ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights social, historical, and political factors that shape concepts of heritage language, approaches to research, and pedagogic approaches to heritage language education. Due to the overrepresentation of Spanish heritage language education in the already US-centric literature, Spanish is used as a case example of how these elements come to bear on the complexities of heritage language education research and teaching methods. After situating heritage language education socially, politically, and historically, there is a brief examination of some of the major conceptual contestations within the field. This is followed by a review of research approaches that are attuned to social, historical, and political power dynamics, which shape a conception of ‘heritage’ speakers, languages, and education. The chapter highlights translingual and critical pedagogy approaches, which include collaborative translation and project-based critical service learning. The chapter closes with the wide range of future directions for heritage language education that might push the field towards more intentional and socio-politically conscious teacher education; pedagogic and curricular designs that are consistent with linguistic, cultural, and academic restitution; and sociolinguistic considerations of heritage languages and learners that draw on the social, multilingual, and identity turns in language acquisition.
