Spanish as a Heritage Language Program

• Courses
• Placement Exam Information
• Course Materials
• Contact

The Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) Program at the University of Houston is designed for students who have been exposed to Spanish through family, community, or early experience and want to develop their skills in a more structured, academic setting.

Many of our students consider themselves beginners—especially in reading and writing—but they are not starting from zero. They bring listening skills, cultural knowledge, and lived experience with Spanish that make their learning path different from that of traditional second language learners.

This program meets you where you are and helps you turn that background into confidence, clarity, and control in Spanish.

Is this program for you?

You may be a heritage learner if you:

• Heard or spoke Spanish growing up 
• Use (or used) Spanish with family or in your community 
• Understand Spanish but feel unsure about speaking or writing it 
• Have previous Spanish coursework but found it didn’t fully support your learning needs

Students in this program have a wide range of abilities—from those who understand Spanish yet do not feel confident speaking it to those who speak fluently but want to improve their writing.

If Spanish has been part of your life in any way, this program is designed for you.

What you will gain

In the SHL program, you will:

• Learn to write clearly and confidently in Spanish 
• Strengthen grammar in ways that connect to how you already use the language 
• Expand your vocabulary for academic, professional, and everyday contexts 
• Gain confidence speaking Spanish in class and beyond 
• Explore the diversity of Spanish in the U.S. and reflect on your own experiences 

Our courses recognize that your Spanish is already meaningful and help you develop it further.

How this program compares to other Spanish courses

Courses in the SHL program are comparable in content and level of challenge to other Spanish language courses. The difference is not in rigor, but in approach.

SHL courses are designed specifically for students who already have some experience with Spanish. They place greater emphasis on areas where heritage learners typically need more support—such as writing, orthography, formal grammar, and expanding vocabulary across contexts—while building on existing strengths in listening, speaking, and cultural knowledge.

Course Pathway:

Students begin at different levels depending on their background and placement results. The program includes:

The following courses are taught on Fall, Spring and Summer semesters. (Before registration please check the semester course listing.) Enrollment is subject to placement.

Where you start depends on what you already know, as reflected in your placement test results, not on how many classes you have taken.

Placement: finding your starting point

All students must complete a placement test before enrolling.

There are two placement options:

• Heritage Spanish Exam — for students with prior exposure to Spanish in their lives 
  
• Spanish Placement Exam (for second language learners) — for students without any prior exposure to Spanish and learning Spanish only through school

The exam you choose depends on the answers to the following questions. If any of the statements below apply to you, you will need to take the Spanish Heritage exam. The Spanish Heritage exam allows you to receive course credit based on your test score.

• When I was a child, Spanish was spoken in my house.
  
• I lived in a Spanish-speaking country for two years or longer.
  
• My first language was Spanish (or both Spanish and English).
  
• I speak Spanish, or both Spanish and English with my family and friends.
  
• My parents and/or grandparents often speak to me in Spanish.

Important: Misrepresenting your background in Spanish in terms of living experience or prior academic study is a violation of the University of Houston Honesty Policy (article 3.03, item I.) and will be dealt with accordingly.

Why this matters: It helps place you in a course where you can build on your strengths rather than repeat what you already know or feel out of place.

https://www.uh.edu/casa/testing-services/student/departmental-examinations/ 

Testing Fee: $15 
Remote Proctoring Fee: $25

Upon submission of your Test Registration Request Form you will be provided information to schedule your remote test session. This information is e-mailed to you within 24 hours.

Submit Test Registration Request

If you have Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate Degree (IB) test scores, please submit your test scores to UH. Contact Patrick Daniel, pdaniel@uh.edu. 

Materials and textbooks

Get in touch

If you are unsure which test to take or where to begin, we are happy to help.

Program Director
Julio César López Otero, Ph.D.
Office: 419 AH
Email: jlopezotero@uh.edu 

Program Coordinator
Eugenia Ruiz, M.A.
Office: 438 AH
Email: emruiz2@central.uh.edu 

Take the next step

• Take the placement exam 
• Explore course options 
• Contact us with questions 

You don’t need to be “perfect” in Spanish to begin. You just need a connection to the language—we’ll help you build from there.