Looking for Others Like Me: How Classroom Community Supports Heritage Language Maintenance

Heritage language maintenance remains a foundational goal of heritage language pedagogy and a primary motivation for program development and student enrollment. This study examines survey and focus group data from 31 Spanish heritage language learners enrolled in intermediate and advanced courses at a public Midwestern university across multiple semesters. Findings indicate that students identify classroom community as a central motivation for enrollment and as integral to their learning experiences. The results position classroom community as a learner-responsive pedagogical goal that complements heritage language maintenance by fostering belonging, supporting linguistic development, and strengthening students’ personal and cultural connections.