The Spanish of the United States: Educational Perspectives of a Heritage Language

Abstract

This article discusses the pedagogical aspects related to the teaching of Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. After a brief introduction that includes some key definitions, the main differences between the acquisition of a second language and a heritage language are explained, followed by a brief historical review of Spanish heritage language programs in the United States. Then, the article describes the types of classes that are offered in these programs, and the teaching approaches and main pedagogical strategies used in the classroom. This is followed by a brief account of the main challenges faced by the teaching of the heritage language (HL) to ensure that Spanish remains a community language in the future. The section ends with the questioning of what language variety of Spanish should be taught in the classroom and how. The article concludes by emphasizing the merits of the efforts led by professionals in the Spanish teaching field because of their optimism about the future of the Spanish language in this territory.