Bilingualism and the second generation

On Monday I had a conversation with a student in a Spanish class.  She has grown up in the States and, I assume, she learned Spanish at home.  In the Spanish class there is a mix of Spanish-speakers who are in the class to get foreign language credit, as well as English-speakers who hope to learn the language.  I speak to the students in Spanish and they almost always respond in English.  Casually, I asked the students, in Spanish, why they don’t speak Spanish in class.  One girl responded with the common answer, “because we are in the United States and I already speak Spanish.”  I do not deny that the student speaks Spanish, but as she is realizing, her academic Spanish is lacking and her grammar is worse. 

Linguistically speaking, the purpose of language is to communicate effectively.  If you are only going to be speaking the language, grammar will not be criticized to a certain extent.   On the other hand if a student hopes to use their bilingualism to their advantage, they must be academically proficient in both languages, knowing how to read and write using the correct register.  I can see why second generation Latinos may not want to use their Spanish.  I’m sure there are many factors that play in to issues of bilingualism among young people, especially in the US where speaking more than one language is not promoted. 

As adults, these students will learn that their Spanish benefits them in many different settings including the business world.  How do we explain to students, who are struggling with a bi-cultural identity, the value and importance of being bilingual and having a multi-cultural background?