Research and Resources
Books & Reports> Spanish
Gibbons, J. & Ramirez, E. (2005). "Maintaining a minority language: A case study of Hispanic teenagers." International Journal of Bilingual Education & Bilingualism Special Issue: Heritage/Community Language Education: US and Australian Perspectives. 8(2 & 3).
By means of a thorough empirical study of Spanish-speaking children in Sydney, Gibbons and Ramirez show how societal and attitudinal factors and practical decisions in the family affect the development of strong bilingual proficiency and biliteracy in the second generation. The investigation enables the authors to come up with practical suggestions to achieve this.
Lacorte, Manel & Leeman, Jennifer (Eds.) (2009). Español en Estados Unidos y otros contextos de contacto: Sociolingüística, ideología y pedagogía
Spanish in the United States and other contact environments: Sociolinguistics, ideology and pedagogy. Madrid/Frankfurt: Iberoamericana/Vervuert.
from the publisher's Web site:
Consistent with sociolinguists’ growing interest in
ecological approaches to the study of language
phenomena, this volume accords special attention to
the influence of cultural, historical, social and political
contexts. The first section focuses on language contact,
including contact between Spanish and other
languages, as well as among multiple varieties of
Spanish. The second section consists of research on
language ideologies, especially ideologies regarding
Spanish in the United States. The chapters in the final
section offer distinct legal, political and critical perspectives on bilingual education and Spanish
teaching in the United States. Learn more.
Niño-Murcia, M. & Rothman, J (Eds.) (2008). Bilingualism and identity: Spanish at the crossroads with other languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
from the publisher's Web site:
This is the first comparativist book to examine language and identity construction among bi- or multilingual speakers while keeping one of the languages constant. The sociolinguistic standing of Spanish varies among the three regions depending whether or not it is a language of prestige. Comparisons therefore afford a strong constructivist perspective on how linguistic ideologies affect bi/multilingual identity formation. Learn more.
Potowski, K. (2007). Language and identity in a dual immersion school. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters Limited.
This book describes the experiences of a group of students in Chicago, Illinois, who are attending one of the first Spanish-English dual immersion schools in the United States. The author follows the group during two school years, documenting their Spanish use and proficiency, as well as how their two languages intersect with the ongoing production of their identities. http://www.multilingual-matters.com
Potowski, K. C., M. (2004). "Teacher development and national standards for Spanish as a heritage language." Foreign Language Annals. 37(3).
Roca, A. C., M.C. (Eds.) (2003). Mi lengua: Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. District of Columbia: Georgetown University Press.
Valdés, G., Fishman, J., Cháves, R., & Pérez, W. (2007). Developing minority language resources: The case of Spanish in California. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
This book documents the ongoing language shift to English among Latino professionals in California. It then describes current instructional practices used in the teaching of Spanish as an academic subject at the high school and university levels to "heritage" language students who, although educated entirely in English, acquired Spanish at home as a first langauge. It specifically examines the potential contribution of these instructional practices to the maintenance of Spanish. http://www.multilingual-matters.com
