[HERITAGE-LIST] Request for assistance: Task Force of Maryland on preservation of HL skills

[Scott G. McGINNIS]

The following relayed by Dr. Catherine Ingold, Director of the National Foreign Language Center -- respondents may contact Dr. Ingold directly at cwingold at nflc.org; or, if you think your response may be of more general interest to the list, feel free to post it for all to read.



The Task Force of  the State of Maryland on the preservation of heritage language skills has identified a number of information-gathering questions to pursue. We would very much welcome responses from members of the listserv on any of the following:

- Best practices in helping school students and immigrant adults to develop proficiency in their heritage language:
curricula, standards, approaches to differentiation for heritage speakers in classes intended for FLLs; 
   -Placement and skills assessment 
   -Materials 
   -Curricula 
   -Other resources 
- Best practices/existing practices in awarding credit (high school or college) for heritage language skills; 
- Teacher recruitment and certification: recruiting and credentialing educated native/heritage speakers as teachers of their languages, esp. when educated overseas; 
- Connecting heritage speakers with job opportunities that use their skills; 
- Tapping the capabilities of heritage communities/creating links with the school and/or community college system; 
- Developing higher levels of English skills in heritage speakers who arrive in the US at high school age or later; 
- Gaining wider community (heritage and long-time US) recognition of the value of fostering bi-/multi-literacy. 
 
We are also interested in learning of other states engaged in similar efforts, and in other nations who have developed successful approaches.  

Many thanks for all suggestions.