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This study examined how college learners enrolled in Midwestern SHL courses describe their sociolinguistic needs and how those needs align with course curricula. Findings showed a disconnect between reported learner needs and the curriculum, including missing links to perceived future career relevance. Pedagogical implications and directions for future research follow.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/university-students-experiences-in-spanish-heritage-language-programs-in-the-midwest-abstract/601091/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/university-students-experiences-in-spanish-heritage-language-programs-in-the-midwest-abstract/601091.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"LangkahRina","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What gap did the study target in Spanish heritage language research?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The study addressed limited knowledge about students’ experiences in new and emerging SHL programs in the Midwest, where little had been known despite growth in course offerings.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What did the findings suggest about curriculum and student needs?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Results indicated a disconnect between students’ self-reported sociolinguistic needs and what SHL curricula presented, including missing connections to learners’ views of future career paths.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What research approach was used in the study?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The study used a phenomenographic design with a second-order approach, aiming to characterize how participants apprehend, think about, or perceive their experiences.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},601091,1792160574,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},962090893776,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","3  \nUniversity Students’ Experiences in Spanish Heritage Language Programs in the Midwest  \nJason A. Kemp  \nUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison  \nAbstract  \nHistorically, Spanish heritage language (SHL) scholarship has had connections to communities with established Spanish-speaking populations (Rivera-Mills, 2012). Regional SHL course offerings expanded in tandem with increases in Spanish-speaking populations, and little is known about students’ experiences in these new and emerging SHL programs. This study investigated the experiences of college students enrolled in SHL courses in the Midwest. Findings suggested a disconnect between the self-reported, sociolinguistic needs of students and the curriculum presented in their SHL classes. For example, some participants believed a link to future careers was missing from the SHL curriculum. Pedagogical implications and future research are discussed.  \nKeywords: heritage language learners (HLLs), Spanish, curriculum, student-centered perspectives, phenomenography  \nBackground  \nHeritage language learners (HLLs) have “a personal, emotional connection to a language other than English…there is a link to that language that is important”(Webb, 2003). As such, students enrolled in heritage language (HL) courses bring with thema gamut of experiences, skills and knowledge ofthe HL that is often linked to notions of family, friends, community(ies), identity and culture(s) for these students (García, 2005). This unique connection to the target language (Spanish, in this study) stands in contradistinction to the experiences of traditional second language (L2) learners since these students are often introduced to a L2 via formal classroom instruction. For most L2 students, their journey begins in the classroom where they can develop an appreciation for an L2 that fosters an integrative approach to language learning (Noels, 2001). However, HL students’ bilingual trajectory begins at home where the language (e.g., Spanish, French, etc.) functions as a mode of communication among family members. Hence, it seems critical that educators and researchers listen to and document the voices of students enrolled in HL courses as their prior experiences with the language might inform HL curriculum and pedagogy in innovative ways.  \nResearch in the field of HL education is not a new area of research in the United States (U.S.); however, the term heritage language and its importance in research, policy and practice only began to gain traction in the 1990s in the U.S. (García, 2005; Hornberger & Wang, 2008) when discussions about school-based language policies  \n36 Dimension 2020  \nand practices became a part of national discourse. Kondo-Brown (2003) noted there has not been sufficient research on the efficacy of the majority of HL programs at the university-level. Furthermore, as qualitative studies in HL education have not deeply explored the perspectives of students enrolled in HL programs (classes designed for students who were exposed to a HL in the home), researchers have called for an expansion in this area of HL studies in the U.S. (Alarcón, 2010; Beaudrie, Ducar, & Relaño-Pastor, 2009; Ducar, 2008; Valdés, 2001; Valdés, Fishman, Chávez, & Pérez, 2008) .  \nMoreover, current research has not adequately explored Spanish heritage language (SHL) programs in certain areas of the U.S. (Potowski, 2016). In the fall of 2010, Beaudrie (2012) distributed an online survey with the goal of creating profiles of SHL programs in the U.S. at universities with at least five percent Hispanic/Latinx enrollment. The Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, and Wisconsin) had 20 programs which were 37% of the 169 identified SHL programs. Fourteen of the 20 programs in the Midwest were in Illinois, which was one of the ten states with the highest number of SHL programs (Beaudrie, 2012). If you remove Illinois and its 26 universities that met Beaudrie’s criteria, the other nine s","cbCaifVYW6Bswt5z","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifVYW6Bswt5z","pdf",193348,29,"English","# Abstract\n# Background\n# Literature Review","[{\"question\":\"What gap did the study target in Spanish heritage language research?\",\"answer\":\"The study addressed limited knowledge about students’ experiences in new and emerging SHL programs in the Midwest, where little had been known despite growth in course offerings.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the findings suggest about curriculum and student needs?\",\"answer\":\"Results indicated a disconnect between students’ self-reported sociolinguistic needs and what SHL curricula presented, including missing connections to learners’ views of future career paths.\"},{\"question\":\"What research approach was used in the study?\",\"answer\":\"The study used a phenomenographic design with a second-order approach, aiming to characterize how participants apprehend, think about, or perceive their experiences.\"}]","University Students’ Experiences in Spanish Heritage Language Programs in the Midwest - Abstract | PDF",1792091963,73]