Learning and Not Learning in the Heritage Language Classroom, a critical ethnography, describes the first year of a teacher-founded charter high school and presents a case-study of compulsory Spanish heritage language instruction with two Spanish-language teachers, one English dominant and the other Spanish dominant. The study follows the same cohort of Mexican-origin students to their humanities-English class, bringing into focus what works and what does not with this group of learners. Unlike many Spanish heritage language studies, the students in this book did not choose to take part in Spanish class and thus provide unusually raw feedback on their teachers and classes. The engagement and resistance of these students suggests pedagogical directions for engaging Spanish heritage language learners. The book will be of interest to scholars, administrators, students and teachers involved in the delivery and assessment of heritage language classes.
This book deftly demonstrates why teachers of heritage speakers must be culturally and linguistically sensitive, utilize students’ strengths and community knowledge, and engage critically via relevant materials. Readers come away understanding how doing otherwise can lead to exacerbation of societal power imbalances and student non-participation. Important cautionaries for teacher professional development abound.
- Kim Potowski, University of Illinois at Chicago, USAIn this compelling ethnographic portrait of the challenges of heritage language study, Helmer exposes the intricate interplay of identity, community and institutionality through the critical conceptual lens of resistance. Her artfully woven narrative not only sheds intimate light on the social and political situation of the nation’s burgeoning young Latinx population but on the possibilities for educational reform in general.
- Andrew Lynch, University of Miami, USA
Kimberly Adilia Helmer is a Teaching Professor in the Writing Program at the University of California Santa Cruz, USA. Her research interests include Latino/a student engagement in learning and the pedagogies that support that learning; multilingual writers and writing; and English for Academic Purposes.
