Definitions

1
Heritage Language Learning and Linguistic Areas
Gyanam Mahajan UCLA

• Definitions
• Relevance
• Factors
• Profile
• Linguistic Area Influence
• Implications

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Definitions

• L2 -----------------------------------------L1
• Heritage language learners are on this continuum
• Heritage language learners come from homes where
  the language spoken is other than English (or in
  addition to English)

3
Relevance

• At American Universities
• Non-university language teaching programs
• Other countries
• Teaching Less Commonly Taught Languages
• Hindi language teaching programs in India

4
Proficiency

• Definition
• General ability in a language
• Cannot prepare for it not specific task
  oriented
• Testing proficiency can place someone on a global
  scale
• ACTFL American Council for Teaching of Foreign
  Languages
• ILR Interagency Language Roundtable
• Necessary to make precise our impressions about a
  persons language ability
• Disclaimers
• Not in totality but of specific language
• Further specific to the skill under consideration

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Criteria

• On proficiency scales like the ACTFL scale or the
  ILR scale, a persons proficiency in a particular
  skill of a specific language can be rated against
  criteria like
• Tasks
• Content and context
• Text Produced
• Accuracy

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Examples from the scale

• Tasks what a person can do
• 0 repeat memorized phrases
• 1 create with language Q-A short conversation
• 2- participate fully in casual conversation
  report facts describe narrate resolve a
  situation
• 3 converse in formal and informal situations,
  resolve problems in unfamiliar situations deal
  with abstract topics explain support opinion
  hypothesize

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Tasks

• 4 Tailor language counsel persuade
  negotiate interpret in formal situations
• 5 equivalent to well educated native speaker

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Context/Content topics, subject areas,
activities

• 1 Everyday survival
• 2 Concrete topics like own background, family,
  interests, work/studies
• 3 Practical, social, professional, abstract
  topics, specialized topics
• 4 All topics pertaining to professional needs

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Accuracy acceptability, quality and correctness

• 1 intelligible to native speaker used to
  dealing with foreigners
• 2 intelligible to native speakers not used to
  dealing with foreigners
• 3 Errors dont interfere with intelligibility
• 4 Extensive speech, precise and appropriate

10
Text produced length and organization of
utterance/discourse

• 1 discrete sentences
• 2 full paragraphs minimally cohesive
• 3 Extended discourse
• 4 speeches, lectures, debates

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Factors

• Global Tasks
• Lexical Control
• Structural Control
• Sociolinguistic competence
• Fluency
• Text produced

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Profile-Comprehension

• In general, heritage language learners have
  higher comprehension compared to non-heritage
  language learners
• Lexical Level
• Greetings and introductions
• Simple questions
• Communicative comprehension

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Profile - Reading and Writing

• Illiterate
• Orthographically challenged

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Profile Oral

• Global tasks
• create with language Q-A short conversation
• participate in casual conversation report facts
  describe narrate resolve a situation
• converse in formal and informal situations,
  resolve problems in unfamiliar situations deal
  with abstract topics explain

15

• Tasks what a person can do
• 0 repeat memorized phrases
• 1 create with language Q-A short conversation
• 2- participate fully in casual conversation
  report facts describe narrate resolve a
  situation
• 3 converse in formal and informal situations,
  resolve problems in unfamiliar situations deal
  with abstract topics explain support opinion
  hypothesize

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Profile Oral

• Lexical control
• -good control over general, common vocabulary
  like common verbs, food items, things around a
  house, animal names, common adjectives, epithets
  and conversation linkers, etc.
• - Good with karnaa verbs like petition karnaa,
  object karnaa, protest karnaa, destroy karnaa etc.

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Profile Oral

• Structural control
• Good structural control compared to non-heritage
  learners
• No word order problems
• Good with quirky subjects like dative subjects
• - Good with emphatics

18
Profile Oral

• Sociolinguistic competence
• Aware of use of honorifics
• Aware of discourse linkers
• - Can repair conversation

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Profile Oral

• Fluency
• Good rate of speech compared to non-heritage
  learners
• Pronunciation presents a more complicated picture
  aspiration, dental/retroflex, diphthongs, etc.

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Profile Oral

• Text produced
• beyond short sentences
• Minimally cohesive paragraphs

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Linguistic Area Influence

• Heritage Hindi gt Heritage Punjabi or Gujarati and
  other Indo Aryan languages
• gt Heritage Dravidian gt those who have spent time
  in India gt non heritage language learners

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Especially

• Lexical control perhaps more due to the fact
  that the languages like Punjabi, Gujarati etc.
  belong to the same Indo Aryan language family
• Structural control good structural control by
  heritage learners of different types probably
  displays linguistic area influence on structure
  for example, lack of word order problems for
  heritage learners, lack of problems with dative
  subjects, etc.

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Cont.

• Fluency
• seems to be influenced by the languages belonging
  to a linguistic area awareness of aspiration,
  retroflexion, prosodic structure, etc.

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Implications

• Separating heritage language classes
• Testing not just achievement but proficiency for
  heritage learners
• Do not try to teach quirky subjects or emphatics
  through complicated rules
• Teaching the script should be efficient and word
  or sentence level
• Teaching basic vocabulary lists unnecessary