What is it?
HERESPA – Heritage Spanish in Europe is a research project dedicated to the study of Spanish as a heritage language in Europe. Its aim is to understand the linguistic reality of children and young people growing up in multilingual European contexts who maintain Spanish as one of their family languages.
From a demolinguistic, sociolinguistic, and educational perspective, the project examines who Spanish heritage speakers in Europe are, how they use and transmit the language within their families, which factors support its maintenance, and what opportunities they have to learn and develop Spanish within and beyond the education system.
HERESPA combines the analysis of demographic and educational data with direct research involving Spanish-speaking families living in 46 European countries. One of its instruments is a European survey aimed at families with minor children, which provides insights into their language practices, attitudes, strategies for transmitting Spanish, and educational needs.
The project also seeks to bring research findings to society and institutions, providing useful knowledge for families, teachers, associations, educational authorities, and language policy-makers.
HERESPA aims to provide a comparative and up-to-date view of an increasingly relevant reality: the new generations of Spanish speakers growing up in Europe.
Team
HERESPA is a project developed by the Observatory of Spanish in Europe (OSE) at Heidelberg University, in collaboration with the Didactext Research Group at Complutense University of Madrid.
Observatory of Spanish in Europe:
Didactext Research Group – Complutense University of Madrid:
HERESPA is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung (BW-Stiftung).
Technical Details
2.200
households surveyed across Europe
46
represented countries
±2,09 %
global margin of error
95 %
confidence level of the sample
Activities
36th International Conference of ASELE — Leuven, September 10, 2026
Prof. Dr. Óscar Loureda Lamas participated as a plenary speaker with the lecture El español como lengua de herencia en Europa, in which he presented findings from the HERESPA project and analyzed the role of family, social, and educational environments in the continuity of Spanish as a heritage language in Europe.
Related Research
Spanish as a Heritage Language in Ukraine: Maintenance and Family Language Practices
This master’s thesis explores how Spanish-speaking families in Ukraine maintain and transmit Spanish as a heritage language in a multilingual context with limited institutional support, with particular attention to family language practices and intergenerational transmission.
Daria Klymenko
Spanish as a Heritage Language in Poland: An Analysis of the Factors Contributing to Its Maintenance
This master’s thesis analyzes the various factors involved in the maintenance and transmission of Spanish as a heritage language among Spanish-speaking families living in Poland, a country located on the periphery of the Spanish-speaking community in Europe, where this community has nevertheless experienced notable growth over the past decade.
Nicole Rodriguez Mó