Heritage language learning

The difference between native language (or First language) and heritage language is an important distinction to make. The term "native language" tends to be associated with acquisition at a very early age and carries with it the notion that a person will achieve a high amount of fluency and proficiency in this language. Typically, the native language is the dominant language for a speaker and this speaker is expected to have natural understanding of not only linguistic knowledge, but also pragmatic and cultural knowledge, as well as skills such as writing creatively, making jokes, and translating. On the other hand, the term "heritage language" is more associated with the language in which proficiency was sacrificed in order to gain proficiency in the dominant language in a particular community. This is not always the case, however, as some speakers of heritage languages have just as much proficiency in that language as in their other language(s). Heritage language learners differ from other types of language learners. Kagan & Dillon provide us with distinctions among speakers of Russian as a native language, and learners of Russian as a heritage language or a foreign language in the table below. The goal of the research was to distinguish between types of language learners of Russian and to use that information to create a new perspective for instruction. The table explains that students whose native language was Russian had acquired it as a child and used it throughout life with exposure to a full language community of speakers. For the students who learned Russian as a foreign language (L2), there was first an L1 or native language before they began learning Russian, the foreign language, which was typically learned solely outside of the community. Lastly, the heritage speakers of Russian had acquired Russian as an L1, but when they immigrated to the United States, English became their primary language. This left most heritage language students with varying levels of proficiency in their heritage language due to the limited community that spoke Russian. == Acquisition theories ==

Heritage language acquisition theories are highly contested. The most common theory is the Incomplete Acquisition Theory, Therefore, heritage language learners, who typically switch to the dominant culture's language when they enter school and, consequently, experience a decline in input in the heritage language, do not completely acquire their first language. As heritage language learners are rarely schooled in their L1, they are often orally proficient but illiterate or have underdeveloped written comprehension and production in the heritage language. In treating heritage language learning as interrupted L1 acquisition, in which the learner has access to Universal Grammar, it is expected that heritage language learners have knowledge of concepts found in early stages of L1 development, such as binding constraints, wh-movement, and aspects of lexical semantics, and struggle with grammatical concepts that require sustained exposure and practice in school-aged children, such as specialized vocabulary and uses of the subjunctive in Spanish. Attrition An incomplete grammar may be the result of attrition and fossilization of concepts in the L1 due to insufficient input once the child has switched to the dominant language. Attrition is the loss of, or failure to make full use of, "grammatical knowledge previously acquired". Fossilization occurs when a speaker lets go of non-core grammatical concepts but retains the basic core structure of the language. Thus, this theory must be considered in conjunction with theories on input variation. Input Theories of acquisition involving variations of input postulate that heritage language learners' production of the heritage language diverges from that of their monolingual peers who speak the same language because the two groups are exposed to different dialects and quantities of input. Dialect variation Theories surrounding dialect variation suggest that errors or deviations from the standard dialect made by a heritage language learner may reflect the acquisition of a non-standard variety or informal register of the heritage language, which include variations on certain properties or the lack of certain properties found in the standard dialect. Heritage language learners are often only exposed to one dialect or colloquial variety of the heritage language, unlike their monolingual peers who interact with a standard monolingual dialect found in formal instruction. Hours of input may be particularly restricted once the heritage speaker switches to the dominant language. Cross-linguistic influence Cross-linguistic influence may contribute to heritage speakers' competence divergence. Heritage language learners show a tendency to overuse grammatical properties that are found in both the heritage language and the dominant language. Furthermore, heritage language learners may prefer grammatical structures from the dominant language and transfer them into the heritage language. To learn more about language transfer in bilingual individuals, see Crosslinguistic influence. == Identity and heritage language learning ==

There are many theories across disciplines that seek to explain the relationship between language and identity, but the existence of such a relationship is the common thread. For heritage language learners, when their native or heritage language is not treated as valuable in the classroom, this negatively affects their view of themselves and their mental health. Many minority language speakers' children lose the ability to speak the minority language once they enter the classroom, because of several detrimental factors discussed below. Heritage language learning may help these children regain or avoid losing the ability to communicate with their parents. Without the ability to communicate with parents or other family members, it becomes difficult to create an identity intertwined with one's heritage culture. In fact, once the heritage language is lost, children may lose the cognitive ability to understand certain concepts or beliefs in their heritage culture. Those who lose the heritage language and choose not to actively maintain its use often assimilate into the dominant culture rather quickly. When heritage language learning does take place, the "standard" language is instructed, and learners whose heritage language is of a different dialect are judged for their variance from the standard. This results in a loss of self-esteem that makes strong self-identity difficult. Another sub-category of heritage language learners are mixed-heritage learners. Studies show that these individuals may have a confused sense of identity because they do not feel that they are fully accepted by either culture. Heritage language learning can be a way to help mixed-heritage individuals connect to the culture of their minority language parent, but these children face several obstacles in pursuing this language, as described in "Detrimental Factors to Heritage Language Learning". For all heritage language learners, Kondo-Brown suggests that proficiency is positively correlated to both a strong perception of heritage and ethnic identity and a strong community in one's ethnic group. Much research backs this claim. In a study of Japanese heritage language learners, Kondo-Brown found that individuals with one parent speaking the language performed much better in both grammatical knowledge, and various self-assessment tools than those without a parent speaking Japanese. Individuals in this same study with either one Japanese speaking grandparent, or only being of Japanese descent performed on the same level, below those with one Japanese speaking parent. Kondo-Brown attributes this difference to variance in sense of ethnic identity. == Contexts of heritage language learning ==

Overview: Before a learning program begins Heritage language learning is generally an effort to recover one's cultural identity, and is therefore linked to the language loss experienced by immigrant and indigenous populations. As both major immigrant destinations and exporters of the world's dominant language, the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Australia are home to large populations of heritage language speakers. A study conducted by the National Heritage Language Resource Center (UCLA) shows that in the United States, heritage speakers' interest in their home language tends to wane as they enter school, but may rise again in the later teenage years, prompting the decision to study it in college. The process of language loss accelerated by colonial policies and practices means that many indigenous languages are faced with the threat of extinction, and the effort to teach them as heritage languages intersects with broader language revitalization projects. While learners of immigrant languages are likely to have at least partial knowledge of their language from an early age, indigenous language learners may never have spoken their languages before they began learning them in a formal setting. == Heritage language pedagogy ==

Heritage language learners have widely varying circumstances and educational needs that set them apart from foreign language learners. Methods When designing heritage language curricula and teaching methods, linguists and educators attempt to address the ways in which heritage learners are unique. In contrast to the teaching of foreign languages, heritage language teaching methods place more emphasis on literacy and experiential, content-based approaches. Heritage and foreign language teaching One question facing heritage language programs is the relationship of heritage language learners to foreign language learners of that same language. The two types of students have different educational, cultural, and psychological backgrounds, which can lead to uneven learning outcomes if they are taught together. They may also be taught alongside their foreign language counterparts with no distinction between them, as is usually the case in college language courses. == Detrimental factors to heritage language learning ==

American immigrants often end their pursuit of heritage language learning after two or three generations in the United States, and it is now becoming more common to shift into English within two generations. The decision to end heritage language learning can stem from a variety of factors, but often includes societal pressure to use the dominant language. ==See also==