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This paper discusses bilingual education model types in South America with a special focus on the Andean region, and examines the recent language planning decisions by one Ecuadorian indigenous group to formally instruct Quichua as a second language in community schools. Specifically I argue that this type of localised planning – which promotes an enrichment model of bilingual education and use of students' heritage languages – merits greater attention from researchers and language planners as a potential avenue for equalising opportunity and sustaining linguistic diversity. The paper is divided into four sections. First, I briefly overview these local language planning decisions and their larger political context. Next, I draw comparisons between these decisions and recent shifts in US language planning and policy, and outline the shared challenges of what have been termed 'heritage language initiatives' across the Americas. Lastly, I discuss the connections between these policy shifts and recent developments within the field of language policy and politics, and argue that this new form of bilingual education and local language planning represents the best hope for small language survival in the face of globalisation.
