Enamoramiento in the Spanish Heritage Classroom

Abstract

This article offers an alternative to revamp the Spanish curriculum with an emphasis on heritage language (HL) courses with a social justice mission that promotes falling in love with their language and cultures to foster language vitality. Classroom activities should be designed to challenge hegemonic language ideologies to change this low vitality. Attitudes matter in terms of language vitality, so the development of critical awareness in the Spanish heritage classroom is essential for students to foster a critical worldview and to empower them to overcome the prejudices against their local dialects through resilience (Leeman, 2018). Community service-learning can also be connected to Spanish for Specific Purposes courses to provide heritage language learners (HLLs) with more confidence in their studies and a connection with the community (Thompson & Brown, 2019). A new curriculum adapted to student needs is key to promote Spanish vitality and to recruit more students for our programs.