The Teaching of Minority Languages as Academic Subjects: Pedagogical and Theoretical Challenges

Abstract

This article raises questions about the practice of teaching minority (ethnic/immigrant) languages as academic subjects in multilingual settings and points to directions in which the field of applied linguistics must move in order to develop adequate principles of language learning that can support such instruction. The article consists of three principle sections. Section one defines the term “linguistic minority” and offers examples of linguistic minority populations. Section two describes the teaching of Spanish to bilingual‐Spanish‐speaking students in the United States. It then illustrates the broad problems and questions encountered in teaching minority languages as school subjects by drawing on the discussion of the history, development, and current status of the teaching of Spanish to bilingual minorities in the U.S. Section three proposes a reconceptualization of the language teaching focus within applied linguistics that takes into account the problems and challenges surrounding the teaching of minority languages.