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For heritage speakers, the Spanish classroom is notthe first point of contact with their nativelanguage. Though such learners would benefit from aneducational philosophy that affirms the heritagelanguage as a springboard for learning and increasedself-awareness, there has been little support fornon-dominant language research in the United States.This inattention breeds negative consequences notonly for heritage speakers, but for national securityand economic concerns. This study takes aphenomenographic approach to reveal the experiencesof adult heritage Spanish speakers in programsdesigned for monolingual English speakers. Learnersverbalize their own conceptions, thus providing entryto their life-worlds. The data gleaned from thisresearch sheds light on the educational, social, andindividual challenges faced by the adult heritagespeaker in their quest to improve literacy skills intheir native language. Nuestra herencia is a valuableresource for teachers, language programadministrators and educational researchers seeking tobetter understand and serve the needs of our heritageSpanish speakers.
