Spanish Language Literacy in the Community: Access and Practice

Abstract

Scholars in Mexican migration have noticed that patterns of this migration have been undergoing a drastic change since the 1970s, with more people migrating to urban areas and settling more permanently in the US. This shift has formed the basis of modern transnational migrant communities. By transnational communities, we mean groups of immigrants who regularly participate in relationships, practices, and norms, that include both places of origin and places of arrival. This study explores Spanish language literacy maintenance and development in one working-class transnational Mexicano community in the Midwest. Although a substantial body of research has been conducted on language shift and maintenance on the "macro" level, there is little in the literature which deals with mother tongue literacy in specific in-migrant communities. The study looks at "South Side" residents' use of Spanish language literacy. The community whose Spanish language literacy practices I have studied in Milwaukee consists of primarily Mexicanos, and is a project still in progress. I focus on two main things: Access to Spanish print and primary language literacy practice. Access will report findings on the availability of Spanish reading materials in the immediate neighborhood as well as city-wide, considering the effect of power in the communities, educational policies, and anti-immigrant waves. Practice will look at self-reported literacy activity and how the question of physical access and economics affect opportunities to develop Spanish language literacy. In investigating issues of access and availability of print materials in Spanish "walking tours" of the neighborhood and adjacent areas were undertaken to see what was available to residents in terms of reading materials in Spanish. Access and availability have been shown to impact elementary school children's reading opportunities (McQuillan 1998; Pucci 1994), and it was hypothesized that it would also have an affect on those of adults in the larger community.