Language Ideology: The Case of Spanish in Departments of Foreign Languages

In this article we investigate language ideology in a department of Spanish. We are concerned with examining the acquisition and transmission of linguistic culture in departments of foreign languages within university settings and the ways in which views about non‐English languages that are part of the American cultural dialogue are maintained and nurtured by educational institutions. Using long‐term participant‐observation data and focused interviews, we contend that foreign language departments in U.S. colleges and universities, although involved in a nonhegemonic practice—that is, in the teaching of non‐English languages—are nevertheless working in concert with deeply held American ideologies about bilingualism and monolingualism.