Studying abroad in Mexico with Mexican ancestry: Desiring to be ‘one of ours’

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study counters the popular assumption that Spanish Heritage Language Learners (SHLLs) on study abroad (SA) in a place of cultural origin can easily adapt and find acceptance due to the linguistic and cultural resources they bring with them. Our study builds on previous work to illustrate a more nuanced and complex story of desires for belonging. The study investigated students’ language desire and student cultural and ethnic identities to determine how these factors informed SHLLs’ relationships with community stakeholders while on short-term SA in Oaxaca, Mexico. The study relies on pre-, mid-, and post-SA interviews. Interviewees included six students of Mexican heritage and 12 community stakeholders (five Spanish teachers, two programme administrators, two educational tour operators, and three host parents). Reflexive thematic analysis clarified differences between language desires of students with distant-Mexican ancestry and those with close-ancestry. The former sought missing family connections and ‘real’ family interactions with host families. The latter desired wholeness in their identity and a corresponding confidence in language skills. Community stakeholders expressed complex responses to participants with Mexican heritage, viewing distant-ancestry students as problematic for lacking Spanish and close-ancestry students difficult due to their Spanish knowledge.