Chapter published in:
Variation and Evolution: Aspects of language contact and contrast across the Spanish-speaking world
Edited by Sandro Sessarego, Juan J. Colomina-Almiñana and Adrián Rodríguez-Riccelli
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 29] 2020
► pp. 212–230

Language choice and use by bilingual preschoolers

Evidence from a Spanish immersion preschool context

| De Paul University
| De Paul University
| De Paul University
In a Spanish-immersion preschool with a dual population of heritage speakers (HS) and second-language learners (L2) of Spanish, we explore the language choices students make when their school language differs from the dominant language (English) and factors that contribute to their language choice. Observational data suggest students exhibit a type of interlocutor-dependent diglossia, typically reserving English for peer interactions and Spanish for interactions with teachers. Data from a language elicitation task revealed that a students’ language background (L2 vs HS) is not a significant predictor of their Spanish production; Spanish exposure proved to be the most significant factor. Case studies confirmed these findings and further revealed the multiple factors that make up Spanish exposure and predict students’ language use.
Keywords: immersion, bilingualism, language choice, heritage language, Spanish in the US
Published online: 11 August 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.29.09tob
References

References

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
(2019) ACTFL statement on Trump administration’s FY20 budget request. Retrieved from https://​www​.actfl​.org​/news​/press​-releases​/actfl​-statement​-trump​-administrations​-fy20​-budget​-request> (18 March 2020).
American Councils for International Education
(2017) The national K-12 foreign language enrollment survey report. Retrieved from https://​www​.americancouncils​.org​/language​-research​-fle​-state​-language​-us> (18 March 2020).
Benmamoun, E., Montrul, S., & Polinsky, M.
(2013) Heritage languages and their speakers: Opportunities and challenges for linguistics. Theoretical Linguistics, 39, 129–181. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E.
(2001) Bilingualism in Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Borowczyk, M., Subtirelu, C. N., Hernandez, T. R., & Venezia, F.
(2018) Recognizing whose bilingualism? A critical policy analysis of the Seal of Biliteracy. Poster presented at the 2018 American Association for Applied Linguistics Conference, Chicago, IL.
Broner, M.
(2000) Impact of interlocutor and task on first and second language use in a Spanish immersion program (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Minnesota, MN.Google Scholar
Carreira, M.
(2007) Spanish-for-native-speaker matters: Narrowing the Latino achievement gap through Spanish language instruction. Heritage Language Journal, 5(1), 147–171.Google Scholar
Center for Applied Linguistics
(2010) Foreign language teaching in U.S. Schools: Results of a national survey. Retrieved from http://​www​.cal​.org​/resource​-center​/publications​-products​/foreign​-language​-teaching​-in​-u​.s​.-schools​-results​-of​-a​-national​-survey> (22 April 2019).
(2019) Dual language program directory. Retrieved from http://​webapp​.cal​.org​/DualLanguage​/DLListing​.aspx> (22 April 2019).
Center for Applied Second Language Studies
(2010) How many hours of instruction do students need to reach intermediate-high proficiency? Center for Applied Second Language Studies. University of Oregon.Google Scholar
Chicago Public Schools
(2019) CPS financial turnaround allows district to invest $32 million in new high-quality programs for nearly 17,000 students at 32 schools. Retrieved from https://​cps​.edu​/News​/Press​_releases​/Pages​/PR1​_03​_19​_2019​.aspx> (22 April 2019).
Christian, D.
(2011) Dual language education. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (Vol. II, pp. 3–20). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Christian, D., Howard, E. R., & Loeb, M. I.
(2000) Bilingualism for all: Two-way immersion education in the United States. Theory into Practice, 39(4), 258–266. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, C.
(1959) Diglossia. Word, 15, 325–340. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Flores, N.
(2016) A tale of two visions: Hegemonic whiteness and bilingual education. Educational Policy, 30(1), 13–38. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Fortune, T.
(2001) Understanding immersion students’ oral language use as a mediator of social interaction in the classroom (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of Minnesota, MN.Google Scholar
García, O.
(2009) Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
García, O., Zakharia, Z., & Otcu, B.
2013 Bilingual community education for American children: Beyond heritage languages in a global city. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Genesee, F., & Nicoladis, E.
(2008) Bilingual first language acquisition. In E. Hoff & M. Shatz (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of language development (pp. 324–342). Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Ghimenton, A.
(2015) Reading between the code choices: Discrepancies between expressions of language attitudes and usage in a contact situation. The International Journal of Bilingualism, 19(1), 115–136. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lee, S. Y.
(2003) Contexts of language use in a two -way immersion program: Examining dimensions and dynamics of language and literacy practices. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lindholm-Leary, K., & Genesee, F.
(2010) Alternative educational programs for English language learners. In California Department of Education (Eds.), Improving education for English learners: Research-based approaches (pp. 323–382). Sacramento, CA: CDE Press.Google Scholar
Lindholm-Leary, K., & Hernandez, A.
(2011) Achievement and language proficiency of Latino students in dual language programmes: Native English speakers, fluent English/previous ELLs, and current ELLs. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(6), 531–545. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Looney, D., & Lusin, N.
(2018) Enrollments in languages other than English in United States institutions of higher education, Summer 2016 and Fall 2016: Preliminary Report. Modern Language Association of America. Retrieved from https://​www​.mla​.org​/Resources​/Research​/Surveys​-Reports​-and​-Other​-Documents​/Teaching​-Enrollments​-and​-Programs​/Enrollments​-in​-Languages​-Other​-Than​-English​-in​-United​-States​-Institutions​-of​-Higher​-Education> (18 March 2020).
Linguistic Society of America
(2009) Linguistic Society of America ethics statement. Linguistic Society of America. Retrieved from https://​www​.linguisticsociety​.org​/sites​/default​/files​/Ethics​_Statement​.pdf> (18 March 2020).
Montanari, S.
(2009) Pragmatic differentiation in early trilingual development. Journal of Child Language, 36(3), 597–627. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
NCES
(2018) Fast facts. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://​nces​.ed​.gov​/fastfacts​/display​.asp​?id​=16> (18 March 2020).
Obama, B.
(2006) The audacity of hope: Thoughts on reclaiming the American dream. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.Google Scholar
Ovando, C. J.
(1990) Essay review: Politics and pedagogy: The case of bilingual education. Harvard Educational Review, 60(3), 341–356. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pew Research Center
(2015) Learning a foreign language, a ‘must’ in Europe, not so in America. Retrieved from https://​www​.pewresearch​.org​/fact​-tank​/2015​/07​/13​/learning​-a​-foreign​-language​-a​-must​-in​-europe​-not​-so​-in​-america/> (18 March 2020).
(2016) Rise in English proficiency among U.S. Hispanics is driven by the young. Retrieved from https://​www​.pewresearch​.org​/fact​-tank​/2016​/04​/20​/rise​-in​-english​-proficiency​-among​-u​-s​-hispanics​-is​-driven​-by​-the​-young/> (18 March 2020).
(2018) Most European students are learning a foreign language in school while Americans lag. Retrieved from https://​www​.pewresearch​.org​/fact​-tank​/2018​/08​/06​/most​-european​-students​-are​-learning​-a​-foreign​-language​-in​-school​-while​-americans​-lag/> (18 March 2020).
Potowski, K.
(2005) Latino children’s classroom language use: The role of identity investments. In M. Farr (Ed.), Ethnolinguistic Chicago, Volume II: Latino Language and Literacy (pp. 157–185). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
(2007) Language and identity in a dual immersion school. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Prior, A., & MacWhinney, B.
(2010) A bilingual advantage in task switching. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13(2), 253–262. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pufahl, I., & Rhodes, N. C.
(2011) Foreign language instruction in U.S. Schools: Results of a National Survey of elementary and secondary schools. Foreign Language Annals, 44(2), 258–288. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Raikes, H. H., White, L., Green, S., Burchinal, M., Kainz, K., Horm, D., … & Esteraich, J.
(2019) Use of the home language in preschool classrooms and first- and second-language development among dual-language learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 145–158. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Suarez, D.
(2002) The paradox of linguistic hegemony and the maintenance of Spanish as a heritage language in the United States. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(6), 512–530. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Tarone, E., & Swain, M.
(1995) A sociolinguistic perspective on second language use in immersion classrooms. The Modern Language Journal, 79, 166–178. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, W. P., & Collier, V.
(1997) School effectiveness for language minority students. NCBE Resource Collection Series, No. 9. National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. Retrieved from https://​eric​.ed​.gov​/?id​=ED436087> (18 March 2020).
U.S. Census Bureau
(2018) Chicago city population estimates. Retrieved from https://​www​.census​.gov​/quickfacts​/fact​/table​/chicagocityillinois,cookcountyillinois​/PST045218> (18 March 2020).
Veltman, C.
(1983) Language shift in the United States. Amsterdam: Mouton. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Volk, D., & Angelova, M.
(2007) Language ideology and the mediation of language choice in peer interactions in a dual-language first grade. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 6(3), 177–199. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wiley, T. G.
(2000) Language planning and policy. In S. L. McKay & N. H. Hornberger (Eds), Sociolinguistics and language teaching (pp. 103–147). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wong-Fillmore, L.
(1991) When learning a second language means losing the first. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6, 323–346. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Yoo, Y., & Namkung, G.
(2012) English and American linguistic hegemony: A case study of the educational testing service. The Korean Journal of International Studies, 10(2), 221–253.Google Scholar