The call for proposals is now closed.
12th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language
May 12-14, 2025
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
We are pleased to invite submissions for our upcoming 12 National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language. The National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language (NSSHL) is an intellectual forum for the discussion and advancement on education and research to better support the strengths and diverse pedagogical needs of Spanish heritage bilingualism in the United States.
The 12th NSSHL will be held from Monday, May 12 to Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. It will take place in person and follow the regular format of keynotes, conference presentations, academic panels, and workshops to allow attendees to share ideas and knowledge about the different aspects of Spanish heritage language teaching, practices, and research.
The call for proposals is now closed. Applicants will be notified by February 1, 2025.
We invite scholarly papers, workshops, panels, and performances.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
- Heritage Languages and New Technologies
- Multiliteracies and Translanguaging
- Raciolinguistics and Language Ideologies
- Heritage Language Pedagogy in K-12 and Higher Education
- Antiracist, Decolonial, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Research
- Honoring our roots and our community. Diversifying the HL Curriculum:
- Centering Afrolatinx and Indigenous Heritages in the HL Curriculum
- Multilingual Learners
- OER Projects
- Heritage Language Program Administration, Coordination and Leadership
Proposals, in Spanish, English, or Spanglish, should consist of an anonymized abstract containing the presentation or panel’s title (300 words maximum excluding references, tables, figures, and title). Interested contributors should submit a 300-word abstract, by December 1, 2024 here: The Linguist List
Please send any questions to 12nsshl2025@northwestern.edu
1. Submitting your proposal
The proposal: authors are invited to submit a proposal of no more than 300 words for either a 30-minute individual presentation, a 60-minute workshop, or a 90-minute panel (maximum 4 presenters). Presenters may present up to two (2) proposals as a lead presenter or as a co-presenter.
Proposal submission deadline: December 1, 2024
Language of proposal and presentation: Proposals can be submitted in Spanish, English, or Spanglish.
Review process: The name of the presenter(s) or an institution should not be included, and any other personal references should be anonymized in the body of the proposal.
The 12th NSSHL Committee will evaluate abstracts against the following criteria:
- Topic/issue/problem is relevant to the field of Spanish as heritage language (SHL).
- Proposal is innovative and/or unique in its approach to SHL.
- Clearly stated goals, objectives, and intended outcomes of the session.
- Mentions methodology, results, and implications for the field.
- Proposal is well organized and written in a clear, accurate style, and includes references.
Acceptance notification:authors will be notified by February 1, 2025.
2. Writing your proposal
Authors should make sure to include the following items in their proposals:
- Title of presentation
- Abstract for conference program (50-word maximum)
- Presentation description
Presentation proposal (300-word maximum) that addresses the following questions:- What aspects of change/innovation will you be discussing?
- How did you work collaboratively to identify these opportunities for change?
- How are these findings impactful to the profession/field?
- Three to five learning objectives
What do you want the audience to take away from your presentation? - Presentation format
Please select the format that best fits your presentation:- Presentations: Each individual presentation will be allotted a total of 30 minutes, with 10 of those minutes dedicated to active discussion with the audience.
- Workshops: These workshops are designed with an intentional focus on skill and knowledge development. Presenters should plan to share information about a particular body of knowledge, evidence-based practice, engaged teaching or research techniques, assessment or research results, or methodologies. Active discussion between audience and presenter(s) should be encouraged throughout the session.
- Panels: Panels are designed to exchange information about a particular body of knowledge, evidence-based practice, engaged teaching technique, assessment or research instrument, or methodology. Panels include a target of a maximum of four panelists and feature active discussions and conversation from various perspectives about a topic. Panels will be scheduled for 90 minutes, composed of 60 minutes of active panel discussion and 30 minutes of interactive questions and answers with the audience. These proposals should identify all panelists, as well as a moderator for the panel discussion.
- Focus Areas
Which focus area(s) best reflect(s) your proposal?- Heritage languages and New Technologies
- Multiliteracies and Translanguaging
- Raciolinguistics and Languages Ideologies
- Heritage Language Pedagogy in K-12 and Higher Education
- Antiracist, Decolonial, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy & Research
- Honoring our roots and our community. Diversifying the HL Curriculum: Centering Afrolatinx and Indigenous Heritages in the HL Curriculum; Multilingual Learners; Other
- OER Projects
- Heritage Language Program Administration, Coordination & Leadership
- Other (specify): ___