The present study explores Spanish-English speakers' attitudes toward bilingual discourse in the Upstate of South Carolina. Implementing a mixed methods approach, survey data and sociolinguistic interviews targeting bilinguals' attitudes toward English-origin nonce borrowings, loanshifts, and codeswitching were examined. Quantitative analyses…

This article presents a descriptive analysis of the evolution of the world language Advanced Placement (AP) exam candidates' ethno-racial background, their heritage learner status, and language dominance, with particular emphasis on the two Spanish exams. The data come from aggregated national totals prepared by the College Board that include…

The preverbal double negation construction (i.e., yo "tampoco no" voy a la fiesta hoy) is often cited as a characteristic of Basque Spanish, although its use is undocumented in linguistic studies. The present research aims to fill this void in the literature by analyzing and contrasting the results of two studies on preverbal double…

Employing a modified version of an exhibit template for course integration (Beckman 2012), Sylvia López designed museum projects for an elective Spanish course on health that is open to students at the high-intermediate level and above. The course's aims are manifold: to build students' vocabulary, to discuss cultural aspects affecting health, and…

Studies on the application of service-learning with an emphasis on heritage learners are still emerging. Using a critical service-learning approach, I describe how the integration of a service-learning project showed heritage learners of Spanish the need for people with their bilingual abilities. Specifically, I examine the impact of…

This study contributes to current trends of heritage speaker bilingualism research by examining the syntax of so-called Spanish dative-experiencer predicates ("gustar"-like verbs). Building on previous findings (e.g., Silva-Corvalán 1994; Toribio and Nye 2006), it is hypothesized that Spanish heritage speakers can project an optional…

This short-form article discusses how college students can learn languages in the same way that K-12 students do and points out how teaching practices employed in K-2 classrooms that aid in bringing students from monolingualism to bilingualism can also be useful for college students as they become trilingual. Referring to theories presented at the…

In recent years, the World Languages field has witnessed an increased interest in service-learning (SL) initiatives. Many SL projects focus on the potential that Spanish-speaking communities offer students of Spanish, as a foreign language, to increase their language skills and cultural understanding of these communities. Some authors, however,…

When bilinguals read in either their first language (L1) or their second language (L2), words from both languages are unconsciously and automatically activated in their mind (e.g., Kroll et al. 2006; Van Heuven and Dijkstra 2002). Many bilinguals, particularly in Florida, choose to learn Portuguese in college as a third language (L3), thus…

In this paper we examine the use of Guarani affixes and clitics in colloquial Paraguayan Spanish. We depart from the traditional view of these as "borrowings," and instead explore the idea that these phenomena can be integrated within Muysken's (2000, 2013, 2014) typology of code-mixing. We claim that most of these uses may stem from a…

The use of English-origin spontaneous loanwords (e.g., "la babysitter," "el counter," etc.) in otherwise Spanish discourse is criticized by many as a strategy that bilinguals use to compensate for a lack of lexical knowledge in Spanish. The purpose of the current research is to examine the question of lexical proficiency as a…

Educational institutions with world language requirements face increasing student demand to offer Spanish Language for Specific Purposes (SPSP) courses at lower proficiency levels to fulfill language requirements. Language for specific purposes courses are designed to fulfill the communicative needs of students within a specific professional…

Using open educational resources (OER) in post-secondary settings has shown to reduce costs for students, advance accessibility and equity, generate motivation, boost enrollment, and improve academic outcomes. This article details innovative coursework and assessment tools for a Spanish for the Professions course designed around OER content…

Over the last several years, we have been witness to a growing body of work that examines the acquisition of Portuguese as a third language (L3). Here in the United States, Spanish speakers account for 45% of students enrolled in Portuguese classes (Milleret 2012), divided among first language (L1) Spanish speakers, second language (L2) Spanish…

Despite the growing number of heritage language (HL) learners in language courses, the interaction between second language (L2) and HL learners has not been fully explored in the research, and thus, it still remains unclear whether mixed (L2-HL) or matched (L2-L2, HL-HL) dyads are more beneficial for language learning. This study investigates…