Attitudes toward Spanish as added linguistic capital in Jordan's English-dominant higher education landscape

Abstract

This study investigates emerging attitudes toward Spanish language education in Jordan, focusing on perspectives from parents, community stakeholders, and employers. Despite the global expansion of Spanish as a major international language, little empirical research has examined how it is evaluated and positioned in English-dominant, non-Hispanic contexts in the Middle East. While English remains the dominant linguistic capital and a prerequisite for academic and professional mobility, findings reveal a growing reconfiguration of language value in which Spanish is evaluated as an added resource within English-dominant trajectories. Through semi-structured interviews with 90 participants, the study identifies three key trends: parents frame Spanish as cultural enrichment and symbolic capital; stakeholders emphasize its relevance for global citizenship while highlighting institutional constraints; and employers regard Spanish as an advantage when combined with English in multilingual workplaces. Drawing on theories of language attitudes, linguistic capital, and language policy-in-practice, the study demonstrates how an English-plus ideology is emerging in the Jordanian context. It concludes by underscoring the need for policy coordination, curricular planning, and equitable access to support sustainable multilingual development.