Integrating research into practice: A critical lens on teaching subjunctive in the SHL classroom
Abstract
Integrating research into practice: A critical lens on teaching subjunctive in the SHL classroom
Despite the advancement of theory and research on critical pedagogies in Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) education, little is still done in terms of translating such an approach to the teaching of grammar. As pointed out by Holguín-Mendoza (2022), critical pedagogies are often understood as “anything goes”. Such assumptions contribute to the maintenance of pedagogical practices that reproduce a prescriptivist perspective, therefore leading to harmful experiences in the classroom. Following scholars that push for an effective critical turn (e.g., Holguín-Mendoza, 2022; Leeman & Serafini, 2016), this presentation discusses how the teaching of grammar can be approached within a critical framework. Instead of reproducing idealized monolingual grammatical practices, grammar should be taught in context, having in mind the variable grammar of US Spanish. This presentation focuses on the teaching of subjunctive, a linguistic feature commonly referred to when US Spanish is claimed to be simplified or unstable. Variationist research (Author, 2023) based on community-based data from Spanish-English bilinguals in the US shows that mood variation in US Spanish is constrained by linguistic factors that are consistent with previous research in Spanish, providing evidence not for the simplification, but for the systematicity and complexity of subjunctive use in US Spanish. This presentation integrates this research into practice, discussing the challenges of designing a critical- and sociolinguistic-informed lesson on subjunctive as well as lessons learned from feedback provided by students and instructors of a large Hispanic-serving institution in the US Southwest. The goal of this paper is to emphasize the importance of conducting rigorous sociolinguistic research on US Spanish while also investing in translating such research to the classroom. Doing so will provide SHL students with an opportunity to foster critical language awareness, ensuring important values of ownership as students progressively move from a place of insecurity to a place of empowerment.
References:
Holguín Mendoza, C. (2022). Beyond registers of formality and other categories of stigmatization: Style, awareness and agency in SHL. In Melissa A. Bowles (Ed.), Outcomes of University Spanish Heritage Language Instruction in the United States, pp. 149-168. Georgetown University Press.
Leeman, J. & Serafini, E. (2016). Sociolinguistics and heritage language education: A model for promoting critical translingual competence. In M. Fairclough & S. Beaudrie (Eds.), Innovative Strategies for Heritage Language Teaching (pp. 56-79). Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.
Integrating research into practice: A critical lens on teaching subjunctive in the SHL classroom
Integrating research into practice: A critical lens on teaching subjunctive in the SHL classroom
Despite the advancement of theory and research on critical pedagogies in Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) education, little is still done in terms of translating such an approach to the teaching of grammar. As pointed out by Holguín-Mendoza (2022), critical pedagogies are often understood as “anything goes”. Such assumptions contribute to the maintenance of pedagogical practices that reproduce a prescriptivist perspective, therefore leading to harmful experiences in the classroom. Following scholars that push for an effective critical turn (e.g., Holguín-Mendoza, 2022; Leeman & Serafini, 2016), this presentation discusses how the teaching of grammar can be approached within a critical framework. Instead of reproducing idealized monolingual grammatical practices, grammar should be taught in context, having in mind the variable grammar of US Spanish. This presentation focuses on the teaching of subjunctive, a linguistic feature commonly referred to when US Spanish is claimed to be simplified or unstable. Variationist research (Author, 2023) based on community-based data from Spanish-English bilinguals in the US shows that mood variation in US Spanish is constrained by linguistic factors that are consistent with previous research in Spanish, providing evidence not for the simplification, but for the systematicity and complexity of subjunctive use in US Spanish. This presentation integrates this research into practice, discussing the challenges of designing a critical- and sociolinguistic-informed lesson on subjunctive as well as lessons learned from feedback provided by students and instructors of a large Hispanic-serving institution in the US Southwest. The goal of this paper is to emphasize the importance of conducting rigorous sociolinguistic research on US Spanish while also investing in translating such research to the classroom. Doing so will provide SHL students with an opportunity to foster critical language awareness, ensuring important values of ownership as students progressively move from a place of insecurity to a place of empowerment.
References:
Holguín Mendoza, C. (2022). Beyond registers of formality and other categories of stigmatization: Style, awareness and agency in SHL. In Melissa A. Bowles (Ed.), Outcomes of University Spanish Heritage Language Instruction in the United States, pp. 149-168. Georgetown University Press.
Leeman, J. & Serafini, E. (2016). Sociolinguistics and heritage language education: A model for promoting critical translingual competence. In M. Fairclough & S. Beaudrie (Eds.), Innovative Strategies for Heritage Language Teaching (pp. 56-79). Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.
