It is imperative that educators understand the current state of heritage language education because many locations have experienced large increases in their heritage language populations in recent years. This study reports on the findings of a statewide survey of secondary Spanish teachers in Utah regarding the instruction of Spanish heritage language students. Their perspectives give insight into Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) education in both traditional Spanish foreign language and heritage language classes. The information gathered describes the availability of specialized courses, the prevalence of SHL students in Spanish classes, and these students' backgrounds. It also describes the characteristics of Spanish teachers in terms of their beliefs and attitudes related to teaching SHL students and their preparation for doing so. Other issues considered include placement, materials, creating specialized classes, instructional approaches and accommodations, areas of emphasis, and teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of both their traditional and specialized Spanish classes in meeting SHL students' needs. Results indicate that specialized classes are not yet widely available in Utah, many teachers lack training to work with SHL students, and SHL students come from a variety of backgrounds. In traditional Spanish classes, teachers use many approaches to accommodate SHL students, and their schools have a variety of experiences in attempting to create specialized classes. Teachers of specialized Spanish classes report that their schools vary in whether or not they offer classes that are differentiated by levels, and that their classes' principal objectives typically include literacy and grammar. These teachers also typically perceive that their Spanish classes are more effective in meeting SHL students' needs than do teachers of traditional Spanish classes. In addition, this study includes many recommendations to improve Spanish heritage language instruction.

Located in social semiotics (Hodge & Kress, 1988), theories of identity (Goffman, 1959; Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, & Cain, 1998), and third space (Gutierrez, Baquedano, & Turner, 1997; Rowe & Leander, 2005), this dissertation presents the findings from a year long, field-based qualitative study with a high school class of nine Spanish for Native Speakers (SNS) students and their teacher. The study used an arts-infused multimodal curriculum exploring Spanish language texts and cultures from around the world. The following questions guided this study: (a) What factors were considered as the teacher and the researcher co-planned this arts-infused multimodal curriculum, and how did the consideration of those factors shape the curriculum?, (b) How did students enrolled in this SNS class negotiate meaning and identity as they worked within this class?, and (c) What discourses around students’ meaning making practices and identities emerged within their visual texts over time and across texts? Data sources included interviews, observations, student-generated visual texts, photographs from class sessions, student journals, and audio and videotapes of portions of class discussions and activities. Visual texts were coded for elements of visual design and apparent discourses with which the text-maker identifies (Albers, 2007b; Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006). Five themes emerged from the data: 1) The teacher participant and researcher co-created the curriculum using critical-care pedagogy; 2) Actual participation in and creation of visual and multimodal texts shaped the classroom community; (3) Negotiation and meaning making occurred through the flexible use of sign systems; 4) Participants worked through understandings of self; and 5) Personally relevant discourses emerged within individual and group texts. The study suggested that heritage language courses like this one can teach more than language. Such courses deserve attention as havens where students’ complex meaning making of themselves, their worlds, and their places in them are freely explored.

There is an increased need for bilingual education programs throughout the U.S. as a result of the increasing bilingual population, especially Spanish-English bilinguals. With the implementation of such programs there also exists the need to be aware of issues that affect bilinguals and their language learning experience. One of these issues that has been investigated among foreign language learners, but less among bilinguals, is the issue of language anxiety. This case study reports the findings gathered from classroom observations, a language survey, focus group interviews and teacher interviews in order to better understand the issue of language anxiety among heritage language learners on the border. The information gathered from student and teacher participants at a high school in South Texas describes students' language background and attitudes toward language learning as well as teachers' background, beliefs about language teaching. Results include responses from both students and teachers in reference to what creates language anxiety and what can be done in the classroom to mitigate its effects. Results indicate that language anxiety is not the issue of greatest concern, although some lower proficient bilinguals experience it. Rather, it was found that poor classroom management has the ability to affect nearly every other aspect of a language class, directly affecting language expectations, language use, classroom routine, attitudes, and even the level of language anxiety. Due to poor classroom management, a very low expectation has been set for these students and as a result, there is also a low percentage of students who experience language anxiety. Recommendations for improving bilingual language classes come from students' comments during focus group interviews.

Using data on all Hispanic high school students in Central and Southern Florida, this study examines Cummins’ Linguistic Interdependence concept by studying how the availability and English Language Learners (ELL) student participation in Spanish for Native Speakers (SNS) programs in Florida high schools is associated with Hispanic academic achievement. The availability of SNS programs was studied using data provided by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) on all high schools in Florida for 2009-2010. The study used individual level data on all Hispanic ELL students in Central and Southeast counties who attended 12th grade during each year from 2006/2007 through 2009/2010, and then tracked the students’ entire high school experience from 9th to 12th grade. Student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores were used as the dependent variable. Testing for differences in means and linear and logistic regression analysis were used to examine these questions. The results showed that SNS tend to be offered in large high schools, with a large Hispanic student and teacher population, which have lower average FCAT scores, and are located in counties that tend to vote Democratic. The results found indicate that student participation in SNS program does not affect students’ overall FCAT scores. However, students who participate in SNS courses tend to perform better in Math FCAT, but not in Reading FCAT, when compared to their peers of similar Hispanic background that did not participate in SNS courses. The results supported Cummins’ Linguistic Interdependence concept, as First Language (L1) maintenance may promote academic achievement, depending on the academic subject. The most important attribute of these results was the association found between L1 maintenance and academic skills in Math. The study argues for the possibility of cognitive development occurring at deeper levels due to L1 maintenance, and expressed through abstract and logical thought such as Mathematical iv proficiency. Future studies may benefit by approaching this subject in a longitudinal manner and examine how student participation in SNS is associated with educational attainment, including high school graduation, college enrollment and graduation, job prospects and social mobility. The results also suggest that there is a higher probability that SNS curriculum is offered in high schools located in counties that tend to vote Democratic, indicating that location is intrinsically dependent on stakeholders’ political views on the education of minority students. Therefore, future studies may examine stakeholders’ involvement in the decision making process of curriculum at the county, school, and classroom level, in order to find out what are the driving forces making possible or not the availability of SNS curriculum in the state of Florida.