Transcript Potowski_ASU_2014_2

Teaching Spanish to heritage speakers:
Pedagogical and administrative
considerations
Kim Potowski
The University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Hispanic & Italian Studies
Thank you
3rd Annual Hispanic & Luso-Brazilian
Linguistics Conference
Organization
Part I: Who are heritage speakers?
Linguistic, academic, and affective considerations
Part II: What are some good approaches to
teaching Spanish to heritage speakers?
Definition: A native/heritage speaker is…
…an individual who was raised in a home where
a non-English language is spoken, who speaks
or only understands the heritage language,
and who is to some degree bilingual in English
and the heritage language
(Valdés 1997)
Demographics
16%
U.S. Hispanic population (2010)
24%
Projected Hispanic population by 2050
Latinos may be 16% of U.S. population….
Hispanic children = 23% of U.S. public
school population
Urban areas have many schools with 50% to
100% Latino populations:
33% of Chicago schools
34% of New York City schools
46% of Miami schools
71% of Los Angeles schools
Concentration (2010)
Conclusion:
There is a high probability for many instructors that
heritage speakers will be enrolled in our classes...
… in spite of the fact that most of us have only
been trained to teach Spanish as a foreign
language (L2).
How are heritage speakers different
from L2 learners?
1) Linguistically
2) Affectively
3) Academically
1) Linguistically
2) Affectively
3) Academically
Heritage
speakers
Learn grammatical
terminology
Learn a prestigious,
monolingual variety
Path of Spanish
acquisition is
different.
Exposed to reading and
writing in Spanish
Learning begins after
“critical period” has
ended
L2
learners
Heritage
speakers
Typically possess fluent oral abilities –
production and comprehension
Larger vocabulary, particularly for
everyday items and cultural
processes/products
Greater sociolinguistic accuracy: for
example, use of “usted” and titles of respect
Pronunciation is native
L2
learners
“Los alumnos L2 aprenden una variedad
prestigiosa y monolingüe”
Variedad
De prestigio
Estigmatizada
Factores sociales
Factores lingüísticos
Clase alta; zonas urbanas; altos
niveles de educación formal
Clase trabajadora; zonas
rurales; niveles más bajos de
educación formal
No muestra efectos recientes
del contacto con otras lenguas.
Muestra efectos recientes del
contacto con otras lenguas.
Prestigiosa
Estigmatizada
nadie
nadien
traje
truje
así
asina
vi
vide
fuiste
fuistes
haya
haiga
delito mayor
felonía
solicitar un
trabajo
aplicar para
un trabajo
Motivo del
estigma
Rural; lower
levels of formal
education
Contact variety
At least 6 categories of language variants
 Bilingual/language contact:
 Developmental
felonía
haiga, fuistes
boy aser
nomás
yo no sabo
 Regionalisms
cierran hasta las 9:00
 Rural/education:
 Spelling:
 Slang/informal
1) Linguistically
2) Affectively
3) Academically
 Family connection to the language.
 Many heritage speakers have been ridiculed for their
variety of Spanish – here and abroad.
 Very aware of their limitations in Spanish.
 Subordinate status of their home language and culture
“Linguistic self-esteem”
1)Lingüísticamente
2) Afectivamente
3) Académicamente
 Niveles más bajos de educación formal de los padres.
 Leerles libros a los niños  destrezas de lectoescritura
39% niños latinos
44% niños afroamericanos
64% niños anglo
 Vivir en estado de pobreza:
26% niños latinos
26% niños afroamericanos
8% niños anglo
High school dropout rates:
Latino
Afroamerican
Anglo
National:
Illinois:
18%
10%
5%
31%
40%
14%
Arizona:
?
?
?
Source: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and Union-Tribune, S. Lieberman,
July 17, 2008
Some scholars suggest that SHS courses can
contribute to HS graduation rates as well as
college recruitment and retention/graduation.
Not only are heritage speakers substantially different
from L2 Spanish learners…
Heritage speakers can also be
very different from each other.
 60% were born in the U.S.
 40% were born abroad, but arrived at different ages.
Example 1: Marta
 Born in Mexico, came to U.S. at age 7
 Family from a small, rural ranch.
Some non-prestige features of Spanish.
Intermittent schooling.
 Three years in bilingual education.
 Speaks 100% Spanish at home with parents, 50%
with siblings.
Example 2: Luis
 Born in the U.S., but lived
from ages 3-5 in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
 No bilingual education.
 Speaks ~50% in Spanish with parents, 100%
in English with siblings.
Example 3: Roberto
 Born in Argentina, came to the U.S. at
age 12.
 Regular schooling; middle-class family;
parents completed high school.
 Speaks only Spanish at home; a prestige
variety.
Example 4: Carolina
 Born in the U.S. to U.S.-born parents.
 Grandparents from Honduras.
 Speaks 100% English at home with parents &
siblings.
 Speaks Spanish with grandmother who lives
in the house.
Example 5: José
(most typical in Chicago)
Born in U.S., parents immigrated from
Mexico as adults.
100% Spanish with parents, 50% with
siblings.
Began school monolingual (or very dominant) in
Spanish. By 3rd grade, dominant in English, although
still uses Spanish with parents.
Summary thus far:
Heritage speakers’ linguistic,
affective, and educational
needs are different from
those of L2 learners.
However, heritage
speakers can be a very
heterogeneous group
themselves.
Part II
Some good pedagogical
and “philosophical” approaches
Two programmatic options:
 Separate classes into heritage and L2 at the
introductory levels; students can join at upper
levels.
 Mix the two types of students from the beginning.
If there are separate courses:
Heritage speakers should not take
classes designed for the foreign
language students.
…for the same reasons that native English speakers
are not permitted to fulfill their English
requirement in an ESL course (English as a Second
Language).
Reality: Mixed classes (heritage + L2)
Pedagogically unsound, but very common.
• L2 students are intimidated by the heritage
speakers.
• Heritage speakers are intimidated by the
L2 students.
Especially when that “easy A” doesn’t materialize.
• Teacher goes crazy.
How to make the best of a mixed class?
 Assess what heritage speakers know and what they
need to learn. Don’t assume grammatical knowledge.
 Avoid the “poster child syndrome.”
 “Helping” should go both ways.
Differentiated instruction
Definition:
Learner-centered teaching
that varies instruction and
tasks according to
individual learner profiles
(Thomlinson 2011)
 Traditionally, teachers have dealt with different
student levels by attempting to teach to the “middle
of the class”.
 However, students who are either above or below the
perceived midpoint – or who learn best through
different kinds of activities – may become bored or
frustrated with this “one-size-fits-all” approach.
 To explain differentiated instruction, she uses the
metaphor of “dressing” students.
“One-size-fits-all” instruction attempts to dress all
students in the same suit of clothes, even though it is
visibly obvious that not all students are the same size.
Some teachers may think they’re differentiating
instruction by tailoring the same suit of clothes for
different students – tucking and gathering here, letting
out a seam there.
However, truly differentiating instruction entails
providing clothes that are the right fit for each student.
The way to do this is by utilizing multiple approaches
to:



Content (what students learn)
Process (how students make sense of information)
Product (the output through which students demonstrate
what they have learned).
http://startalk.nhlrc.ucla.edu/startalk/lesso
ns.aspx
Some teachers may insist:
“Our job is to teach standard Spanish.”
The concept of a single “standard” in any
language has been rejected
 Hidalgo (1997): There is no standard
language, only a social or regional variety that,
for economic or political reasons, was elevated
to higher status.
 Escobar (1976): Standard language is an
abstract concept; it represents a variety that
no one actually speaks.
 Spanish has standardized spelling, but that’s
it. Lexicon, morphology, and syntax vary.
Beach vs. wedding
Question the concept of “incorrect.”
Instead, talk about formal vs. informal
Use examples from English: most students know
not to write “ain’t” or “cuz” in a school essay.
Respect what students are wearing
At least they’re not naked!!
They will need their bathing suits during their lives.
Take them to Macy’s. Expand their wardrobe and
knowledge of when to wear what.
One of the many challenges of the job of Spanish
teachers working with heritage speakers:
Deciding what is “ok” at the wedding. It’s very
hard to keep up with changing norms – and even
harder to buck them.
Such decisions should be locally grounded and
based on the question: Who are the audiences?
If you have a separate program/coursework:
1) What do students already know?
2) What do you want students to learn?
This is unproblematic in L2 courses, but HL are very
heterogeneous.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Curricular ideas
#1
Phenomena of language contact:
“Spanglish”
#1
#2
#3
Codeswitching Borrowings Extensions
#4
Calques
The term “Spanglish”
Is it positive, or does it reflect and create harmful connotations?
Ana Celia Zentella
Ricardo Otheguy
For a video of the debate, a complete transcription in Spanish, and a
summary in English:http://potowski.org/debate-spanglish
Curricular idea #2
Grammar
“Study grammar” – what does this mean??
(1) Terminology. Sustantivo, verbo, pluscuamperfecto
(2) Use. Focus only on forms that impede
comprehension or that are strongly stigmatized.
Yes:
“No:
Mi primos le gusta las fiestas.”
“Present
Yo buscaba
una libro
que
erados.”
(vs. fuera)
simple“Yo
como
a las
barato.
”
Definite
articles:
“____ libro”
“Fumando es malo para la salud.”
“Yo no ha visto esa película.”
Always contextualized, never mechanical
Curricular idea #3:
Writing
Writing as a process, not to turn in overnight
 Multiple versions; brainstorm in class
 Always involve an audience and a purpose that go beyond
“the professor” and “to get a grade.”
 Be selective and respectful when providing feedback.
 Use a detailed rubric.
Three compositions, 2 versions each
vs.
Two compositions, 3 versions each
Curricular idea #4:
U.S. Latino communities as focus of study
 Literature, film, art, etc.
 Students can investigate their own communities.
 ASU: “Hispanidades”
Meet the students where they are
• Linguistically, academically, and
affectively.
• Choose materials relevant for
their linguistic level and their
lives.
• Language arts more than
foreign language.
• Respect the language they bring
to class.
Thank you
Kim Potowski
[email protected]
Resources for teaching
Spanish to Heritage Speakers:
potowski.org/SNSresources
“Profesora Potowski”