Welcome to the Alliance News Flash.

The Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages appreciates that you have profiled your program with us and have advanced the work of the Alliance. To thank you for your assistance, and to facilitate our communication, we have set up an electronic newsletter called "Alliance News Flash" We have subscribed you to this announcement-only news flash. We will send messages out on a periodic basis alerting you to resources and information that we feel would be of interest to you and to people working in your field. If you do not wish to receive these messages, you may unsubscribe any time using the links at the bottom of each message (including this one).

Articles and Resources on Spanish for Spanish Speakers

This issue focuses on resources and information about Spanish language development for Spanish speakers. We feature

• Escuela Bolivia
• Spanish language programs profiled on the Alliance Web site
• An article about an advanced SNS program
• A guide on teaching Spanish to Native Speakers
• An SNS brochure
• A bibliography on materials for SNS instruction

Our feature heritage language organization, Escuela Bolivia, was established as a community heritage language program in 1998, when a group of Bolivian parents met with the Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools to meet the needs of Arlington's growing Latino population (primarily Bolivian students) and to address the achievement gap between Latinos and other students. Escuela Bolivia started as a Saturday school program, and has grown significantly, now servicing the community as a whole and accomplishing its mission to strengthen linguistic and cultural values. The organization also improves the academic achievement of students (children, youth, and adults), so that they may gain better opportunities to improve their lives and the community. Click here to visit Escuela Bolivia's Web site and to find out about the great opportunities they provide, such at the opportunity to participate in their Spanish Academy.

This summer sign up to participate in Escuela Bolivia's Spanish Academy for students in Kindergarten-5th grade! The program will run from August 11-August 22, Mondays-Fridays from 9am-12pm, and will be held at Virginia Gardens Community Center, 1716 Taylor St. Arlington, VA 22204. Please register soon as limited space is available. To sign up your child and for more information, call the Escuela Bolivia office at 703-228-2560 or send an email to info@escuelabolivia.org.

Spanish Language Programs

The Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages (the Alliance) has profiled more than thirty heritage Spanish programs. To view the profiles click here.

Voice your ideas and share additional suggestions on how to make the Alliance work for you by emailing us at heritage@cal.org

Article on an Advanced SNS Program

Spanish speaking Wichita Falls High School teacher organizes language course for native speakers, by Ann Work. January 19, 2008. Times Record News, Scripps Newspaper Group.

This article describes what it took for a teacher, Kathy Gilbert, to create an advanced Spanish for Spanish speakers class at Wichita Falls High School (WFHS) for heritage Spanish speakers and graduates of the heritage Spanish classes. With the support of the WFHS principal and superintendant, the advanced SNS class is a success. For example, 80% of the students who have taken the advanced SNS course and the AP test have passed the AP Spanish test. For a full copy of the article click here.

Teaching Spanish to Spanish Speakers: A Resource Guide

Ana Roca and Kathleen Marcos compiled a resource guide for teaching Spanish to Native Speakers. The guide includes digests, journal articles, books and reports, curricula and teaching materials, web sites, conferences and summer institutes, and other documents for Spanish teachers. To view these materials, click here.

Spanish for Native Speakers Brochure and Annotated Bibliography

Why Start and Maintain a Spanish for Native Speakers (SNS) Program?

Find out why there is a need for SNS programs in the United States and the key characteristics of programs in this brochure that CAL created in collaboration with the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). This brochure is useful to those wishing to start a Spanish for Native Speakers program in your school or district, advocate for SNS programs, and improve heritage Spanish programs. Click here to get a PDF version of this brochure or here to order a large quantity of them.

Instructional materials used in SNS programs
This annotated bibliography lists Spanish textbooks and materials used in the instruction of Spanish Native Speakers. To see the list of these materials click here.

CAL News

An electronic newsletter published by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, DC., CAL News provides periodic updates about CAL projects, research, programs, and information about new products and services. (View a sample issue.) To subscribe CAL News click on the "Subscribe to CAL News" button on this page.  

Message for List Members

If you would like these messages sent to another address, please send an email to me, Jacqueline Lopez, at jlopez@cal.org, and in the subject line write: Different email for the Alliance-News-Flash. We appreciate your active collaboration with the Alliance and your commitment to heritage language development. As you know, we are seeking to develop community among professionals working in heritage language education and research by periodically sending articles and other resources to this community. If you have announcements that you think should be sent out, please send them to jlopez@cal.org and in the subject line write "Alliance News Flash." Email me directly at the email above (rather than replying to this message) if you have any suggestions regarding information or materials that you would like others to receive from the Alliance.

Thank you very much for working with us and providing heritage language resources to the field.

Jacqueline Lopez
Research Associate
Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages
Headquartered at the Center for Applied Linguistics
Washington, DC
www.cal.org/heritage