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International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism

Spanish in Israel has been the heritage language (HL) of some 130,000 Spanish speakers. The uniqueness of this immigrant community lays in the evolution, existence and maintenance of Spanish as the (HL). This study showcases Spanish speakers as an example of a well-integrated minority. The results of this study showed that the two first generations maintained Spanish as a means of communication with their families and immigrant friends, but at the same time quickly learned Hebrew to communicate in their wider professional and social circles. The usage, efforts, values, benefits, and motivation to maintain and foster the HL is mostly enforced by the older members of the family. The second – the ‘transitional’ – generation strive to maintain the HL but are cognizant of its sustainability for the generation above and below. The third generation – the young – finds practical and instrumental benefits in the HL particularly for communicating with older family members. We conclude by recognizing that though families are the propelling force for HL, the role of the educational system should be more central and greater efforts must be made to make it a dominant transfer agent of HL policy and practice.

Heritage language maintenance and management across three generations: the case of Spanish-speakers in Israel