Most of the UC campuses offer classes specially designed for heritage speakers of Spanish. The duration and the number of classes offered vary from campus to campus. The terminology used to refer to heritage students varies. Some campuses have adopted the term "heritage students," the term we are using in our HL teacher-training manual. In the descriptions below we have maintained the terminology preferred by each campus.
All departments offer a standardized language placement test to incoming students regardless of their language background. Because this test does not take into account the special needs of heritage students, most of them place in intermediate or advanced language classes, or if offered, in a class for heritage speakers. Even though all heritage students with strong speaking ability are encouraged to take HL classes, some of them still enroll in foreign language classes due to conflict in their schedules or over-enrollment in heritage language classes. Some campuses impose restrictions on credits earned if HL students take Spanish-as-a-foreign-language classes.
The following is a summary of existing programs and course descriptions from 2004 as they appear in the general catalog or on departmental home pages for the following campuses: UCB, UCD, UCI, UCLA, UCSB, UCSC, and UCR. The evaluation of heritage students' proficiency and knowledge rests mainly with the instructors teaching the HL class. For more information on any of the programs described below please contact the home department directly. Any academic program is subject to evaluation and undergoes periodic changes.
UC Berkeley
UCB's Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers three courses for heritage students. All three are explained in the general catalog, but only two are described on the department's web page under "lower division classes." This suggests that Spanish 6 is not offered on a regular basis.
Spanish 6. Elementary Spanish for Hispanics (5.0 units). Five hours of class work and one hour of laboratory per week. An elementary course designed for Hispanic students with limited oral fluency and no formal training in the language. This class builds on the students' familiarity with the pronunciation of Spanish to develop their communicative ability and structural knowledge of the language. Equivalent to Spanish 1 and 2 (Elementary Spanish for non-heritage learners). Offered to freshman and sophomore students only. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Spanish 21. Beginning Spanish for Bilingual Students, First Course (3.0 units). This course focuses on elementary and intermediate levels for students whose native language is Spanish. The class emphasizes grammar and composition, and it requires three hours of class work and one hour of laboratory per week. Offered to freshman and sophomore students only. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Spanish 22. Intermediate Spanish for Bilingual Students, Second Course (3.0 units). This course is a continuation of Spanish 21. It focuses on intermediate and advanced Spanish for students whose native language is Spanish. The class emphasizes grammar and composition, and it requires three hours of class work and one hour of laboratory per week. Offered to freshman and sophomore students only. Prerequisite: Spanish 21 or consent of instructor.
UC Davis
UCD's Department of Spanish and Classics offers an accelerated three-course series designed for "native" speakers of Spanish. These courses allow heritage students to cover relevant content from the First and Second Year Programs of Spanish as a foreign language. As specified in each course description, each level emphasizes grammar, writing, and reading. Writing becomes more complex with each level. The highest level also prepares students for upper division classes in literature.
Spanish 31. Intermediate Spanish for Native Speakers I (5.0 units). Lecture/ discussion - 3 hours; tutorial - 1 hour; frequent writing assignments. First course of a three-quarter series designed to provide bilingual students whose native language is Spanish with the linguistic and learning skills required for successfully completing upper division courses in Spanish. Intensive review of grammar and composition. Prerequisite: Course 3 or the equivalent, or consent of instructor.
Spanish 32. Intermediate Spanish for Native Speakers II (5.0 units). Lecture/ discussion - 3 hours; tutorial - 1 hour; frequent writing assignments. Continuation of intensive review of grammar and composition. Development of all language skills through reading of modern texts, presentation or discussion of major ideas, vocabulary expansion, and writing essays on topics discussed. Designed for students whose native language is Spanish. Prerequisite: Spanish 31 or consent of instructor.
Spanish 33. Intermediate Spanish for Native Speakers III (5.0 units). Lecture/ discussion - 3 hours; tutorial - 1 hour; frequent writing assignments. Development of writing skills, with emphasis on analytical, argumentative, and creative writing styles. Analytical review of literary genres. Written essays will be assigned. Students will develop a research paper. Designed for students whose native language is Spanish. Prerequisite: Spanish 32 or consent of instructor.
UC Irvine
Spanish for Spanish Speakers Program. Native or near-native speakers who place into Spanish 2C (last quarter of the intermediate level) and whose home language is Spanish are encouraged to enroll in Spanish 5: Spanish for Native Speakers.
Spanish 5 (4.0 units). Workshop for writing concise compositions in Spanish with emphasis on contrastive features and interference from English. Learning by doing approach to the teaching of Spanish grammar, vocabulary, and orthography. Equivalent to Spanish 2C (intermediate). This class is offered every quarter (Fall, Winter, and Spring). Prerequisite: Spanish 2B, or placement into 2C, and advanced (native-like) oral proficiency in Spanish.
UC Los Angeles
UCLA's Department of Spanish and Portuguese offers three courses for heritage students. All three are included in the general catalog. Note that the first-level HL class, Spanish 7, is labeled as "intermediate" as an alternative to the foreign language intermediate-level class, Spanish 6. Similar alternatives are offered for Spanish 25 (Advanced Spanish and Composition), and Spanish 105 (Spanish Composition).
Spanish 7. Intermediate Spanish for Spanish Speakers (4.0 units). Four hours per week. Concentration on the formal aspects of the language (i.e., spelling, punctuation, accentuation, composition, reading, and traditional grammar) in lieu of Course 6. Prerequisite: general language proficiency, as determined by placement test.
Spanish 27. Composition for Spanish Speakers (4.0 units). Three hours per week. Practice in reading and writing of Spanish for students with oral proficiency in Spanish (in lieu of Course 25). Enforced prerequisite: Course 5.
Spanish 107. Advanced Composition for Spanish Speakers (4.0 units). Three hours per week. Practice in writing Spanish with appropriate vocabulary, syntactical structures, and stylistic patterns (in lieu of Course 105). Prerequisite: Course 25 or 27.
UC Riverside
UCR's Department of Hispanic Studies offers two upper-division courses for heritage speakers. All HL students are encouraged to take these classes instead of the ones offered to non-native speakers.
Spanish 109A. Spanish for the Native Speaker (4 units). Class work, 3 hours; individual study, 3 hours. Designed for the native speaker with little or no experience with Spanish grammar and composition. Emphasis is on basic grammar, written accents, orthography, and composition. The class is conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite: a sufficiently high test score on the Spanish placement exam, as determined by the Hispanic Studies faculty.
Spanish 109B. Spanish for the Native Speaker (4 units). Class work, 3 hours; individual study, 3 hours. Designed for the native speaker with little or no experience with Spanish grammar and composition. Emphasis is on basic grammar, written accents, orthography, and composition. The class is conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite: Spanish 109A.
UC Santa Barbara
The HL Program at UCSB's Department of Spanish and Portuguese consists of two consecutive quarters offered once a year. This program was established in the 1980s to serve the needs of heritage learners enrolling in second language acquisition classes in Spanish. Recently the department has strengthened this program by incorporating a literature component that complements grammatical study of the language.
Spanish 16A-B. Spanish for Heritage Speakers (4.0 units each). These two courses address the needs and strengths of students with Spanish speaking background but no formal language training in Spanish speaking countries. These two courses emphasize composition skills, advanced reading comprehension, standard versus vernacular usage, and cross-language interference, focusing on troublesome areas for HL students. Recognition of syntax and morphology is part of understanding the mechanics of the language. A specific feature of the class is daily practice in the placement of the written accent.
Both classes use the same texts - for grammar, La lengua que heredamos: Curso de español para bilingües by Sarah Marqués (4th edition), and for literature, Introducción a la literatura hispanoamericana: de la conquista al Siglo XX compiled by Gladys M. Varona-Lacey. Every text is divided into 20 chapters. The first half of both texts is covered during the first quarter. The Spanish for Heritage Speakers class meets four hours every week to obtain four units of credit toward a minor or major in Spanish. All heritage students are required to take this class before enrolling in an upper division Spanish course.
Every class has students with different levels of proficiency and exposure to the heritage language. The department allows each instructor to give his/her own diagnostic or placement test when the student has not taken the placement exam in Spanish. The test might include a personal interview regarding the student's specific needs. The fact that the HL program uses two textbooks gives the instructor some flexibility in choosing material that meets the specific needs of the HL students enrolled for that quarter. Prerequisite: a sufficiently high test score on the Spanish placement exam or consent of instructor.
UC Santa Cruz
Spanish for Spanish Speakers (SPSS) is offered through UCSC's Language Program. As described in the General Catalog, this course has been developed for students who, although raised in Spanish-speaking communities or households, are not yet fully proficient in Spanish. Spanish for Spanish Speakers courses build on the experiences and influences of bilingual and bicultural upbringing.
SPSS students are required to attend lab instruction once a week in addition to regular class meetings. Some lower-division and all upper-division courses can fulfill requirements for several majors or departments, such as American Studies, Education, Global Economics, Language Studies, and Latin American and Latino Studies.
In all of these courses, students study the mechanics of the language through grammar review, literature, writing, film, music, art, popular culture, and through readings related to social, political, historical, and cultural issues. The SPSS program also offers one-to-one classes with students that have taken these courses. Prerequisite: In order to register for these classes, students have to follow the Self-placement Guidelines for Spanish Speakers by answering a diagnostic questionnaire provided by the department.
The sequence and course numbers are as follows:
SPSS 61 offered in Fall
SPSS 62 offered in Winter
SPSS 63 offered in Spring
SPSS 64 offered in Fall only (advanced level)
SPSS 125 offered in Spring only (Spanish from Mexico and the Southwest)
Contributed by Myriam Gonzalez-Smith
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