The Impact of Foreign Language

Anxiety and Language Dominance

on Spanish Heritage Language Learners
Anne-Marie Jacobs
Colorado State University
 Introduction /
Introducción
 Heritage language learners (HLL)
 Spanish literacy / heritage
language courses
 Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA)
 English Dominance
  Public high school in Northern Colorado

Background / 66.1% White, 24% Hispanic



 92% English, 8% English learners

Contexto  3-part Spanish literacy curriculum
 Cultural Foundations S1 course (2 classes)
Purpose / Propósito

The purpose of this study is to better

understand the experience of heritage
language students learning Spanish in the
US educational system as it pertains to:
 Their language dominance
 Their foreign language anxiety
 Their exploration of cultural and
personal identity (through language
and culture)
Hypothesis /
Hipótesis
Prior to completing my research, I
hypothesized that HLLs would:
 Be affected by foreign language
anxiety, to some degree.
 Be impacted by their English
dominance in a negative way
(when discussing their Spanish).
  How do anxiety levels for heritage
language learners change depending on
the student’s dominant language
Research preferences?

Questions /  As educators, how do we measure

anxiety of heritage language learners
Preguntas de when teaching in an asynchronous and
hybrid model?
Investigación  In what ways do educators identify
foreign language anxiety within the
classroom environment?
Summary of Literature Review /
Resumen de Reseña Bibliográfica
Heritage Language Learners
 Two identities, two cultures, two
languages
 Balanced between fluency and
novice without much cultural or
linguistical support
 Generational deterioration of
language skills
What is language to them?
 A way to “get back what they lost,
both linguistically and culturally,
to connect more fully with their
heritage community”
 Linguistic abilities = Identity and
self-perception
 English language dominance is used
a linguistic security blanket
Summary of Literature Review /
Resumen de Reseña Bibliográfica

Faulty Assumptions Foreign Language Anxiety

 Implicit expectations that HLLs  Specific type of situation-specific
should already have linguistic anxiety
competency and mastery of the  Communication apprehension
language
 Test anxiety
 HLL beliefs and shame towards
 Fear of negative evaluation
their broken, code-switching, error
filled, regional home variety  May or may not experience anxiety
Spanish because it has diverged outside of the language classroom
from the high-prestige “real
Spanish” dialect taught within the
classroom
Methodology / Metodología
Mixed methods approach that utilized:
 An existing survey data set assigned by the teacher
during a unit on bilingualism
 Students self-evaluated their Spanish/English
dominance and proficiency
 A survey of heritage language educators
 A one-on-one interview with the Cultural
Foundations S1 educator
 A survey of Cultural Foundations S1 student
anxiety and language proficiency as perceived by
the educator
 Results /
Resultados
(N o v ic e (1 ), In te rm e d ia te (2 ), A d v a n c e d (3 )
T e a c h e r A ss ig n e d A C T F L S c o re s

Quantitative /
5

4
ACTFL Proficiency vs. Anxiety Level
Cuantitativo
3

0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5
 Language dominance and language
Anxiety Level
proficiency are a factors in FLA
 Quantitative / Cuantitativo
 English proficiency does not play a factor on FLA
 Although Spanish proficiency does

English Proficiency vs. Anxiety Spanish Proficiency vs. Anxiety

25 25

20 20

(Scored between 4 and 20)

(Scored between 4 and 20)

15 15

Spanish Proficiency
English Proficiency

10 10

5
5

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5
Anxiety Level
Anxiety Level
 Quantitative / Cuantitativo
 Clear distinction in newcomer vs true heritage language learner
(S co red b etw een 4 an d 2 0 ) English proficiency and Spanish dominance
E n g lish P ro ficien cy

Language Dominance vs. English Proficiency

25

20

15

10

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
46
Language Dominance
(13=English and 65=Spanish)
Qualitative / Cualtitativo
Newcomers
 Found to include students “who
have recently arrived [from a
foreign country] and are really
working on developing their English
skills…some of them are really high
achieving while some of them may
have not been schooled at all.”
 Because the newcomer population
did not grow up within the United
States, they tended to show more
compassion, kindness, empathy, a
lower sense of entitlement and
increased level of humility.
True Heritage Language
Learners
 “Speak at home primarily with family
members, older adults, and were
probably born here [in the United States]
or at least have grown up here for the
majority of their life.”
 Tended to have a higher expectation for
instant gratification and a lower
tolerance for mistakes.
 Generally found it easier to reach
impatience, frustration and
embarrassment and thusly tended
towards utilizing their English as a coping
mechanism.
 The educator found this subgroup of
students to be more self-critical and
anxious.
Qualitative /
Cualtitativo
 FLA did not increase with the
presence of newcomer students
 Improved the overall experience
for all heritage students
 Role of solidarity
Limitations /
Limitaciones

 Covid-19 pandemic
 Limited educator population
Significance of Findings /
Resultados de Importancia
 Strong correlation between both language proficiency and dominance in relation to
FLA
 English dominance affects Spanish proficiency and anxiety levels
 Newcomers do not impact the FLA of true HLL
 Anxiety in true HLL are a result of self- and family-imposed criticism / pressure to
speak proper and “real” Spanish
 Problems with grammar, vocabulary, dialect, reading, writing, etc.
Significance of Findings /
Resultados de Importancia
My findings will impact my teaching by:
 Creating strategic placement and group partnering between newcomer and true
heritage language learners
 Pushing the concept that all dialects of Spanish, including Spanglish, are correct
– no one “real” Spanish
 Decreasing the use/reliance on English but only after students begin to feel
comfortable and safe within the classroom
 Addressing issues specific to HLL such as: grammar, vocabulary, dialect, reading,
writing, etc.
Action Plan / Plan de Acción
Moving forward in my future career as an educator, I plan to
implement what I have learned by:
 Educating the general population, students and educators on
the struggles that this population uniquely experiences
 Teaching with a heightened awareness to students with foreign
language anxiety
 Creating a low-risk classroom environment that embraces
mistakes rather than perfection
 Speak openly about my own experience of foreign language
anxiety while learning Spanish
 Emphasize successful communication over grammatical
perfection
Questions? ¿Preguntas?
“All of America’s public schools work to educate all who cross their
thresholds — newcomers and longstanding community members alike.”

Anne Wicks

The Ann Kimball Johnson Director of the Education Reform Initiative, George W. Bush Institute
Acknowledgements/
Agradecimientos

Dr. Anne Sebald —

Action Research Professor

Laura Neff —
Cooperating Teacher