Spanish for Heritage Speakers: An Issue of Definition and a Question of Preferences and Beliefs.

From 1998-2001, students in Spanish classes at the University of Texas San Antonio competed surveys regarding how they defined their language skills and how they felt about special courses. A total of 642 students, of whom 482 were Hispanic, completed surveys. Overall, 70 percent of the students thought that if heritage courses were offered, they should be optional. All of the students felt it was important for students to be able to benefit from what they already knew to make an A or to improve their grade point average. Only 42 percent thought heritage courses should even be offered (not required). Nearly all of the students thought that one course sequence was sufficient. Seventy percent of the Hispanic students called themselves true beginners, even though more than half of them heard or spoke Spanish at home or in the community. About 80 percent would not register for heritage classes, and 30 percent thought heritage classes would be too demanding. About 60 percent requested study of cross-cultural communication, and 90 percent requested that study of the Hispanic cultural heritage of the southwest be included in their Spanish courses. The language profile questionnaire is appended. (Contains 34 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 1 SPANISH FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS: AN ISSUE OF DEFINITION AND A QUESTION OF PREFERENCES AND BELIEFS DR. BARBARA GONZALEZ PING UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) sDEPARTMENT :t EDUCATION Office OIuniRel:h Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION ACENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 2 MET COPY AVAILEILIE Spanish for Heritage Speakers: An Issue of Definition and a Question of Preferences and Beliefs An Important Group of Students Throughout the Southwest and indeed throughout the United States, the topic of special Spanish courses for heritage speakers of the language is a timely one. At the present time, proficiency in more than one language is highly valued, and heritage speakers themselves are valued as well. Thus the best ways in which to serve the needs of such students is the topic of broad-based discussion. Previous Secretary of Education Richard Riley (2000) underlined the need for us as a nation to make better use of our language resources and therefore to serve our heritage students well. There has been discussion of heritage courses for thirty years and more, and they have come and gone and come again in a variety of institutions and under a variety of titles ranging from Spanish for Spanish Speakers to Spanish for Native Speakers to Spanish for Heritage Speakers. They have met with differing levels of success in meeting student needs and in being chosen by the targeted students, but there is a general consensus in the profession