ABSTRACT
The label "Critical Language Awareness" (CLA) has been applied both to the understanding of how language is imbued with social meaning and power relations, as well as to pedagogical approaches designed to promote that understanding among students. CLA has been proposed as a framework for the design of Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) education. Advocates of critical approaches to SHL note that not only is Spanish disparaged, but societal hierarchies typically portray the specific language varieties and translingual practices utilized by many US Latinxs as "incorrect" or "impure". CLA-based pedagogies encourage students to question taken-for-granted assumptions about language and to analyze how such assumptions are tied to inequality and injustice, with the ultimate goal of promoting positive social change. CLA has its roots in the interrelated projects of critical pedagogy, critical discourse analysis, and new literacy studies.
