Mi lengua: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States, Research and Practice

Chapter 7: Minority Perspectives on Language: Mexican and Mexican-American Adolescents' Attitudes toward Spanish and English

Introduction 7 Minority Perspectives on Language Mexican andMexican-American Adolescents'Attitudes toward Spanish and English Karen Beckstead Dos Pueblos High School, Santa Barbara, California Almeida Jacqueline Toribio Pennsylvania State University Over the past years, increasing attention has been devoted to educational programs and practices that serve linguistic and cultural minority students. Recent treatments such as those of Ladson-Billings (1994), Haberman (1995), and Olsen (1997) have yielded a consistent profile: successful teachers are those who demonstrate the following:· a strong belief in students' ability to learn and high expectations for achievement· skill in scaffolding between what students know and knowledge to be acquired· skill in using students' linguistic strengths to teach a second language· an orientation to the specific community of which the students are members. These research findings are consonant with the views of parents and other community members about how education should be most profitably delivered to linguistic minority children. Especially noteworthy is the ethno- Minority Perspectives on Language 755 graphic study carried out by Soto (1997), in which Latino families speak out on what constitutes equitable and quality education for their Spanish-speaking children. It should be readily apparent to all concerned that the wisdom of families and insights of community leaders can be valuable to educators and researchers. Quite significantly, however, in these aforementioned research and community efforts to identify the best teaching practices, the researchers', educators ', and parents' views of how children learn best do not include the views of the students themselves. This disregard for the sentiments of those most directly affected by educational practices is at odds with popular educational missions, especially those espoused in middle and junior high schools, where adolescents are granted increased rights and privileges. For example, the mission statement at Goleta Valley Junior High School, articulated in the Annual Report to the Community (1997-98), requires students to:· respect themselves and others· take responsibility for their individual development as lifelong learners· participate in the diverse community as informed and conscientious citizens. This work seeks to afford language and cultural minority students at Goleta Valley Junior High School the requisite voice for achieving this vision.! More specifically, our aim is in exploring and presenting quantitative and qualitative information about the language history, language attitudes, and other cultural attributes of the Latino adolescents enrolled in English-asa -Second-Language (ESL) courses at Goleta Valley Junior High School. These Latino youth are at a particularly critical point in their attitude toward language and language instruction because they may be exposed to conflicting sets of norms and values in the home and educational settings. Moreover, the linguistic attitudes they hold in junior high school will impact their educational achievement in high school, and their ability to enter into and succeed in higher education and/or the world of work. The Study THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY The study was carried out in the context ofthe ESL program at Goleta Valley Junior High School in 1998.2 Goleta, a suburb of Santa Barbara, California, has a considerable Hispanic population, which is reflected in the school enrollment . In the 1998-99 academic year, the school enrolled an estimated 756 Karen Beckstead and Almeida)acqueline Toribio 900 students, of which approximately one-third were classified as Hispanic.3 Many of the Hispanic students had families that had resided in the area for generations, and as a result had been born and raised in California; others had arrived at a young age and had significant English language proficiency when they entered junior high; and still others were recent newcomers who had immigrated to the U.S. as adolescents, speaking little or no English.4 The Hispanic students represented the continuum from those who had limited Spanish language proficiency, to those who were functional SpanishEnglish bilinguals, to a smaller number who were classified as non-Englishspeaking . Students were assessed upon entering the school and biannually, using several instruments to measure fluency in both English and Spanish (speaking, writing, reading, and listening proficiencies). In accordance with their scores, students were placed in appropriate classes, and could receive instruction and materials in Spanish, or attend "sheltered" classes that implemented specifically designed academic instruction in English for content areas such as math, science, and social studies.5 The ESL program at Goleta Valley Junior High School was unique for several reasons. First, the ESL Department employed dedicated and committed teachers who were sensitive to the demands and challenges of English language...