Abstract
This article aims to present the diversity and reality of “Courses of Spanish as a heritage language” (HLC) in Switzerland. The article is organized in two parts. The first section exposes the characteristics of heritage language teaching policies in Switzerland and their objectives. On the base of a survey carried out with heritage language teachers, the current situation of the courses is described (Calderon, Fibbi & Truong, 2013). Furthermore, the problematic with regard their integration in the Swiss education system and their formal recognition is also discussed. In the second section, specifically the courses of Spanish as a heritage language and the organization models are introduced. We also present the results of a questionnaire addressed to families whose children attend the Spanish courses. The answers of the questionnaires allow us to better describe the linguistic context and educational background of children and consequently the characteristics of the population who studies Spanish as a heritage language (Sanchez Abchi, current project). The important presence of these courses highlights the vitality of Spanish in Switzerland. However, the maintenance of the heritage language courses entails major challenges not only for the institutions but also for the teachers.
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