Alignment and Misalignment Between L2 Spanish Instructional Practices and Heritage Language Learner Backgrounds and Needs

Abstract

This classroom case study documents how two heritage language learners (HLLs) in a university‐level Spanish class mixed with second language learners (L2Ls) engaged with instructional affordances and ultimately achieved divergent academic outcomes. Within an action research framework, our study draws on sociocognitive and identity theories to demonstrate how the focal participants’ behavior reflected variable investments in particular classroom activities, which in turn were rooted in broader pedagogical and linguistic ideologies. We use the terms alignment and misalignment to describe the extent to which the classroom activities legitimized the background knowledge, identities, and personal histories of our focal learners as starting points for learning. Our analysis suggests that although our participants demonstrated remarkable linguistic resources for critical thinking and self‐expression, tasks requiring metalinguistic analyses posed challenges that made “good language learner” identities more difficult for them to achieve than their L2L peers. We discuss theoretical explanations for HLLs’ investment in classroom activity and suggestions for adapting instructional support to better meet the needs of learners from all sociolinguistic backgrounds.