Language and Identity in a Dual Immersion School

Kim Potowski is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she directs the Spanish for heritage speakers program. Her research focuses on the Spanish of bilingual speakers, including how Spanish is spoken in the United States, the effectiveness of curricula for heritage speakers, and professional development for teachers. She is the author of Fundamentos de la enseñanza del español a hispanohablantes en los Estados Unidos (Arco Libros, 2005).

• Table of ContentsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Immersion Classroom Research and Methodology of this StudyChapter 3: Inter-American Magnet SchoolChapter 4: Fifth Grade Language Use and ProficiencyChapter 5: Identity Investments of Fifth GradersChapter 6: Language Use in Eighth GradeChapter 7: Spanish Proficiency in Eighth GradeChapter 8: Identity Investments in Eighth GradeChapter 9: Conclusions

"This volume offers valuable insights into the inner workings of two-way immersion classrooms and helps us understand why students resist using Spanish. Everyone who cares about bilingualism as a goal of two-way immersion should know about this research."