The Need for Spanish in Mainstream Classrooms: A Celebratory Reclamation of Linguistic Identity
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Authors
Torres, Keila
Issue Date
2021-05-01
Type
thesis_open
Language
Keywords
Anti-assimilation Education , Spanish , Multilingualism & Multiculturalism , Devalued Languages , Inclusion & Student Visibility , Decolonization , Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education
Children's and Young Adult Literature
Curriculum and Instruction
Curriculum and Social Inquiry
Early Childhood Education
Elementary Education
Ethnic Studies
Latin American Languages and Societies
Latin American Literature
Latina/o Studies
Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority
Poetry
Spanish Linguistics
Alternative Title
Art of Teaching Thesis - Written
Abstract
This paper is a testament to the sociocultural importance of bilingualism in mainstream U.S. classrooms, specifically pertaining to the Spanish language and communities in which there is a large percentage of Spanish speakers. Approximately 13% of Americans are native Spanish speakers, this is equivalent to 40 million people. States like Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Texas can boast populations that include over 1 million Hispanic people (United States Census Bureau, 2019). However, our school curriculums do not reflect the large percentage of Spanish-speaking students who roam their hallways. I argue that traditional English as a second language curriculums are isolating and that in order to embrace a linguistically rich culture. Spanish must fight its way out of resource rooms and into the mainstream classroom where it will be celebrated alongside English as an equally valued mode of expression. Both native English speakers and native Spanish speakers have so much to gain by the productive co-existence and mutual celebration of each language.
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