Spanish for Heritage Language Learners Program
This program is designed for students who grew up in a Spanish-speaking environment and who have some Spanish language competency as a result of having heard it in the home and community from parents and/or grandparents, extended family, friends and neighbors.
The SHLL program provides heritage learners with a well-structured curriculum to expand their proficiency in Spanish in three communicative areas: interpersonal, interpretative and presentational.
The instructors who facilitate learning in this program promote and support the identity and development of our Latina/o/x students while preparing them with literacy skills and knowledge for future studies in Spanish and to effectively function in professional bilingual environments.
The objectives of the SHLL program are:
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To recover, maintain, and expand Spanish as a community language in the United States.
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To validate our heritage speakers’ language use and, by extension their identity.
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To expand students’ ranges to include styles and registers of Spanish appropriate for communicating in academic and professional settings.