Cover not available

Article published In: Heritage learners studying abroad
Edited by Angela George
[Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 8:2] 2023
► pp. 259–290

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Spanish heritage speakers as pre-departure conversation partners

Enriching study abroad for students from diverse backgrounds

ORCiD logo with link | California Polytechnic State University
Published online: 5 October 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.21039.mar
Abstract
Drawing on previous research showing the centrality of pre-departure interventions in the success of a study abroad (SA) program and on a translingual practice framework (Canagarajah, S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), the current study addresses the implementation of a pre-departure conversation exchange between peers from diverse racial/ethnic/cultural/linguistic background as an integral part of a four-week SA program in Spain. Reflections and survey data were collected from a mixed group of SA participants, both second language learners (n = 14) and Spanish heritage speakers (SHSs; n = 4), as well as from their SHS conversation partners (n = 5) to determine: (a) the perceived goals and challenges of the mixed SA cohort for studying abroad; (b) the perceived benefits of the pre-departure conversation exchange with SHSs on SA learners’ performative competence; and (c) the perceived benefits for SHS conversation partners on their identity formation, heritage language maintenance, and agency.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous SA research and theoretical framework
    • 2.1Fluidity between contact zones in SA
    • 2.2Developing performative competence across social contexts
    • 2.3Intercultural competency as a complex construct
    • 2.4Working definition of heritage speaker
    • 2.5SHSs as pre-departure conversation partners
    • 2.6Motivation for the current study
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Participants
      • 3.1.1SA cohort (mixed group)
      • 3.1.2SHSs in the SA cohort
      • 3.1.3SHS conversation partners
    • 3.2Instruments
      • 3.2.1Guidelines for the pre-departure conversation exchange
      • 3.2.2Reflection
      • 3.2.3Online surveys
    • 3.3Procedure
    • 3.4Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Goals and challenges of the SA cohort in the pre-departure phase
    • 4.2SA participants’ perceptions of the pre-departure conversation exchange with SHSs
      • 4.2.1Themes identified in the SA participants’ reflections
      • 4.2.2Analysis of survey items from SA participants
    • 4.3SHS conversation partners’ perceptions of the pre-departure conversation exchange
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
References (27)
References
Baker-Smemoe, W., Dewey, D. P., Bown, J., & Martinsen, R. A. (2014). Variables affecting L2 gains during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 47(3), 464–486. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beaudrie, S. M., & Fairclough, M. (2012). Introduction: Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. In S. M. Beaudrie & M. Fairclough (Eds.), Spanish as a heritage language in the United States: The state of the field (pp. 1–17). Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blake, R., & Zyzik, E. (2003). Who’s helping whom? Learner/heritage-speakers’ networked discussions in Spanish. Applied Linguistics, 24(4), 519–544. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Canagarajah, S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carreira, M. (2016). General framework and supporting strategies for teaching mixed classes. In D. Pascual y Cabo, (Ed.), Advances in Spanish as a heritage language (pp. 159–176). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carreira, M., & Armengol, R. (2001). Professional opportunities for heritage language speakers. In J. Peyton, D. Ranard, & S. McGinnis (Eds.), Heritage languages in America: Preserving a national resource (pp. 109–142). Delta Systems and Center for Applied Linguistics.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dewaele, J., Comanaru, R., & Faraco, M. (2015). The affective benefits of a pre-sessional course at the start of study abroad. In R. Mitchell, K. McManus, & N. Tracy-Ventura (Eds.), Social interaction, identity and language learning during residence abroad (pp. 94–114). European Second Language Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dewey, D. P., Belnap, R. K., & Steffen, P. (2018). Anxiety: Stress, foreign language classroom anxiety, and enjoyment during study abroad in Amman, Jordan. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 381, 140–161. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lord, G. (2009). Second-language awareness and development during study abroad: A case study. Hispania, 92(1), 127–141. [URL]
Marijuan, S. (2018). Making a difference through talk: Spanish heritage language learners as conversation partners in a hybrid study abroad program. In C. Sanz, & A. Morales-Front (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of study abroad (pp. 329–343). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2021). Enhancing readiness for the immersive experience: Spanish heritage language learners as conversation partners in predeparture sessions. In R. Pozzi, T. Quan, & C. Escalante (Eds.), Heritage speakers of Spanish and study abroad (pp. 236–253). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marijuan, S., & Sanz, C. (2018). Expanding boundaries: Current and new directions in study abroad research and practice. Foreign Language Annals, 51(1), 185–204. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martinsen, R. A. (2010). Short-term study abroad: Predicting changes in oral skills. Foreign Language Annals, 43(3), 504–530. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Murphy-Lejeune, E. (2003). An experience of interculturality: Student travelers abroad. In G. Alred, M. Byram, & M. Fleming (Eds.), Intercultural experience and education (pp. 101–113). Multicultural Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Punti, G., & Dingel, M. (2021). Rethinking race, ethnicity, and the assessment of intercultural competence in higher education. Education Sciences, 11(3), 110. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Quan, T., & Menard-Warwick, J. (2021). Translingual and transcultural reflection in study abroad: The case of a Vietnamese-American student in Guatemala. Modern Language Journal, 105(1), 355–370. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Quintanar-Sarellana, R., Huebner, T., & Jensen, A. (1997). La utilización de nuestros recursos lingüísticos: Los estudiantes hispanohablantes como tutores de español como idioma extranjero. In C. Colombi & F. Alarcón, (Eds.), La enseñanza del español a hispanohablantes: Praxis y teoría (pp. 308–326). Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Reznicek-Parrado, L. M., Patiño-Vega, M., & Colombi, M. C. (2018). Academic peer tutors and academic biliteracy development in students of Spanish as a heritage language. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 5(2), 152–167. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Riegelhaupt, F., & Carrasco, R. L. (2000). Mexico host family reactions to a bilingual Chicana teacher in Mexico: A case study of language and culture clash. Bilingual Research Journal, 24(4), 405–421. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rumbaut, R. G. (2004). Ages, life stages, and generational cohorts: Decomposing the immigrant first and second generations in the United States. International Migration Review, 381, 1160–1205. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shively, R. L. (2016). Heritage language learning in study abroad. In D. Pascual y Cabo (Ed.), Advances in Spanish as a heritage language (pp. 259–280). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Subtirelu, N. C. (2017). Raciolinguistic ideology and Spanish-English bilingualism on the US labor market: An analysis of online job advertisements. Language in Society, 46(4), 477. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trentman, E., & Diao, W. (2021). Introduction: Multilingual approaches to language learning in study abroad. In W. Diao & E. Trentman (Eds.), Language learning in study abroad: The multilingual turn (pp. 1–12). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Lee, R. M., Rivas-Drake, D., Syed, M., Seaton, E., Quintana, S. M., Cross, W. E., Schwartz, S. J., & Yip, T. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during adolescence and into young adulthood: An integrated conceptualization. Child Development, 85(1), 21–39. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Val, A., & Vinogradova, P. (2010). What is the identity of a heritage language speaker? Center for Applied Linguistics. [URL]
Vasseur, R., Bui, T. D., & Paré, P. W. (2022). Evaluating pretravel study-abroad instruction utilizing curricular intervention and customized assessment. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education, 7(2), 273–299. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue