Sociolinguistics and Heritage Language Knowledge in High School Classrooms A Social Justice Perspective

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Ana Sánchez-Muñoz
Laura Ruth-Hirrel

Abstract

Understanding the sociolinguistic dimensions of heritage and minority languages has been shown to have positive effects on students’ ethnolinguistic identity, academic confidence, and development of social consciousness (Dee & Penner, 2017; Holguín Mendoza, 2022; Vásquez, 2006). However, most students do not encounter the sociocultural aspects of language until they attend university, and even then, only a small number are exposed to them (Carter & Sánchez-Muñoz, 2023). This En Acción piece argues that students can and should be exposed to sociolinguistic issues, particularly those issues concerning minority and heritage languages (HL), earlier in their education and describes a pedagogical model for doing so with high school students.

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En Acción