There is growing interest in heritage language learners—individuals who have a personal or familial connection to a nonmajority language. Spanish learners represent the largest segment of this population in the United States. In this comprehensive volume, experts offer an interdisciplinary overview of research on Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. They also address the central role of education within the field. Contributors offer a wealth of resources for teachers while proposing future directions for scholarship.

Contains 13 contributions addressing current scholarly research in applied linguistics and pedagogy relating to Spanish heritage language development and the teaching of Spanish to US Hispanic bilingual students at the elementary, secondary, and university levels, both in community- and classroom-based settings. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The Routledge Handbook of Spanish as a Heritage Language brings together contributions from leading linguists, educators and Latino Studies scholars involved in teaching and working with Spanish heritage language speakers. This state-of-the-art overview covers a range of topics within five broad areas: Spanish in U.S. public life, Spanish heritage language use and systems, educational contexts, Latino studies perspectives and Spanish outside the U.S. The Routledge Handbook of Spanish as a Heritage Language addresses for the first time the linguistic, educational and social aspects of heritage Spanish speakers in one volume making it an indispensable reference for anyone working with Spanish as a heritage language.

There is growing interest in heritage language learners—individuals who have a personal or familial connection to a nonmajority language. Spanish learners represent the largest segment of this population in the United States. In this comprehensive volume, experts offer an interdisciplinary overview of research on Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. They also address the central role of education within the field. Contributors offer a wealth of resources for teachers while proposing future directions for scholarship.

An increasing number of U.S. Latinos are seeking to become more proficient in Spanish. The Spanish they may have been exposed to in childhood may not be sufficient when they find themselves as adults in more demanding environments, academic or professional. Heritage language learners appear in a wide spectrum of proficiency, from those who have a low level of speaking abilities, to those who may have a higher degree of bilingualism, but not fluent. Whatever the individual case may be, these heritage speakers of Spanish have different linguistic and pedagogical needs than those students learning Spanish as a second or foreign language. The members of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) have identified teaching heritage learners as their second greatest area of concern (after proficiency testing). Editors Ana Roca and Cecilia Colombi saw a great need for greater availability and dissemination of scholarly research in applied linguistics and pedagogy that address the development and maintenance of Spanish as a heritage language and the teaching of Spanish to U.S. Hispanic bilingual students in grades K-16. The result is Mi lengua: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States. Mi lengua delves into the research, theory, and practice of teaching Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. The editors and contributors examine theoretical considerations in the field of Heritage Language Development (HLD) as well as community and classroom-based research studies at the elementary, secondary, and university levels. Some chapters are written in Spanish and each chapter presents a practical section on pedagogical implications that provides practice-related suggestions for the teaching of Spanish as a heritage language to students from elementary grades to secondary and college and university levels.

Bringing together contributions from some of the leading experts in the field of Spanish as a Heritage Language, this volume aims to provide an in-depth understanding of current and emerging trends in research and praxis. To this end, the volume is divided into three thematic units. The first unit surveys the study of Spanish heritage speaker bilingualism from a formal/theoretical linguistic point of view. The second unit focuses on issues shaping the current state of affairs in heritage language education. Finally, the third unit maps out future lines of development within heritage language instruction. The wide topical scope within this single volume will undoubtedly provide a valuable resource for researchers, students, and professionals working in different areas of Spanish as a heritage language.

Modality Matters! A Look at Task-Based Outcomes / Julio Torres -- The Differential Effects of Three Types of Form-Focused, Computer-based Grammar Instruction : The Case of Receptive Heritage Learners / Sara M. Beaudrie and Bonnie C. Holmes -- Effects of Instruction on Specific Measures of Accuracy in Spanish Heritage Learners' Writing / Adrián Bello-Uriarte -- The Secret Is in The Processing : Categorizing How Spanish Heritage Learners Process / Celia Chomón Zamora -- What Type of Knowledge Do Implicit and Explicit Heritage Language Instruction Result In? / Melissa A. Bowles and Sara Fernández Cuenca -- "Incorporating Our Own Traditions and Our Own Ways of Trying to Learn the Language" : Beginning-level Spanish as a Heritage Language Students' Perception of Their SHL Learning Experience / Damián Vergara Wilson -- Beyond Registers of Formality and Other Categories of Stigmatization : Style, Awareness and Agency in SHL Education / Claudia Holguín Mendoza -- Towards an Understanding of the Relationship Between Heritage Language Programs and Latinx Student Retention and Graduation : An Exploratory Case Study / Diego Pascual y Cabo and Josh Prada -- Heritage and Second Language Learners' Voices and Views on Mixed Classes and Separate Tracks / Florencia G. Henshaw - Afterword : Studying Outcomes to Bridge the Gap between Teaching and Learning / Maria M. Carreira.