Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Spanish Linguistics Commons, and the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons

This article examines the ways in which a group of first-generation Latino immigrants to the U.S. Midwest conceptualized their role in their children’s bilingual development. Re-spondents were asked to identify the individuals or institutions on which their children’s language and academic development depended, as well as household practices perceived as conducive to Spanish maintenance, and perceived obstacles to their children’s use of Spanish in the domains of home, school, and community. Discussion centers on mater-nal perceptions of agency because of the centrality of the mother in intergenerational mi-nority language transmission. It is argued here that immigrant mothers ’ perceptions o