1. HERITAGE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION Mindy Euken Cadenillas

2. 2011 HERITAGE LANGUAGE TEACHER WORKSHOP, UCLA

3. TODAY’S GOALS Define “typical” heritage language learners Identify the goals of a heritage language class Discover curriculum styles that are most appropriate for heritage language classes Reflect on the need for flexible and differentiated instruction

4. HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS  Bilingual (at least)  Varying levels in the different languages  Not necessarily FLUENT in both languages  Have background, understanding and abilities in both  May be stronger/more confident in certain skills in English or Heritage language  Can be compared to English language learners in U.S. school system based on exposure to language in community and order of acquisition

5. HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS  Have language input since age 0 in the home  Have almost exclusive exposure to the heritage language until age 5  Around age 5 this switches and the exposure to English becomes dominant  Heritage language exposure continues via television and music, as well as through the heritage community  Exposure is extremely limited as compared to L1 (compared to native speakers)  Exposure is enormous as compared to L2 (compared to “anglophone” students

6. HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS  Students with different levels of exposure/different comfort levels will be in the same Heritage class.  Student needs and motivation for study vary.  Most common(according to the ACTFL Heritage Language Learner Survey):  used language exclusively until age 5 when they started school  has visited their country of origin once or twice  listens to music, watches soap operas, and attends religious services in the HL (not much reading)  little to no schooling in the HL  U.S. born  has positive associations with the HL  US-born: is a “hyphenated American”, wants to learn more about roots, wants to connect with community around them (more than to be able to communicate with people who speak Spanish in other countries)  enjoys using HL to help others, wants to have a future career using the language

7. HERITAGE SPANISH LEARNERS AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL U.S. BornForeign Born  Some formal training in Spanish  or  No formal training in Spanish but lots of exposure in home/ community  or  Receptive bilinguals  Education in/through Spanish  or  Little formal education

8. “MACRO APPROACH” TO HERITAGE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION The term “macro approach” helps illustrate how teachers of heritage language might combine several types of top-down language in one course:  Community-based curriculum: Students learn by participating in community events or conducting research within a local language community.  Content-based instruction: Students use a different subject, like social studies or biology, as a way to learn language. Reading and writing tasks come from the subject matter.  Project-based instruction: Students pursue an in-depth investigation of a question/ problem that’s important to them and work to acquire the language skills they need to complete the project.  Task-based instruction: Emphasizes the kinds of real world tasks language speakers might be required to do and uses them as a vehicle for instruction.

9. “MACRO APPROACH” TO HERITAGE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION  Any of these approaches would build on heritage language learners’ strengths before focusing on their gaps. Most often, heritage language teachers combine elements from several approaches. 3 principles in using the macro approach (Olga Kagan):  Start with the learner (take learner’s prior knowledge and interests into account).  Know the local language community.  Know what is currently important to the country and culture(s) of the target language.

10. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS OF HERITAGE LANGUAGE CLASSES  Error correction vs. modeling and practicing standard forms  As students pass through the U.S. education system, their use of the heritage language decreases to the home only  Teachers need to use the communicative strengths that students have, build on them  Students need to have opportunities to use the heritage language in different settings.  Explicit grammar and language instruction can occur if used within context and based on student learning needs and goals

11. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN THE HERITAGE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM  Differences between students shape the curriculum;  On-going assessment of students is built into the curriculum;  Multiple learning materials are available;  There is variable pacing;  Students play a part in setting goals and standards;  Varied grading criteria are used;  Work is assigned to students depending on their level of readiness. Carreira, Maria

12. ROLE OF ASSESSMENT IN HERITAGE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM  Diagnostic Assessment:  to get students into the best possible class  since every class with HLL’s is very heterogeneous, diagnostic assessment must be implemented in order to guide curriculum.  Formative Assessment:  implemented throughout the units to see how individual students are progressing  gives students feedback and helps them self-monitor their learning in relation to the unit goals  helps teacher to know what instructional changes need to be made  Summative Assessment:  How do you maintain standards but also address issues of fairness?  Some students start off with higher level skills in areas so need to be assessed differently.  The goal is that everyone will learn/grow but some will need extra time or extra support, or extend tasks for advanced students, etc.

13. PERSONAL FUTURE GOALS  To implement a diagnostic assessment school-wide (with other Spanish teachers/counselors so that everyone knows how to identify and place Heritage learners)  To learn more strategies to advance my students’ reading and writing skills  To infuse more community/cultural opportunities for my students  To implement a Heritage 2 class so students have a step between Heritage 1 and AP Spanish  To differentiate more effectively based on individual needs (gathered through the use of formative assessments)

14. SOURCES AVAILABLE FOR TEACHERS OF HERITAGE LEARNERS  The National Heritage Language Resource Center (NHLRC) http://nhlrc.ucla.edu/events/startalkworkshop/2011/photos.asp http://nhlrc.ucla.edu/events/startalkworkshop/2011/photos.asp  STARTALK: Information on teaching and learning less commonly taught languages http://startalk.umd.edu/http://startalk.umd.edu/  Kimberly Potowski’s homepage: Resources for Heritage language teaching http://potowski.org/SNSresources http://potowski.org/SNSresources  The Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Learners: See profiles of different Heritage programs in the U.S. and find research/information http://www.cal.org/heritage/index.html http://www.cal.org/heritage/index.html  ACTFL: Find articles on Heritage language teaching in both The Language Educator and the Foreign Language Annals. New information is also presented at the national conference each year. http://www.actfl.orghttp://www.actfl.org

15. HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNING “GURUS” AND RESOURCES  Kagan, O., & Dillon, K. Issues in Heritage Language Learning in the United States. (2008). In N. Van Deusen-Scholl & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education (2nd ed., Vol 4, pp. 143-156). New York: Springer Science+Business Media.Issues in Heritage Language Learning in the United States.  D. Brinton, O. Kagan, & S. Bauckus (Eds.). (2008). Heritage Language Education: A New Field Emerging. New York: Routledge.  Carreira, M. (in press). Meeting the Instructional Needs of Heritage Language Learners: Approaches, Strategies, and Research. In S. Beaudrie and M. Fairclough, Spanish as a Heritage Language in the US: State of the Science. Georgetown University Press.  Carreira, M. and Kagan, O. (2011). The Results of the National Heritage Language Survey: Implications for teaching, curriculum design, and professional development. Foreign Language Annals.