In taking a sociocultural perspective to language learning, cognitive development is understood to originate in socially co-constructed behaviors that become internalized (Lantolf, 2000; Lantolf & Appel, 1994). When learners interact with each other, their language-centered exchanges contribute to language learning and development (Swain & Lapkin, 1998). Whereas features of such collaborative dialogue constructed by L2 learners have been widely explored (e.g., Swain & Lapkin, 1998), there is scant data on Spanish L2 and heritage learners (i.e. learners that grew up speaking a minority language at home, Valdés, 2001) working together (exceptions include Blake & Zyzik, 2003; Bowles et al., 2014; Henshaw, 2015). Given the growing number of Spanish heritage learners (HLs) enrolled in language programs in the U.S. where they share the classroom with L2 learners (Potowski et al., 2009), research on how these learners work together is warranted. The current study investigates how four mixed dyads, a Spanish L2 learner and a HL each, collaborated over several meetings as part of a service-learning project with a local zoo integrated into their Spanish class. Service-learning is a type of experiential learning where learners meet course objectives through community work (Wurr, 2017). The focus of their collaboration was translating animal profiles into Spanish. Field notes and participants’ reflections in journal entries and in-class interactions were analyzed via Activity Theory (AT) constructs, e.g., tools and division of labor, with an emphasis on contradictions, i.e., tensions within and between systems representing sources of change and development (Gibbes & Carson, 2014; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006). Preliminary findings point to, for instance, contradictions resulting from tensions between (a) subjects, objects, and the community and (b) subjects, tools, and objects. The former was observed in learners’ desire to carry out quality translations that would serve the community well and satisfy their partner and the professor, but, with limited language competence and many other school demands, felt that focusing on their grade for the translation rather than its contents was more pressing. The latter describes how L2 learners relied on HLs for support in language-related questions while HLs often sought the instructor’s expertise over that of their partner. These analyses allow language practitioners and researchers to scrutinize learners’ motivations and inclinations and raise awareness on ways in which instructional practices are executed and received by learners, thus changing the language-learning context.
