Misplaced Heritage Language Learners of Japanese in Secondary Schools

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-221
Author(s):  
Susan Oguro ◽  
Robyn Moloney
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Distinct Group ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Formal Program

While heritage language learners are becoming visible in the research literature as a distinct group of language learners with specific needs, existing curriculum structures in secondary schools often focus on programs either for foreign language learners or for first language learners. The study reported here examines the experiences of heritage learners of Japanese who have been inappropriately placed in courses designed for native speakers and as a result, in some cases, have withdrawn from taking any formal program of Japanese language study. Focusing on the situation of Australian senior secondary Japanese students, this article reports the findings of questionnaire and interview data, featuring the voices of both teachers and heritage learners of Japanese. The data identify the issues that delineate heritage language learners from native speakers and highlight, through the experiences of misplaced learners, the need for appropriate placement, pedagogy and curriculum

College Chinese Heritage Language Learners’ Implicit Knowledge of Compound Sentences

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lihua Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Implicit Knowledge ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Chinese Heritage Language

This preliminary study investigates beginning college Chinese heritage language learners (CHLLs)’ implicit knowledge of compound sentences with pairs of correlatives. Drawing on Valdés’s (2005) categorization of HLLs as L1 speakers and HLLs as L1/L2 users, the study examines CHLLs’ ability to comprehend compound sentences with pairs of correlatives, as well as their comprehension level as compared to native Chinese language speakers and Chinese foreign language learners (CFLLs). The study also examines the characteristics of CHLLs’ implicit knowledge of compound sentences. The data was collected using an acceptability judgment task. The CHL subjects’ overall performance was somewhere between that of native speakers and CFLLs who had studied Chinese for two years. Their performance shows that their comprehension of compound sentences acquired before the onset of learning English at the age of 4 or 5 was retained and even somewhat developed. This is because CHL subjects still received some amount of input from home and community Chinese schools even though they favored English over Chinese. The findings on CHLLs’ linguistic habitus can inform and frame CHLLappropriate pedagogies that exploit their implicit knowledge and systematically build on it.

scholarly journals Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Heritage Speakers in Four Major U.S. Metropolitan Areas: Resources for the Attainment of Full Professional Linguistic Proficiency

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Danko Šipka
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency ◽  
Design And Testing

The present study analyzes heritage learners of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) from four major U.S. metropolitan areas. The focus is on the prospects of their attaining full professional language proficiency. Several major factors in language maintenance and the possibility of attaining full professional proficiency in the language are identified. The design and testing of a syllabus for heritage language speakers is provided and discussed. The author concludes with a call for the creation of a BCS heritage language centre as a durable solution for providing heritage language learners a path toward full professional proficiency.

scholarly journals STRATEGIE UCZENIA SIĘ SŁOWNICTWA – OBCOKRAJOWCY VS. UŻYTKOWNICY JĘZYKA ODZIEDZICZONEGO

Neofilolog ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 95-108
Author(s):  
Anna Seretny
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies ◽  
Class Level ◽  
Polish Language

In an average Polish language intermediate class (level B1/B2) there are two types of learners; namely, heritage language learners (HLLs) and foreign language learners (FLLs). HLLs are of Polish origin and have gained partial knowledge of the language in a natural environment, unlike FLLs who have learnt Polish in a formal institutional setting and have no Polish roots whatsoever.Teachers of Polish as a foreign/second language claim (in anecdotal evidence), that HLLs speak more fluently, particularly when talking about everyday topics, and that their production sounds more native like, as it is more formulaic. HLLs are, however, perceived as poorer vocabulary learners than FLLs. The aim of the research described in this article was to find out if this phenomenon can be ascribed to the different number and/or type of vocabulary learning strategies used by learners from the two groups.

Heritage, Identity, and Learning at Stake

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Goulette
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
School Context ◽  
Classroom Community ◽  
Research Report ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Class ◽  
American Schools ◽  
The One

A surge of diverse heritage language learners in American schools has contradicted the longstanding ideology that this population is monolithic. Previous theories about separating foreign language learners (FLLs) and heritage language learners (HLLs) are problematic because they fail to address the diversity of the HLLs that end up in schools today. This research report lends support for the claim that less proficient HLLs are more suitable for a heterogeneous beginning language class than those that are highly proficient. Placing a highly proficient HLL in a beginning level language course can actually be detrimental to both emergent learners' development and the educational outcomes of the entire classroom community. Moreover, the monumental task of teaching a heterogeneous class like the one analyzed here complicates and is complicated by an already-problematic school context. This study exhibits how the classroom talk privileged certain classmates while marginalizing others, halting educational progress.

Hindi Heritage Language Learners’ Performance during OPIs: Characteristics and Pedagogical Implications

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-174
Author(s):  
Gabriela Nik. Ilieva
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Oral Performance ◽  
New York University ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Oral Proficiency Interviews ◽  
High Level

The present paper examines the oral performance of Hindi language learners during practice Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPI) conducted during workshops hosted by New York University and sponsored by STARTALK. The most salient characteristics of the heritage language learners’ output are compared with the output of foreign language learners who are rated similarly at the Intermediate Mid or Intermediate High level on the ACTFL scale. The paper’s focus is on patterns of grammar and discourse strengths and deficiencies, as well as elaboration of topics and code-mixing in relation to students’ background. Pedagogical implications are discussed with reference to teaching strategies that address the differences in the language abilities of the heritage versus foreign language learners of Hindi.

University Spanish Heritage Language Coursework: Meeting the Needs of All Heritage Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Torres ◽  
Meagan Caridad Arrastia ◽  
Samantha Tackett
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
University Settings ◽  
The Impact

The structure and instruction of foreign language classrooms have changed to meet the needs of the growing number of Hispanic heritage language learners (HLLs) entering university settings. To understand the impact of these reforms, interviews were conducted with 11 HLLs about their experiences in Spanish classrooms designed for their unique learning needs. Although participants were divided in their beliefs of heritage coursework offered, all the students valued being within a community of shared life experiences.

scholarly journals Exploring goals and motivations of Māori heritage language learners

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awanui Te Huia
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Language Revitalisation

Motivations of Māori heritage language learners are explored within this qualitative study. Te reo Māori (the Māori language) is currently classed as endangered (Reedy et al., 2011), which calls for the exploration of the motivational experiences of Māori heritage language learners. A total of 19 interviews with beginner, intermediate and advanced level learners were conducted. Results demonstrated how Māori heritage learners were motivated to learn due to their cultural heritage connection to the language and to other ingroup members. This study explores some of the motivations why Māori heritage language learners learn te reo Māori. For this group of indigenous language learners, cultural and language revitalisation are tied to language motivation. Furthermore, the ability to participate in cultural practices was central to language motivations.

Is Grammar Instruction Beneficial for Heritage Language Learners? Dative Case Marking in Spanish

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-73
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul ◽  
Melissa Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Dative Case ◽  
Psych Verbs ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Spanish Heritage Speakers

Spanish heritage speakers have been shown to have incomplete knowledge of dative case marking with both animate direct objects (also known as differential object marking (DOM) or a-personal) and dative experiencers with gustar-psych verbs in oral and written modes (Montrul, 2004; Montrul & Bowles, in press). In general, Spanish objects that are animate and specific are obligatorily marked with the preposition a (Juan conoce a tu hermana “Juan knows your sister”). Inanimate objects are unmarked (Juan compró un perro “Juan bought a dog”, Juan escuchó la radio “Juan listened to the radio”). Gustar-type psych verbs take dative experiencers obligatorily marked with the dative preposition a and a dative clitic (A Juan le gusta el rugby “Juan likes rugby”). This study investigated the effects of instruction on the acquisition of DOM and gustarverbs for heritage language learners. A total of 45 2nd generation Spanish heritage speakers participated in the study, completing a pre-test, instructional treatment, and a post-test. The instructional treatment consisted of an explicit grammatical explanation of the uses of a followed by three practice exercises, for which participants received immediate, explicit feedback, including negative evidence. Results of the heritage learners' pre-test confirmed that their recognition and production of a with animate direct objects and dative experiencers is probabilistic, compared with a baseline group of 12 native speakers of Spanish. Post-test results revealed highly significant gains by heritage learners in both intuitions and production, suggesting that instruction, including both positive and negative evidence, facilitates classroom heritage language acquisition, at least in the short term.

Computer Mediated Communication: Tools for Instructing Russian Heritage Language Learners

2008 ◽  
Vol Volume 6 (6.1 (Spring, 2008)) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Meskill ◽  
Natasha Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated

The unique needs, goals, and constraints of heritage language learners in U.S. higher education and the multiple ways that they differ from those of second and foreign language (L2) learners have been well documented (Brisk, 2000; Chevalier, 2004; Grosjean, 1982; Kagan & Dillon, 2003). Each population uses its two languages in diverse ways, for differing purposes and with vastly dissimilar levels of proficiency. Shaping these distinctions are the contexts and purposes in which and for which learners are and/or become fluent. In the mother tongue, these contexts and purposes are most often interpersonal and involve home and family. By contrast, the contexts and purposes in which and for which a ‘school educated’ learner tends to master the foreign language are public and academic. This study examines Russian heritage learners in a U.S. university Russian language course and how computer mediated communication (CMC) was used to support their acquisition of academic literacy in the mother tongue. The CMC approaches reported can serve as models for accommodating heritage learners in post-secondary foreign language classes in ways that benefit all learners.

What does the analysis of C-test gaps tell us about the construct of a C-test? A comparison of foreign and heritage language learners’ performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-132
Author(s):  
Anastasia Drackert ◽  
Anna Timukova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Scoring Method ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Dichotomous Scoring ◽  
The Right

In view of the ubiquitous increase in the use of C-tests, which are almost unanimously believed to measure general language proficiency, this study investigates whether the aspects of language proficiency tapped into by the C-test format are the same when the test is taken by a learner population other than that of foreign language learners. Specifically, we conducted a differential functioning analysis and compared the types of mistakes that 113 foreign language learners of Russian made when completing C-test gaps, with the performance of 89 heritage language learners on the same C-test. The results showed that almost half of the C-test gaps are biased towards either learner group. In addition, the error analysis for a number of the biased items demonstrated that, although heritage language learners seem to have an advantage in reconstructing the meaning of C-test gaps, they fail to translate their recognition skills into producing the right form. Furthermore, the study reveals a possible sensitivity of the C-test construct to the traditionally used dichotomous scoring method. We conclude with a discussion that includes the implications of the results regarding the construct measured by the C-test and the possible consequences for its actual use.

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