Spanish for Heritage Speakers: A Statewide Survey of Secondary School Teachers.

Abstract: Although much attention has been given in recent literature to the teaching of Spanish as a heritage language (HL), few studies have been published on specific Spanish HL programs, especially in states such as Utah that have only recently seen a large increase in the number of heritage students of Spanish. This study reports the results of a statewide survey of Spanish teachers in Utah secondary schools regarding their preparation to work with Spanish HL students, the prevalence of Spanish HL classes and the teaching approaches used in these classes, the accommodations that teachers make for Spanish HL students enrolled in traditional foreign language classes, and teachers' perceptions of the success of both types of classes. The study concludes with recommendations for improving instructional opportunities for Spanish HL students. Key words: Spanish as a heritage language, achievement gap, instructional approaches, secondary schools, teacher education Introduction Of the many demographic changes that are currently taking place in the United States, few are as striking as the growth of the Hispanic population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics now constitute the nation's largest minority group, with a growth rate more than three times the national average. In Utah, Hispanics constitute 11.2% of the total population as of 2008, as compared with only 4.9% in 1990 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008, n.p.). In fact, in the decade between 1990 and 2000, Utah's Hispanic population increased 138%, growing more than twice as fast as the Hispanic population nationwide (Utah Office of Ethnic Affairs, 2004, n.p.). Nowhere has this growth been more evident than in the public schools. According to the most recent figures available, Hispanic students now account for 35% of the total enrollment in the Salt Lake City School District, and 42% in the Ogden City School District (Utah Office of Ethnic Affairs, 2004, n.p.). One of the implications of these demographic changes for schools is that Spanish teachers who previously had rarely seen Hispanic students in their classes are now confronted with a growing number of these students. At the elementary school level, Hispanic students are increasingly enrolling in Spanish immersion programs, which Utah now offers at 23 elementary schools. For most Hispanic students, however, the first opportunity for formal study of Spanish is still at the secondary level, either in traditional foreign language classes or in specialized classes with various names, including Spanish for Native Speakers, Spanish for Bilinguals, and Spanish for Heritage Speakers. Here we refer to these specialized classes as Spanish as a Heritage Language (HL) classes. The term heritage language refers to a language with which students have a personal historical connection, most often because they come from homes in which the language is spoken. It is important to note that students of Spanish HL may or may not be considered native speakers, as the latter term refers to individuals who can function in all settings in which other native speakers normally function (Valdes, 1998). Heritage students, by contrast, have often not developed the full range of language skills that native speakers have. In fact, Spanish HL students exhibit widely varying characteristics in terms of both Spanish language proficiency and general academic skills in English and Spanish. Valdes (1997) identified eight categories of heritage speakers of Spanish, which were summarized by Carreira (2003) as follows: With respect to proficiency, the students identified by Valdes range from those who are fluent speakers of a prestigious variety of Spanish . . . to those who have only receptive skills in a contact variety of rural Spanish . . . . The academic skills of these students also exhibit wide variation. Some students have basic to good academic skills in English and Spanish . . . . Others have well-developed skills in one language but not the other . …