My Spanish Is Broken: A Narrative Inquiry Into Native Language Attrition of Bilingual Education Students

• In Event: Experiences Shaped in Languages

Abstract

Bilingual education students often struggle with the academic vocabulary in Spanish, this has led many students in the pursuit of a bilingual teacher certification to struggle in passing their Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test. This research addressed the question: What are the perceived causes of native language attrition for bilingual education students? This study utilized Clandinin and Connelly’s narrative inquiry approach to collect and analyze data. The researcher acquired evidence through interviews of three bilingual education students and a personal reflective journal. The study added to the literature regarding bilingual education students’ perceptions of the causes of native language attrition and what bilingual certification programs can do to better support students as they pursue a bilingual teacher certification.

Authors

• Jacqueline Aguilar, University of Houston Downtown

• Leslie M. Gauna, University of Houston - Clear Lake