Laura Talley
EDSL 633
Pragmatic Ethnography
November 14, 2013
5. Analyze the Data:
All three consultants who participated in interviews speak Spanish as a heritage language. Consultant two and three both have Mexican backgrounds and were born in the
U.S., Consultant two grew up with mostly English in the home. She attended an elementary school Spanish immersion program and expresses an interest in language learning in general, including Spanish. Consultant three grew up in a Mexican family using primarily
Spanish and later acquiring English as a second language in school. She felt some embarrassment about her language as a child, but began to view it as a larger part of her identity as she grew up, identifying more strongly with Mexican culture than American. Her parents spoke Spanish in the home and encouraged her and her siblings to maintain their heritage language. She uses Spanish with her family, though with siblings she also uses
English. Outside of the family, her language choice depends on the person she is speaking with. Consultant one is Puerto Rican and learned Spanish in the home with his parents, growing up bilingual within the U.S. He refers to his dialect as Puerto Rican with some
Central American (Panamanian) influence, and has a high level of proficiency within the language. He also sees it as an important part of his identity to be preserved and passed on to future generations and uses it in his studies as a graduate student and for work. The consultants all considered their heritage language and culture important to their personal
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identities, though all three have different relationships with the language and culture. All are currently graduate students in fields related to language or their heritage. Their current proficiency and connection to their heritage culture and language seems strongly tied to its part in their childhood. Consultant one and three both had parents that continued to use
Spanish in the home while Consultant two’s family used Spanish in a more limited way.
While each consultant’s experience is unique to them, there are commonalities that they share with each other and other heritage language learners and speakers. The influence of family on whether the heritage language is learned or lost is a significant factor, “without strong parental support, there was little motivation on the part of the children to seek additional skills in the home language” (p.25, Webb and Miller, 2000).
Consultant three stated that her mother encouraged her children to continue to use
Spanish and uses it with them in the home, just as Consultant one’s family also continues to use Spanish almost exclusively with each other. Consultant two’s family did not continue to use Spanish but English with some Spanish mixed in. While Consultant one and three both expressed greater confidence with their heritage language and had learned and used it from childhood, Consultant two learned the majority of her Spanish outside of the home and appears to have less proficiency in the language, saying it is difficult to communicate fully with her Spanish only grandmother. The relationship between each consultant’s proficiency in the heritage language and the role of their family show that the support of other speakers, especially family, is key to acquisition of the heritage language, “The maintenance of a heritage language cannot be achieved by the heritage language learners alone. The community, teachers, and parents all need to be involved to ensure that the first language is not lost” (p. 17, Webb and Miller, 2000). The family is where everyone first
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learns to speak in one or more languages, the language they begin with can be lost if not nurtured and used.
The consultants all grew up within the U.S. with different experiences regarding mainstream culture and its affect on them. Many heritage language learners grow up with the implication that their heritage culture and language is lesser or secondary to that of the mainstream English culture: “the often negative societal attitudes toward these languages and the people who speak them, leads students to see no perceived value in something that is integral to who they are as people” (p. 23, Webb and Miller, 2000). Consultant three did not view her heritage language and culture as important to her personal identity until she was older. As a child, she said it was a little embarrassing even with her family supporting her connection to it. Consultant two grew up in a family that spoke only English, even though her mother and grandparents spoke Spanish, which reflects a priority given to
English over the Spanish speaking culture. While speaking about the Spanish immersion program she attended in elementary school, Consultant two specifically stated that the program emphasized English as more important and within a few years transitioned into only English, “emphasis has been placed on the development and maintenance of their
English language skills often at the expense of their native language skills” (p.15, Webb and
Miller, 2000). Consultant one also mentioned that even being fluent in English from a young age he lacked support in school, and the school instructors’ lack of understanding when communicating with his Spanish-speaking parents was challenging. The school system has institutionalized promoting English over other languages, denigrating other languages and cultures both overtly and unintentionally, “ if students are not given the opportunity to identify more profoundly with their heritage language as a means of
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empowerment, then is this not an act of institutional racism?” (p. 66, Webb and Miller,
2000). For heritage learners, such as the consultants and the examples used in the reading, their proficiency depends heavily on not only the support, but also the active encouragement of their families. For second or third generation heritage learners, this is often the deciding factor in acquiring proficiency as schools focus on English, “perceived as the language of prestige, and thus success, integration, and assimilation” (p. 61, Webb and
Miller, 2000). Families seeking the best for the next generation often give in to pressure to assimilate mainstream culture, letting the heritage language be lost through disuse or lack of instruction.
In the modern day bilingualism has many benefits that the school system often does not successfully promote to heritage learners. While there are a growing number of programs and materials designed for heritage learners, meant to foster their language,
“they are asking heritage language learners to approach their native language as if it were a foreign language” (p. 75, Webb and Miller, 2000). Foreign language teaching often treats the language and culture separately, and, by doing so the classes lose much of the potential to motivate heritage learners who have strong ties to the culture of the language. One of the strongest motivations to learn a language is the cultural or familial tie to the language “the desire to relate to and identify with another culture is also of prime importance on the motivational continuum” (p. 64, Webb and Miller, 2000). Consultant two experienced this in language classes, both in the Spanish immersion program that became English only and other languages pursued out of an interest in the culture, and was discouraged from continuing to learn the language. Consultant three viewed her heritage as embarrassing when younger, though she came to see it as an integral part of her identity as well as an
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asset for a career. Consultant one also views his heritage language and culture as part of himself and an asset to his future. The school institutions they attended do not seem to have been the sources of motivation or resources for acquiring or improving their heritage language proficiency.
6. Reflect on your personal perceptions:
As a product of mainstream culture it is difficult to truly understand the experiences and perspectives of heritage learners. I have always enjoyed learning languages and worked to learn them as opportunities arose. While there are foreign language requirements that promote second language acquisition, they seemed to be generally perceived as secondary to other standards. To learn a second language was presented as beneficial, but unnecessary, with limited offerings to build proficiency within the school system especially outside of larger urban areas with more significant and varied immigrant populations. The few students I attended elementary school with who were bilingual or
ESL learners were generally in different classes, often were considered remedial. California has a significant Spanish speaking population from various countries and during my experiences with people of various backgrounds, who were native speakers of Spanish they identified strongly with their ethnic background and language and viewed mainstream culture with at least mild antagonism. If not, they were more removed from their heritage culture and language; choosing not to use it, actively avoiding association with it by participating in heritage culture events only as expected by immediate family.
Based on my perceptions, those of various heritage backgrounds identified as the ethnicity of the heritage culture first even if they were also American citizens or, to borrow
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a term Consultant three used, they were “whitewashed,” and identified more with
American culture. The term seems to imply that someone who is whitewashed is not truly of the heritage culture, whether by choice or circumstance, as such not a full participant in its language and traditions. Heritage learners often feel pressured to choose their heritage culture at the expense of opportunities and acculturation to the mainstream society they live in or to give up or relegate their heritage culture to a secondary status. The second generation learners, such as Consultant one and three, while identifying more strongly with the heritage culture, are placed at a crossroads, given the choice to preserve their heritage to be passed on to the next generation or allow it to be lost in favor of more mainstream values. While I do not have a heritage language I have the stories and traditions that are part of my family integrated into my own identity. To have someone declare the traditions treasured by a family worth less or as something not worth preserving is to say they themselves are worth less. While the U.S. is a country famed as a melting pot of humanity, there is still a strong and constant pressure to conform to an idea of what is American, beginning with speaking English. Whether an immigrant makes this choice willingly, out of a desire to assimilate into their new home or through exterior pressures such as the need to work. The institutions continue to promote English sometimes at the expense of the heritage language, though there are changing attitudes and growing recognition of the benefits of maintaining the heritage language.
7. Put theory and knowledge to work:
The reading and consultants’ input were interesting, as I do not have much experience with heritage learners. When I begin teaching classes with heritage language
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learners, I will attempt to address the many challenges faced by teachers to hopefully instruct the learners effectively while respecting their heritage. I have worked hard to become proficient in Spanish, studying in university as well as living in a Spanish speaking country where I actively pursued gaining proficiency, and am proud of the language I acquired. It is difficult to imagine how to teach native speakers with varied proficiency levels that may surpass my own. My experiences with other cultures have ben enriching and I would hope to communicate the value of learning about other cultures as well as exploring your own. Learning Spanish from teachers of a variety of Spanish speaking countries I experienced several perceptions of what is correct Spanish. Some teachers even going so far as to correct heritage learners within the class, “due to emphasis on the teaching of the ‘standard’ dialect … many teachers have viewed, and continue to view, their role as one of correcting the language used by their students; that what students bring with them to the classroom is not valid” (p. 23, Webb and Miller, 2000). I would attempt to validate what the students bring to the classroom, to incorporate it using their input to create a foundation on which to build greater language skills. If given a class intended for or including heritage learners I would rely heavily on authentic materials that would create interest and build motivation based on with ties to or curiosity about their culture as well as others that speak the same language. Hopefully providing an opportunity for them to explore their heritage language while developing language skills that will benefit them in future endeavors. I would hope to offer learners eager to learn more about their heritage the opportunity to and those who view their heritage as less worthy than mainstream culture evidence that it is not, “working at maintaining and developing one’s heritage language or languages is an enriching experience” (p. 65, Webb and Miller, 2000). A
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person’s heritage is an integral part of their personal identity, how they view that heritage often reflects how they view themselves. I find it difficult to create a plan of action without any foreknowledge of what the situation would be. The subject of heritage language learners is relevant and interesting, something to be considered when beginning a class and gathering materials.
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Informed Consent Oral Script
My name is Laura Talley. I am a student at California State University, Chico, doing a pragmatic ethnography as an assignment in a class on culture learning and culture teaching. I would like to ask you some questions that will take about 30 minutes. Your participation is completely voluntary. There is no penalty if you choose not to participate or if you choose to stop participating in the middle. There is also no anticipated benefit or risk if you do choose to participate. Your responses will be kept confidential and not linked to your name in any way. Would you like to participate?
References
Webb, John B. Miller, Barbara. “Teaching Heritage Language Learners: Voices from the
Classroom”. Yonkers, New York. 2000.
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