Twelfth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies

Abstract

Due to the constant contact between English and Spanish in the US, a natural bilingual context flourishes from which new linguistic innovations emerge. Even though these two languages coexist, the political and social capital that English represents accords it a dominant status over Spanish, resulting in language loss among first- and second-generation Latinx immigrants. To promote Spanish language maintenance, researchers have recommended the development of an academic biliteracy in students’ heritage language (Colombi, 2015). Although many US universities have programs for heritage speakers of Spanish, little is known regarding how effective such courses are in promoting biliteracy. This study seeks to provide evidence regarding how students in heritage language programs develop academic skills over time and what factors are related to biliteracy development. This study tracks in a longitudinal manner the development of academic biliteracy among 24 Spanish heritage language learners at a large US public university, through oral online video presentations and written discourse (academic essays). Using Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1985) I compare lexical density and combination clause strategies found in bilinguals’ traditional written discourse to multimodal online presentations. The quantitative and qualitative data gathered reveal an increase in students’ academic written and oral Spanish development as well as language confidence. In this paper I argue that online presentations allow heritage speakers of Spanish to challenge traditional conceptualizations of literacy practices, leading to new pedagogical implications.