A Phenomenological Study of the Bilingualism of Young Adult Heritage Speakers of Spanish

• In Event: Learning Outcomes and Adolescent Bilingual Students

Abstract

A heritage language speaker is defined as a member of a linguistic minority community who has grown up with a language other than the societal majority language in their homes, whether they were born in the majority language country, or immigrated there. Heritage language HL speakers are asymmetrical bilinguals who learned the heritage language as a first language (L1) in childhood, but as adults are dominant in a different language (Benmamoun, Montrul, & Polinsky, 2013). In this study, we look at an HL speakers who are instructed and literate in their HL. We examine the heritage (Spanish) language experiences of young adults, graduates of César Chávez High School (a pseudonym), a small school with a curriculum promoting biliteracy and bilingualism.

Authors

• Sandra L. Pucci, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

• Sharon H. Ulanoff, California State University - Los Angeles