Needs of High School Heritage Spanish Students
Beth Hennes
Research Question
What do heritage learners actually need from a Spanish language course (that can be used to drive instruction)?
Research Strategy
A case study, using student questionnaires and behavior observation
The situation
• Rural high school of 1000 students, of which 7% are Latino and 3% are English Language Learner (with definite overlap)
• 16 students enrolled (initially 19) in Heritage-Speaker section of Spanish for the 2013-2014 school year
• Co-teaching arrangement between AP/Level 3-5 Spanish teacher and ELL teacher (myself)
• Pilot year before official course approval with School Board: currently no “official” materials
Need for study
• Behavior problems! (off-task behavior, vulgar language, disrespect, extraneous talking)• Lack of motivation, low assignment
completion• 50/50 success rate of planned activities
(could go well, could flop—who knows?)• Growing teacher frustration
Assumptions
1. Behavior problems are due to inappropriate materials/activity selection
2. If we know what students need/want and plan instruction around that, behavior will improve.
Collection of data
Tools
1. Placement Test Results Conference and Goals Worksheet
2. Learning Expectations and Needs Survey
3. Nonnative-speakers Learning Expectations and Needs Survey (given to 5 students in AP/Level 5 Spanish, just for basic comparison purposes)
Summary of Data (Google Forms)
Follow these links to see survey results for:•Heritage Spanish Speakers•Advanced Nonnative Spanish Spe
akers
Findings
Nonnative Speakers compared to Heritage Learners:• Our high school nonnatives rated
themselves higher in literacy domains (reading and writing)• Heritage learners rated themselves higher
in oral language (speaking and listening)
Findings
Heritage Learners valued:• the work they had done with writing (7
mentioned this)• learning about accents (4 mentioned this)
Heritage Learners were frustrated by:• poor behaviors of other students, such as not
working or too much talking (5 mentioned this)
Analysis of Findings
Generalizations:• Heritage learners want to improve writing
and reading.• They need help with accents and spelling.• They were also frustrated by discipline
problems.
My reaction to survey data
• Heritage Learner honesty and candidness was heart-warming! They seemed to want to learn and were frustrated by similar things as the teachers.• Is this a confirmation of our assumption?
(That if we give them what they want, behaviors will improve…)
Epilogue: We made changes
For Unit 2:• Changed from Level 4 World
Language Spanish textbook-centered lessons to Project-Based Learning• Included drop-in mini-lessons on
accents and spelling
Result of changes?
• Some improvement in behaviors (definitely less discipline referrals during this unit)• Still encountered some “I-can’t/I-
won’t/I’m-too-lazy/This-is-dumb-because-I-already-know-everything” attitudes
Conclusion
•More talk than walk• Perhaps we were asking the wrong
question—maybe it wasn’t supposed to be “What do they need?”
Suggestions for future research
• Consider motivation (intrinsic/extrinsic) as a cause for instructional difficulties
• Look for and experiment with appropriate Heritage Spanish course materials/textbooks
• Use this study as a basis to REALLY compare Heritage and Nonnative Learners
• Consult more literature from the “experts”
Research Model: Big6
• I chose the Big6 because I had heard of school librarians in several local districts using it too. I thought I should get some experience.• I used Barbara Jensen’s “Research
Project Organizer (7-12),” which I found here.
Research Model: Big6
Step 1: Task Definition• EASY! My information problem came
from a real-life problem I was having.• The information I needed seemed to
be right in front of me (in the students)
Research Model: Big6
Step 2: Information Seeking Strategies• Students, experts, literature• For the scope of this research, I should
have stuck to the kids. (I wasted some time on the “experts.”)
Research Model: Big6
Step 3: Location and Access• Again, EASY! I saw the kids
everyday from 1:25 to 2:10pm.• Gave them surveys
Research Model: Big6
Step 4: Use of Information• Used Google Forms to compile data.
The summary graphs helped me analyze and see patterns quickly.• Discussed with my co-teacher to
confirm my thoughts
Research Model: Big6
Step 5: Synthesis• The hard part for me: I tried to do too
much and got really bogged down.•My solution was to use this
presentation to boil down my findings and re-write my paper.
Research Model: Big6
Step 6: Evaluation• Big6 got me where I needed to be,
though I didn’t realize it at the time. I spun my wheels, re-examining Steps 4-5.• Probably just didn’t have my focus
refined enough
Critique of the Big6
• I didn’t even realize that I got lost in the model until I had reached my frustration point.• I just assumed I was spending a lot of
time on Step 5, but was actually stuck.• No stop-gap for that: watch out!
Using the Big6?
• Sure! But I don’t think it’s much different from other models—I’m sure others do just fine.• I liked that it helps learners make a
plan, which novice researchers really need.
FIN¡Gracias!