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Heritage language learning
Heritage language learning, or heritage language acquisition, is the act of learning a heritage language from an ethnolinguistic group that traditionally speaks the language, or from those whose family historically spoke the language. According to a commonly accepted definition by Valdés, heritage languages are generally minority languages in society and are typically learned at home during childhood. When a heritage language learner grows up in an environment with a dominant language that is different from their heritage language, the learner appears to be more competent in the dominant language and often feels more comfortable speaking in that language. "Heritage language" may also be referred to as "community language", "home language", and "ancestral language".
There are different kinds of heritage language learners, such as learners with varying levels of proficiency in the heritage language, and also those who learn a "foreign" language in school with which they have some connection. Polinsky & Kagan label heritage language learners on a continuum that ranges from fluent speakers to individuals who speak very little of their heritage language. Valdés points out that a connection with a heritage language does not have to be made only through direct previous exposure to the language or a certain amount of proficiency in the language. In her conception of heritage language learners, monolingual English-speaking students of Armenian ancestry in the United States could consider themselves to have a heritage language of Armenian. A different definition of heritage language learners or speakers limits the term to individuals who were exposed to the language in early childhood, but who later lost proficiency in the language in favor of adopting the majority language of the community.
Heritage languages can be learned in various contexts, including public school instruction and language courses organized by a community which speaks the particular language during after-school hours or on the weekend. When someone is engaged in informal heritage language learning, they are acquiring a language from a particular ethnolinguistic group that traditionally speaks the language, or from someone whose family historically spoke the language. Formal heritage language instruction occurs inside of a classroom, where learners are taught a language that is being used inside of the home or among members of their own ethnic group. Language programs that include Saturday schools and courses that happen outside of school hours are programs where children are encouraged to further develop and improve their heritage language proficiency.
According to Valdés, the term "heritage language" can be used very broadly and can refer to minority languages which are spoken by what many know as "linguistic minorities". Typically, these heritage languages are endangered or have a high possibility of disappearing soon without intervention, and because of this, there are several communities in the United States that have chosen to work towards maintaining these languages.
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.
Heritage language acquisition theories are highly contested. The most common theory is the Incomplete Acquisition Theory, but other scholars have considered delayed acquisition, variations in input, and cross-linguistic influence as factors that contribute to heritage language speakers' competence. For children who may have acquired a different dialect of the heritage language, they would require a unique type of instruction that may differ from styles of instruction that would be most beneficial for students who experience incomplete acquisition at an early age.
Acquisition theories have been proposed in an attempt to explain why heritage speakers' competence in the heritage language diverges from that of their monolingual peers. Silvina Montrul's research has been foundational to this work. Her Incomplete Acquisition Theory states that heritage speakers do not completely acquire the heritage language before switching to the L2. As attrition can also render a grammar "incomplete", attrition is included in this theory. Multiple researchers have refuted Silvina Montrul's proposal by suggesting that the Incomplete Acquisition Theory does not take into consideration delayed acquisition, input variation, and cross-linguistic influence, all of which factor into language competence.
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Heritage language learning
Heritage language learning, or heritage language acquisition, is the act of learning a heritage language from an ethnolinguistic group that traditionally speaks the language, or from those whose family historically spoke the language. According to a commonly accepted definition by Valdés, heritage languages are generally minority languages in society and are typically learned at home during childhood. When a heritage language learner grows up in an environment with a dominant language that is different from their heritage language, the learner appears to be more competent in the dominant language and often feels more comfortable speaking in that language. "Heritage language" may also be referred to as "community language", "home language", and "ancestral language".
There are different kinds of heritage language learners, such as learners with varying levels of proficiency in the heritage language, and also those who learn a "foreign" language in school with which they have some connection. Polinsky & Kagan label heritage language learners on a continuum that ranges from fluent speakers to individuals who speak very little of their heritage language. Valdés points out that a connection with a heritage language does not have to be made only through direct previous exposure to the language or a certain amount of proficiency in the language. In her conception of heritage language learners, monolingual English-speaking students of Armenian ancestry in the United States could consider themselves to have a heritage language of Armenian. A different definition of heritage language learners or speakers limits the term to individuals who were exposed to the language in early childhood, but who later lost proficiency in the language in favor of adopting the majority language of the community.
Heritage languages can be learned in various contexts, including public school instruction and language courses organized by a community which speaks the particular language during after-school hours or on the weekend. When someone is engaged in informal heritage language learning, they are acquiring a language from a particular ethnolinguistic group that traditionally speaks the language, or from someone whose family historically spoke the language. Formal heritage language instruction occurs inside of a classroom, where learners are taught a language that is being used inside of the home or among members of their own ethnic group. Language programs that include Saturday schools and courses that happen outside of school hours are programs where children are encouraged to further develop and improve their heritage language proficiency.
According to Valdés, the term "heritage language" can be used very broadly and can refer to minority languages which are spoken by what many know as "linguistic minorities". Typically, these heritage languages are endangered or have a high possibility of disappearing soon without intervention, and because of this, there are several communities in the United States that have chosen to work towards maintaining these languages.
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.
Heritage language acquisition theories are highly contested. The most common theory is the Incomplete Acquisition Theory, but other scholars have considered delayed acquisition, variations in input, and cross-linguistic influence as factors that contribute to heritage language speakers' competence. For children who may have acquired a different dialect of the heritage language, they would require a unique type of instruction that may differ from styles of instruction that would be most beneficial for students who experience incomplete acquisition at an early age.
Acquisition theories have been proposed in an attempt to explain why heritage speakers' competence in the heritage language diverges from that of their monolingual peers. Silvina Montrul's research has been foundational to this work. Her Incomplete Acquisition Theory states that heritage speakers do not completely acquire the heritage language before switching to the L2. As attrition can also render a grammar "incomplete", attrition is included in this theory. Multiple researchers have refuted Silvina Montrul's proposal by suggesting that the Incomplete Acquisition Theory does not take into consideration delayed acquisition, input variation, and cross-linguistic influence, all of which factor into language competence.