College Students of Spanish Language: A Potential Shift in Language Ideologies

Abstract

Spanish is the fastest-growing non-English language spoken in the United States (Jenkins, 2018) and the Southwest represents the largest Latinx population growth with the greatest densities of Spanish-speaking communities (Potowski, 2018). Additionally, Spanish is the most widely taught second language in the United States, enrolling more students at the postsecondary level than all other modern languages combined (Burns, 2018). While many academic institutions acclaim language learning as a cultural and linguistic bridge, positive overall attitudes toward Spanish and Spanish-speaking cultures have declined after enrollment in introductory Spanish classes (Acheson & Nelson, 2015). This qualitative research study, conducted at a large land-grant university located in the Southwest, is one of the largest Spanish undergraduate programs in the United States. Serving a 35% Latinx local community, the school’s Latinx student population constitutes 25.3% of its student body. Guided by the theoretical frameworks of LangCrit (Crump, 2014), Raciolinguistics (Alim, Rickford, and Ball, 2016; Flores and Rosa, 2015), and Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1978) with data from questionnaires, journals, and in-depth phenomenological interviews, this study explores how language ideologies shape learning Spanish, how identities and experiences with Spanish and Spanish speakers shape those ideologies, and how learners view their own use or nonuse of Spanish in their communities. The findings were surprising due to their oppositional relationship with recent research. This analysis reveals how learners positioned themselves as culturally competent and socially responsible learners, an identity tied to their self-awareness as recipients of unequal racial and linguistic privileges. I show how learners socially distanced themselves from others perceived to be culturally unaware and/or socially irresponsible and how their rejection of language ideologies contributed to their identity positions. Findings suggest an allegiance to English language ideologies as a global lingua franca as learners devalued achieving Spanish linguistic fluency and prioritized developing social and cultural skills. They suggest a shift in dominant language ideological beliefs from previous peer groups. I propose an examination into the evolving sociopolitical and ideological beliefs among cohorts of learners. I advocate for a reexamination of the current over-emphasis on grammar instruction and a greater focus on cultural competence and understanding. Due to learners’ low Spanish language use, they may be ill-equipped to find culturally responsive ways to speak and practice their growing linguistic skills.