjoy equitable educational experiences in Spanish language classrooms, which are often taught by and designed for traditional second language learners. In US states like Iowa, there…

In this paper, we draw on data from world languages teachers (English, Spanish and French, in particular) to explore and unpack binaries encountered in their practice in relation to both culture and language. Specifically, we explore the fluid and the fixed, and the essential and the hybrid, within the classroom and world beyond. We theorise…

Grounded in self-based and community-oriented concepts of motivation research into learning world languages, this study investigated stereotypes about native-speaker and non-native-speaker teachers of German that 110 novice learners of French, German, Russian, and Spanish had encountered. It furthermore analyzed how participants rated the accuracy…

The state of Delaware has a Dual Language Immersion program serving students from different backgrounds and varying socioeconomic statuses with a wide range of diverse needs. The state has ever-increasing difficulty finding qualified teachers who also speak the target language of the program, in this case, Spanish. As a result, districts within…

Foreign language education in the United States has historically produced poor outcomes, with very few language learners achieving communicative competence. The increasing global demand for multilingual professionals makes the issue a salient one. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of U.S. middle school…

This mixed-methods explanatory sequential study aimed to identify the most commonly used World Language curriculum models in New Jersey high schools, assess the level of curriculum coherence in Spanish programs, and examine their impact on student learning. Surveys and interviews with high school Spanish teachers revealed that, while theoretical…

This 2-year case study is a phenomenology of belief-change resulting from a specific curricular re-configuration. It follows Álvaro, a Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish student, from the first week of classes until graduation, as he completed a 4-semester program. Seeking to stimulate a move toward conscientização, the pilot curriculum included a…

World language teachers have historically relied on the notion of teaching methods to inform elements of design and procedure in their instructional practice. Teacher beliefs about teaching methods, however, have been shown to be significantly influenced by their context, including their institution and their learners. This phenomenon has led some…

This chapter draws from an ethnographic study of Syrian displaced young adults living in México, who are commencing their university studies. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, many of these young adults spent several years in refugee camps or in cities under siege before arriving in México through special arrangements made by a…

Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, we examine Spanish language instructors' interpretation and appropriation of gender-inclusive language (GIL) policy at a U.S. university. Policy appropriation is represented as a spectrum with varying degrees of policy rejection, avoidance, and engagement across and within participants. Policy rejection…

Multilingualism does not enhance further language learning in learners if they are not supported by the school environment. Learning L3, L4 or Ln is attained best when language users take advantage and are aware of the existence of their overall linguistic knowledge. It is the teacher whose understanding and beliefs about multilingual pedagogies…

Studies on teachers' beliefs about vocabulary learning and teaching have focused, so far, on English as a second language (L2), or foreign language (FL), in different contexts but little attention has been given to other L2s and FLs. In this study, 15 Spanish L2 instructors at large universities were interviewed in order to better understand where…

Given the growing movement in support of blurring the divisions between language and literature teaching, it has become increasingly vital to understand what language teachers think of literature as a language resource, the approaches they employ when teaching with it, the extent to which they can appreciate, understand, analyse, and interpret…

Language teacher learning and professional identity can be understood as intertwined. Radical changes in practice entail changes in how teachers understand themselves. Thus, narratives of identity should be considered a significant concern of professional learning. Employing a narrative conception of identity, we argue that narrative identity work…

Dance is an essential cultural product often overlooked in curriculum and lesson design in favor of sports, literature, visual arts, music, and other products from the target language culture. Given the similarities between the national standards for dance and for learning languages, movement and dance activities merit a greater role in world…