Heritage: Research issues in heritage language education

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Heritage Languages Listserve
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Greetings, all,

The following listing and categorization for a research agenda on heritage
language education was compiled by Russ Campbell, in collaboration with
Donna Christian (among others), during the conference in Long Beach last
October. It is, by Russ's own admission, rough, but we are posting it to the
list in response to a request from Maria Trillo and in the hopes of, as Russ
put it, its serving as "a stimulus for others to develop it further" -
particularly as we approach the research symposium scheduled to be held at
UCLA this coming fall.

General comments may, of course, be submitted to the listserv for general
consideration; specific comments may be directed to Russ at
campruss at HUMnet.UCLA.EDU.

With thanks to Russ and best to all,

Scott McGinnis
NFLC



(original date composed: 25 October 1999)

RESEARCH QUESTIONS/ISSUES/PROBLEMS/DIRECTIONS IDENTIFIED AT THE HERITAGE
LANGUAGE CONFERENCE IN LONG BEACH, OCTOBER 14-16, 1999

Participants in the HLC/LB provided the following researchable questions
related to HL education. The questions have been placed under loosely
defined categories.

I. BASIC HERITAGE LANGUAGE EDUCATION DATA
A. Identification of geographic location of significant HL populations in
the US:
1. Numbers
2. Languages

B. Identification and description of existing HL programs:
1. Language(s)
2. Geographic location
3. Sponsoring institutions (public schools, private schools, churches,
community organizations. etc.)
4. Program structure (number and level of courses, frequency and length of
courses (architecture)
5. Instructional materials
6. Teacher qualifications
7. Goals of HL programs

C. Identification of scholars, educators, policy makers who have made
significant contributions to HL education (that is, a Who's Who in HL
education/research)

D. Identification of salient books, articles, dissertations, monographs and
other publications on history, current practices, research findings,
assessment instruments, and public policy regarding HL education

E. Identification of HL assessment instruments for purposes of diagnosis,
placement, and achievement

F. Identification of academic, occupational, or
professional opportunities for which HL speakers may aspire

G. Identification and description of teacher training/education programs
designed for HL teachers:
1. Geographic location
2. Core curriculum
3. Assumptions on which curriculum is built
4. Goals of programs
5. History of graduates of programs


II. LINGUISTIC ANALYSES
A. Identification of linguistic features of dialects that HL students bring
to schools, colleges

B. Comparison of linguistic features of HL dialects with one or more
"prestige" (REF: Valdes) dialects


III. SOCIO- AND PSYCHOLINGUISTIC QUESTIONS
A. Identification of factors that motivate students, parents, schools,
communities to establish and maintain HL instructional programs for HL
students

B. How does experience in HL programs affect students' motivation,
scholastic success, and career goals?

C. In what ways is Second Dialect Acquisition (SDA) similar or different
from First Language Acquisition (FLA) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)?

D. What role do/could HL communities play in (1) identifying
goals/aspirations in HL learning and (2) intergenerational transmission of
HLs?

E. How/why do HL languages/cultures fossilize/sustain themselves over time?


IV. PEDAGOGY/ASSESSMENT
A. Can the applicability/inapplicability of instructional methods/strategies
designed for foreign or second language instructional programs to HL be
demonstrated?

B. What instructional programs positively affect HL learners' development in
their HLs?

C. Identification and evaluation of "self-instructional" programs for HL
learners?


V. POLICY
A. Does the following definition of HL learners capture the majority of HL
students in our schools and universities:
"Heritage language students are individuals who:
1) are raised in homes where a non-English language is spoken,
2) speak or merely understand the heritage language, and
3) are to some degree bilingual in English and the HL"
(Valdes, G., handout, Heritage Languages in America Conference, Long Beach,
CA, October 1999)

B. What role(s) do foreign governments (or other external agencies) play in
establishing and maintaining HL programs?

C. Inventory of higher education institutions on policies on acceptance of
HL proficiencies toward fulfillment of foreign language requirements

D. What structures/organizations have helped and could help HL communities
to be active and powerful in structuring their own HL education programs?

E. How do various HL groups respond to those outside the community using
their language (e.g., unsolicited calls from AT&T)?



VI. GENERAL
A. What does HL education for Dominican students in NYC, Salvadorans in
Northern Virginia, Puerto Rican students in PA, have in common with teaching
Chicano students in the SW or with other heritage learning groups?

B. How do policies for study of HL differ for immigrant and indigenous
populations?

C. Do belief systems of parents of various groups differ? What impact do
these differences have?

D. What kinds of "articulation" exist between HL community programs and
higher education? With K-12 programs? Among the three?