Resumen de Dilemmas in teaching heritage language learners: the voice of an L2 Spanish teacher candidate
Attending to the narrative of a teacher candidate regarding his practicum experience with heritage language learners (HLLs) and L1 Spanish learners, this hermeneutic phenomenological case study describes the identity struggles he encountered during the experience. Findings show that his struggles resulted not only from a perceived lack of pedagogical knowledge or skill, but also from intersecting issues as a White, L2 Spanish teacher teaching Latinx HLLs and L1 Spanish learners: perceiving himself not to be as competent in Spanish language as his students, appearing inauthentic in the context of teaching HLLs and L1 Spanish learners, and feeling unethical to be in an authoritative position in these classrooms. Discussion and implications suggest that we, as second language teachers, teacher educators, and second language teacher education as a field, should take into account a broader view of the complexities of the contextualized realities of teachers we work with, and that we should continue exploring these issues relationally and holistically in our research and practice.
