Guest Editors’ Foreword
Linda Jensen, University of California, Los Angeles; Debra Suarez, College of Notre Dame of Maryland
This special issue of the Heritage Language Journal: Heritage Language Learners and TESOL examines the connection between heritage language learners (HLLs) and English language learners (ELLs) and the role of TESOL educators. This issue presents eight articles that address issues in Spanish, Chinese, English, Farsi, Khmer, Native American languages, and Lao. They represent a range of research methodologies both quantitative and qualitative, and include critical reviews of literature. From a variety of perspectives, the papers cover broad policy and research questions (Wright; Suarez); student construction of identity (Curdt-Christiansen & Maguire); students’ sense of HLL identity (Rassami & Lee; Jensen & Llosa); language acquisition (Pajoohesh); and the role of HLL teachers (Carriera; Rodriquez).
Wayne Wright establishes political and policy contexts of heritage language instruction for English Language Learners (ELLS) in the U.S., based on a review of research literature on HL programs in California, Arizona and Texas. Wright argues that No Child Left Behind language education policies and the success of English-only campaigns have discouraged schools from offering heritage language programs, and calls for substantial changes in education policy.
In her literature review, Debra Suarez points out that the majority of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States are second and third generation U.S.-born and come from families exhibiting deliberate heritage language maintenance. She argues that knowledge of the language preferences and processes of U.S.-born HL speakers can result in an improved understanding of U.S.-born English language learners.
Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen and Mary Maguire investigate the role of language in identity construction for elementary students of Chinese descent, who attend public school and Chinese Saturday school as illustrated in a series of their compositions about their lives in Quebec. The authors consider the ways that language mediates the children’s understanding of the world, beliefs, values, preferences and relationships with others.
Rassamichanh Souryasack and Jin Sook Lee explore the connections between HLL and TESOL by looking at language skills of a group of U.S. born students of Lao heritage, who are also “long-term” ESL learners at the elementary and middle school level. Working within the theoretical framework of critical pedagogy, the authors engage the students in a critical examination of their own experiences through writing exercises. The students’ written work suggests that academic success can be promoted when students are provided a safe space to reflect on and express their views.
Linda Jensen and Lorena Llosa examine the reading experiences, strategies and preferences of university level HL students and how these experiences may be related to students’ preferences and goals in studying their heritage language. They find that although most students are interested in achieving college level academic reading skills in their heritage language, this group generally does not spend a great deal of time reading in the HL, even when HL print is available at home. This study is critical in helping us better serve this special population.
Parto Pajoohesh studies the problem of weak vocabulary knowledge as a source of poor reading comprehension. Building on foundational theories in second language acquisition, including positive transfer of literacy from L1 to L2, the paper explores the role that heritage language literacy may play in the development of deep lexical knowledge. Comparing the performance of two groups of Farsi-English bilinguals, one with and one without content-based schooling in the HL, and monolingual English peers, she concludes that bilingualism plays a positive role in the transfer of reading skills between languages.
Alma Rodriquez explores the perceptions of bilingual teachers in training, all of whom are heritage speakers of Spanish, on the importance of Spanish in their future as elementary bilingual teachers. She finds that while all participants highly value their HL, their level of Spanish proficiency varies depending on where they were educated. Most believe that that the instruction provided in their teacher education program in Spanish is critical for their success as bilingual teachers; at the same time, their views differ about the registers of Spanish bilingual teachers need for various interactions.
Maria Carreira addresses the supporting role that heritage language instruction can play in narrowing Latino students’ achievement gap. She emphasizes the need for both SNS and ESL instructors to redefine and enlarge their responsibilities for the education of Latino students, and suggests that SNS instruction can address the academic needs of Latino English learners by offering Latino students rigorous preparation in the content areas, academic language and higher order thinking skills that are essential to acquire both in the heritage language and in English.
It is our hope that this collection of studies will contribute to an understanding of the important connections between heritage language research and pedagogy and TESOL education.