Browsing by Subject "Heritage learners"
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Item The current status of Korean as a heritage language in the United States : learning opportunities, language vitality, and motivation(2011-12) Choi, Eunjeong; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-; Oppenheim, Robert M.American-born Korean-Americans show one of the highest rates of heritage language attrition among immigrant groups in the United States. This literature review aims to identify factors that influence Korean heritage learners' motivation to maintain or disengage from heritage language learning, particularly focusing on language learning settings, learning opportunities, and learners' experiences and perceptions about the language and learning. First, it reviews research that informs about the current status of Korean mainly as a heritage language in American K-16 schools where learner motivation and language learning are positioned. The second section explores the circumstances of Korean language use and exposure taking place in the Korean community setting. The third section explores the ways in which heritage language maintenance is influenced by Korean heritage learners' diverse experiences in association with the perceived language vitality, ethnic and linguistic identity formation, and individual differences in learning goals and backgrounds. On the basis of the literature review, the last section discusses the argument that the systemic relations of the K-16 education community, the Korean community, and individual learners are critical in understanding Korean heritage learners' involvement in language learning and development. Finally, this Report concludes with recommendations for the enhancement of learning opportunities and motivation for Korean learners and with suggestions for future research in the nascent field of Korean education and research in the United States.Item Fangyan-speaking learners of Mandarin Chinese in U.S. universities : experiences of students with heritage backgrounds in Chinese languages other than Mandarin(2010-08) Hsiao, Jennifer Ching-hui; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-; Schallert, Diane L.; Kelm, Orlando R.; Maloch, Anna E.; Teng, Wen-HuaWith the rising importance of Mandarin Chinese since the 80s, researchers have paid more attention to the Mandarin learners of heritage backgrounds who can understand or speak Mandarin Chinese before entering Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) programs. However, the study of Fangyan-speaking learners of Mandarin Chinese has been long neglected and still remains scarce. This interview study was conducted with twelve Fangyan-speaking learners of Mandarin in U.S. universities with an aim of investigating the linguistic knowledge and ethno-cultural identities that Fangyan-speaking students bring to college-level CFL classrooms. Another focus of this study is to investigate the perception Fangyan-speaking students have about their linguistic abilities and what Fangyan-speaking students are perceived to be the expectations of their instructors and peers. This study was conducted in two CFL programs: a long-established dual-track program in a research university and a newly-established mixed track program in a teaching university. Both Fangyan-speaking students and their instructors were recruited for interviews and document data were collected from both students and their instructors. A modification of Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1981) was employed in categorizing four types of Mandarin input, in which Cantonese pronunciation for reading purposes and media consumption were found to play important roles in Fangyan-speaking students’ Mandarin learning. Analysis of the data also revealed that Fangyan-speaking participants’ ethno-cultural identities may exhibit a nature of “hybridity” (Young, 1995) owing to their family immigration histories. Implications derived from the findings are offered for researchers, practitioners, and administrators of programs that serve tertiary CFL learners.Item Heritage learners in the classroom : an investigation into German heritage learners’ misspellings(2013-05) Tapfer, Anna Patricia; Boas, Hans Christian, 1971-This study investigates the type of errors made by middle school heritage learners in written German. The errors are classified into four categories: consonant errors, capitalization errors, vowel errors, and deletions. The study finds that compared to previous research regarding German first-grader spelling, these middle school students produce significantly more errors when writing in German. There are four participants, three female and one male, ranging in age from 10-14, all of whom are enrolled in a Saturday school enrichment class and have been identified as heritage learners prior to class placement. The results indicate a need for more intensive and targeted spelling instruction and a portion of the paper is dedicated to teaching implications.Item Heritage speakers of Chinese languages in Asia : sociocultural factors that affect their proficiency in Mandarin Chinese(2011-12) Villarreal, Daniel Steve; Bar-Adon, Aaron; Horwitz, Elaine; Johanson, Robert E.; Schallert, Diane L.; Weinstock, JohnHeritage speakers of Chinese languages in Asia: Sociocultural factors that affect their proficiency in Mandarin Chinese discusses several of the reasons that some Asian ethnic Chinese are more proficient at Mandarin Chinese than others. This research was conducted in Taiwan between 2009 and 2011. Research subjects were of Chinese ethnicity, citizens of Asian nations and regions other than the People’s Republic of China or the Republic of China ( Taiwan ), and present in Taiwan as students of Mandarin Chinese and/or various academic subjects. The research question consisted of an overarching question and three sub-questions; the overarching question was: What is the experience of heritage speakers of Chinese languages in Asian countries where Mandarin is not the dominant language?, and the three sub-questions were: 1.) What sociocultural factors result in heritage speakers’ Mandarin learning/development being enhanced?; 2.) What sociocultural factors result in heritage speakers’ Mandarin learning/development being suppressed/not enhanced?; and 3.) Why are ethnic Chinese from non-Chinese nations studying Mandarin in Taiwan ? The researcher also unearthed what is possibly a new paradigm for a “heritage speaker of Mandarin Chinese” in an Asian context. Heritage Mandarin speakers in an Asian context may be a hybrid construct: speakers of a Chinese language with solid skills in the home language, a high degree of contact with Mandarin Chinese in the environment, and the capacity to rapidly acquire Mandarin and enhance one’s skills readily via the advantage of scaffolding at a higher starting point due to already being versed in one or more Chinese language. Some of the salient sociocultural factors which were shown to enhance the Mandarin skills of this population were: similarity of home’s or region’s Chinese language to Mandarin, exposure to Mandarin in the environment, policies favorable to or accepting of this language group and culture, and Mandarin as a medium of classroom instruction. Reasons for studying in Taiwan included its low costs and authentic Chinese environment. It is hoped that this study will inform efforts in the teaching of Mandarin to heritage speakers. It is further hoped that stakeholders who deal with heritage speaker issues consider not only the sociocultural factors explored in this research, but also the importance of considering the effects of language contact between heritage languages and similar languages and dialects.