Projects
NHLRC projects focus on three goals:
- Effective pedagogical approaches
- Materials design
- Professional development
Each goal is fundamental to successful heritage language education. Research projects form the theoretical base for other projects and activities of the NHLRC.
Current Projects
- Generic Framework for Creation of Heritage Language Materials
This project will result in a generic framework, to be used across languages, for heritage materials and curricular design, providing a menu of approaches tailored to the needs and local circumstances of heritage learners. - Baseline Data on Immigrant and Refugee Language Communities in the U.S.
An exploration of intergenerational heritage language transmission and preservation among selected immigrant and refugee language minority communities in the United States, focusing on the communities speaking the languages selected for materials development. - Creation of Language-Specific Materials
This project will result in the creation of supplemental instructional materials, based on the generic framework, to be used in the adaptation of existing foreign language textbooks for heritage learners. - Heritage Language Research Institutes
The research institutes will address a pressing need for empirical data on the grammar of heritage language learners, using methodologies developed by Maria Polinsky in her pilot studies, which are designed to be replicable across languages. - Professional Development Workshops for Heritage Language Instructors
Annual week-long workshops will train a cohort of K-16 instructors of several heritage languages in the development of innovative heritage curricula. - Online Heritage Teaching Manual
Complete online professional development manual for teachers of heritage students. - Heritage Learners and the Oral Proficiency Interview
Conduct OPIs of heritage speakers in several languages and analyze their linguistic biographies to gain an understanding of the linguistic, educational, and experiential factors that contribute to their speaking proficiency. - Searchable Database of Heritage Language Classes/Programs in the U.S.
Create a searchable database of heritage language courses offered in college programs across the U.S., to be made available to researchers and educators.
