The Effect of Perceptions: Instructor–Student Dynamics in the Spanish Heritage Classroom

Patricia González Darriba,Benjamin Kinsella,Crystal Marull,Nathan Campbell

doi:10.3390/languages6010046

Patricia González Darriba, Benjamin Kinsella + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6010046

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Journal: Languages	Publication Date: Mar 14, 2021
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Columbia University, University of Florida

Abstract

The rising population of heritage speakers (HS) in university courses in the US has increased the need for instructors who understand the linguistic, social, and cultural profiles of their students. Recent research has discussed the need for specialized courses and their differentiation from second-language (L2) classes, as well as the intersection between HS and language attitudes. However, prior studies have not examined HS students’ language attitudes toward the sociolinguistic background of the instructors and their effect on classroom interactions. Therefore, this study explores HS students’ overall language attitudes and perceptions of their instructors’ sociolinguistic background. In a survey, HS university students (N = 92) across the US assessed four instructor profiles along five dimensions. Results showed that students rated more favorably instructors born and raised in Latin America, followed by those from Spain. Furthermore, HS favored these two profiles over HS or L2 profiles as their course instructors. However, preferences were less marked in the online context. These findings demonstrate that to design supportive learning spaces with—rather than for—HS students, programs must first acknowledge how classroom dynamics are shaped by the perspectives brought into the learning space and by the context of the learning space itself.

Highlights

In the current political and sociolinguistic climate, academic institutions are making a concerted effort to reaffirm their commitment to supporting historically marginalized populations through intentional curriculum design
This study examined heritage speakers (HS) students’ attitudes towards their university instructors along the lines of cultural, linguistic, and social relatability, prompting a discussion on classroom dynamics and pedagogical implications
On average, assigned the highest ratings to the instructors born and raised in Latin America, followed by those from Spain

Summary

Introduction

In the current political and sociolinguistic climate, academic institutions are making a concerted effort to reaffirm their commitment to supporting historically marginalized populations through intentional curriculum design. The field of Spanish heritage language (HL) education has experienced tremendous growth since the late 1990s (Beaudrie 2018) This responds to the growing demand/need for programs adapted to this population’s specific needs, “the general tendency toward foreignizing Spanish as the go-to paradigm bears on a postcolonial model of education that draws from notions of linguistic purity, resulting in, among other issues, a ‘paternalistic’ instinct to fix what is perhaps misperceived as broken or deficient” Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity—I am my language. (p. 81)

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