Spanish Heritage Language Programs: A Snapshot of Current Programs in the Southwestern United States

Abstract: This article reports the results of an investigation into current Spanish heritage language (SHL) course offerings and their content in 4-year public and private universities in the American Southwest. Prior research has indicated that the number of language departments in the United States offering SHL courses remains small (18 and 17.8%, respectively). The data collection consisted of a survey method carried out through an extensive Web search and follow-up communications with all universities with Hispanic populations of at least 5% in the region. The findings showed a prevalence of SHL programs in the region, although there remained an uneven distribution throughout the Southwest as reported earlier in nationwide or local studies, with a great discrepancy between the low availability of programs in certain areas and a higher accumulation of programs in others. This distribution was, however, significantly proportionate to the size of the Hispanic population in the various universities. In addition, existing SHL programs were limited with respect to their instructional goals and the types of students they accommodated in their courses. This study encourages reflection on how to best serve the pedagogical needs of the growing population of SHL learners and incorporate insights from SHL research findings into SHL programs. Key words: Spanish, heritage language curriculum, heritage language pedagogy, language programs Introduction In the last few decades, postsecondary institutions in the United States have witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of Hispanic students. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (Kewalramani, Gilbertson, Fox, & Provasnik, 2007) showed that Hispanic student enrollment in degree-granting institutions increased from 353,000 to 1,667,000 from 1976 to 2004, a 372% rate of growth. They now represent the second-largest minority student body, closely behind African American students, who reached 1,918,000 in 2004. These numbers are likely to experience a steady rise. By 2025, Hispanics are expected to account for approximately one-fourth of the student population at each educational level (White House Initiative, 2001, as cited in Laden, 2004). Concurrent with the steady rise in Hispanic higher education enrollment, there has been growing interest in the learning of Spanish in U.S. postsecondary institutions. A survey conducted by the Modern Language Association regarding foreign language (henceforth FL) student enrollments in 2- and 4-year colleges in fall 2002 showed that Spanish is the most widely taught language, accounting for 53.4% of FL enrollment (Welles, 2004, p. 10). The results also showed a 13% enrollment increase from 1998 to 2002 alone, going from 656,590 to 746,267. This figure is 66% higher than in 1980, when enrollment was at 379,379 (Welles, 2004, p. 10). It is unclear, however, whether this increase can be explained, at least in part, by the growth in Hispanic student enrollment. A source that can shed light on this issue is the 2000 U.S. Census, which showed that a little more than 28million people age 5 or older in the United States speak Spanish at home. Of the total U.S. Hispanic population in 2000, which was 35.3 million, the percentage of Spanish speakers was at least 79.6% (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001, n.p.). It is highly likely that a majority of Hispanic university students are Spanish speakers, albeit of various proficiency levels, and that the growth in student enrollment in Spanish courses is due, to some extent, to their presence. The increased presence of these students has motivated several university language departments in recent years to offer special courses for heritage learners in an effort to better address their languagelearning needs. It is well documented in the literature that a large majority of these students have different language strengths and weaknesses than FL learners do (see Carreira, 2004; Faltis, 1990; and Valdes, Lozano, & Garcia-Moya, 1981, among others). …