scholarly journals Language Mixings in Heritage Language Education: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Yizhe Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
Heritage Language Education ◽  
Heritage Language Learning ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Language Mixing

The overarching research question for this paper is what work has been done on heritage languages worldwide through a language mixing lens. Given the increasing research interest in this topic and the scarcity of previous secondary studies, a systematic review was conducted on the empirical data at the intersection of language mixing and heritage language education, in and out of schools. Thematic analysis and frequency analysis were carried out on qualified empirical sources gathered from Scopus, Web of Science, and Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA). After sharing backgrounds on heritage language education and language mixing with relative terms and perspectives, the paper presents findings from the review based on 23 peer-reviewed empirical journal articles, focusing specifically on three aspects: (a) the main theoretical approaches and definitions employed for language mixing; (b) the characterization of language mixing for instruction and its impacts on heritage language education; (c) the parent and community language mixing activities for children’s heritage language learning. The limitations of the existing studies and the implications for educators and researchers are later discussed. It is hoped that this article will further our knowledge on this topic and provide pointed implications for future education and research.

A Working Model for Assessing Spanish Heritage Language Learners’ Language Proficiency through a Placement Exam

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-138
Author(s):  
Marta Fairclough
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Working Model ◽  
Heritage Language Education ◽  
Content Selection ◽  
Placement Exam ◽  
Clear Idea

Having a clear idea of the knowledge in the heritage language that a student brings to the classroom is essential for a successful language-learning experience; for that reason, research in heritage language education has been focusing increasingly on assessment issues, especially language placement exams. Professionals debate whether assessment procedures should measure what students know and can do with the heritage language, or what deficiencies they have. Ideally, a balance of both will produce a better placement exam. This paper presents a working model of language placement based on current second-language theory and research and on what is known of heritage language learning. It explains the rationale for content selection and the design of effective tasks in a language placement exam for incoming university students and, finally, briefly voices some key logistical considerations.

Heritage-Language Education for Japanese Children Living Abroad and the Impacts on Their Ethnic Identity

2021 ◽  
pp. 154-176
Author(s):  
Akiko Onda
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Japanese Children ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Education Abroad ◽  
Heritage Language Education

With consistently increasing globalization, the number of Japanese children living and receiving education abroad continues to grow. Previous studies have compared the Japanese-language abilities of children studying Japanese abroad to those of children living in Japan. However, the author contends that the backgrounds of children studying Japanese abroad vary greatly, as do their learning goals. The former do not necessarily want to learn the same language skills as children who study in Japan. Japanese-language education for children living overseas requires that students understand what they want to achieve in terms of their language ability. This chapter focuses on children who have lived and been educated in multiple countries other than Japan; it discusses their Japanese-language learning goals and the environment needed to support those goals. It also examines their sense of ethnic identity as Japanese and how this relates to their upbringing and language-learning experiences.

The Heart of Heritage: Sociocultural Dimensions of Heritage Language Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 66-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Weiyun He
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Mutual Dependency ◽  
Heritage Language Learning ◽  
Constructivist Perspective ◽  
Sociocultural Processes

The very notion of heritage language (HL) is a sociocultural one insofar as it is defined in terms of a group of people who speak it. Heritage languages also have a sociocultural function, both as a means of communication and as a way of identifying and transforming sociocultural groups. This article surveys two broad approaches to research on the sociocultural dimensions of HL learning. While both of these approaches acknowledge the close connection and mutual dependency between HL learning processes and sociocultural processes, they differ in that one of them takes a correlational perspective, and the other a social constructivist perspective. This article reviews a selective body of work conducted from each of the two perspectives and concludes with a discussion of the implications of the sociocultural complexity associated with HL learning for research and practice.

Beyond Country of Birth

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Busi Makoni
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Culture Learning ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
African Languages ◽  
African Identity ◽  
Heritage Language Learning

This article reports the results of an exploratory study on how third-generation American-born Africans (ABAs) (i.e., descendants of African immigrants born and raised in the United States) construct their identities in and through learning African languages as heritage languages. Drawing from qualitative data in the form of in-depth interviews, the article argues that while ABAs contest and negotiate their identities through learning African languages and through other, multimodal semiotic practices such as clothing, there is a prevalent valorization of African identity indexed by proficiency in an African language irrespective of whether this is a heritage language. The impetus for this valorization of heritage identity is a feeling of dislocation and delocalization resulting from erasure of ABAs’ English native-speakerhood and constant misidentification as non-Americans by the dominant culture. Learning heritage languages fosters a sense of belonging and connection with an “imagined” home located “there” as distinct from “here.” Thus, through heritage language learning, ABAs construct an “identity of resistance.” The article concludes by pointing out how positive heritage identity metamorphoses into an awareness of not only the cultural and symbolic value of heritage languages but also the potential of translating proficiency in one’s heritage language(s) into economic capital in the global market.

Arabic as a heritage language: A scoping review

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-615
Author(s):  
Mark Winston Visonà ◽  
Luke Plonsky
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Heritage Language Learning ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Growing Domain ◽  
Family Language

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: Second language researchers have focused increasingly in recent years on “heritage language learners,” or adult learners who wish to learn, relearn, or improve their linguistic proficiency in a family language they spoke while growing up. The present study examines this domain with a particular focus on Arabic. Design/Methodology/Approach: We present in this paper a “scoping review” that systematically examines the theoretical approaches, methods, contexts, instruments, and linguistic foci found in empirical research on Arabic heritage language learning and learners. Following a comprehensive search, 34 empirical studies (27 journal articles and seven dissertations/theses) were identified that met our criteria. Data and Analysis: Each study was coded for the samples, designs, theoretical approaches, data collection instruments, and a number of other substantive and methodological features and practices. Frequencies and percentages of study features were then calculated. Findings/Conclusions: Among other results, the study revealed a variety of approaches to defining heritage learners/learning. Although studies in this domain most often employed cross-sectional designs and interviews to collect data, a variety of theoretical approaches both socially and cognitively oriented can be found. Originality: This study presents the first attempt to apply synthetic research techniques to the growing body of research on heritage language learning/learners. Significance/Implications: Our results describe this growing domain, identifying current trends and potentially fruitful directions for future research.

scholarly journals Rethink about Heritage Language Learning: A Case Study of Children’s Mandarin Chinese learning at a Community Language School in Ontario, Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Du
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Knowledge Mobilization ◽  
Heritage Language Learning ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
And Migration

On-going knowledge mobilization and migration take place on a daily basis in the globalized world. Canada is a multilingual and multicultural country with a large number of visitors and immigrants. One in five Canadian speaks a foreign language other than English and French (Postmedia News, 2012). This case study examined six-year-old Chinese children’s heritage language learning in a community school from multiliteracies perspective using observations, interviews, and artefacts to understand children’s literacy learning. The findings indicated that Chinese children’s literacy learning was not in the traditional repetitive way but involved multimodal communication at school. Useful implications are made for heritage language educators regarding ways to support meaningful heritage language teaching and learning.  

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