Spanish for Heritage Language Learners builds both proficiency and pride.
Story by Gary Dulude
Oregon State University ofrece un programa para los estudiantes que crecieron en un ambiente donde se hablaba español. El programa de Español para Hablantes de Herencia se enfoca en el mantenimiento del español, mientras se construye una comunidad de estudiantes que se apoyan y han vivido experiencias similares.*
The Spanish for Heritage Language Learners program fulfills a previously unmet need to teach Spanish to students who heard it from parents, grandparents, extended family, friends and neighbors. It’s different from the traditional model of learning a second language.
More importantly, SHLL aims to instill community and pride among students who don’t see many others like themselves in their classes, says Valeria Ochoa, an assistant professor of Spanish and SHLL program coordinator.
The cohort-based program is a sequence of three 300-level classes, SPAN 314, 315 and 316. The curriculum builds on students’ preexisting knowledge to improve their Spanish speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Integrated with linguistics are the historical, cultural, political and educational factors that impact Latinx and Hispanic communities.
“We’re getting into topics that are relevant to who they are,” Ochoa says. “When people see themselves in the curriculum, they notice that what they know, who they are and what their stories are matter.”
Ochoa grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a Spanish heritage language speaker. Her background, research and teaching motivate her to build a community of shared Latinx experience “to make students feel comfortable and supported in an academic setting that sometimes can be a little bit intimidating, especially if they are first-generation students,” she says.
Students help lead class sessions, talking about their experiences, cultures and traditions. Outside of class, they share food, play music and attend events together. Ochoa believes the bonds established among her cohort extend to helping each other with courses like chemistry or math and networking about internships, clubs or other opportunities across campus.
“We care about each other. We like to spend time together. We want to keep supporting each other,” she says.
SHLL students also helped create an opportunity for future students. Through a chance meeting, Ochoa invited a group of Newport middle schoolers who were also heritage language learners to visit Oregon State. The SHLL students took them on a campus tour, hosted lunch at the Centro Cultural César Chávez and led other activities, including a speed-friending game.
Ochoa says the SHLL students “really loved hanging out with the middle schoolers” and felt that by their own example, they were passing along the idea that going to college could be in those middle schoolers’ future.
The SHLL program remains small for now, but in her second year, Ochoa sees demand and hopes to continue to offer Spanish credits to student interns interested in helping the program. She says its value goes beyond Spanish proficiency to building self-worth and self-confidence. “When you actually believe in yourself, that leads to something.”
Ochoa’s own trajectory as a heritage language speaker offers ample proof.
* Oregon State University offers a program for students who grew up in an environment where Spanish was spoken. The Spanish for Heritage Language Learners program focuses on Spanish maintenance while building a community of learners who support each other and have had similar lived experiences.
Spanish for Heritage Language Learners
The Spanish for Heritage Language Learners Program centers students who grew up in a Spanish-speaking environment. The program promotes and supports the identity development of OSU students who are heritage Spanish speakers while preparing them with literacy skills and knowledge for future studies in Spanish and to effectively function in professional bilingual environments.