Letter from the Editors
Preface
- In Between the Images: The Therapeutic Benefits of Unconscious Exposure
- A Call for the Proper Evaluation of Treatment for Co-Occuring BD and SUD
- A Meta-Analysis on Father Involvement and Early Childhood Social-Emotional Development
- Loneliness and Depression among Foster Children: The Role of Caregiver Ethnic Match
- Father Involvement in Ethnically Diverse Populations
- Book Reading Styles in Bilingual Head Start Classrooms
- Demographic and Relational Predictors of Social Self-Awareness in Urban Elementary Classrooms
- Language Attitudes of Puerto Ricans Toward English and Bilingualism
- The Stories Friends Share: Structural and Thematic Analyses
Cristina Tamayo
Language learning and attitudes are often implicitly influenced by larger social, economic, and political factors. The Puerto Rican experience is a perfect case study as the teaching and learning of English on the island is linked to historical events that have led Puerto Ricans to resist becoming bilingual. However, research on Puerto Ricans’ attitudes towards English was conducted in decades before English became the lingua franca of a globalized world. These global cultural changes might have led to significant revisions in the language attitudes of Puerto Ricans, especially among the youth. The purpose of the current study was to examine the language attitudes of young Puerto Ricans. Nine participants (ages 18-23) were interviewed about their beliefs, attitudes and perceptions towards languages spoken in the island. Using a grounded theory approach, data were coded and analyzed looking for recurring themes and patterns across and within cases. Preliminary results suggest that attitudes have positively changed and that young Puerto Ricans are not resisting becoming bilinguals as did youth of earlier generations. Results are discussed in relation to the potential impact of globalization in shaping modern Puerto Rican’s language and cultural ideologies.