The impact of study abroad on Spanish heritage language learners

Abstract

Even though study abroad programs in Spanish-speaking countries are increasingly popular, there are hardly any programs specifically designed for Spanish heritage language learners (Beaudrie, Ducar, & Potowski, 2014 Beaudrie, S. M., Ducar, C., & Potowski, K. (2014). Heritage language teaching: Research and practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. [Google Scholar]). However, there are many heritage language learners who still choose a Hispanic country to study abroad. How can we as instructors address their needs in this learning setting? How can instructors be trained to do so? In this article we present an overview of the situation of study abroad Spanish programs regarding heritage language learners and a proposal about how to meet their academic needs.