The purpose of this research was to explore perceptions among 9th through 12th grade students from Brazil, Haiti and Jamaica, with respect to their heritage languages: Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and Jamaican Patois. An additional purpose was to understand in greater detail possible variations of perception with respect to heritage language maintenance (or loss) in relation to one’s gender, first language, and place of birth. The research implemented semi-structured interviews with male and female adolescents with these heritage language backgrounds. Participants’ responses were recorded and transcribed. The transcriptions were analyzed via a categorizing of themes emerging from the data. Data were analyzed using inductive analysis. Three categories emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: (a) heritage language, (b) bilingualism, and (c) English as a second language. The analysis reveals that as participants learn English, they continue to value their heritage language and feel positively toward bilingualism, but differ in their preference regarding use of native language and English in a variety of contexts. There seems to be a mismatch between a positive attitude and an interest in learning their heritage language. Families and teachers, as agents, may not be helping students fully understand the advantages of bilingualism. Students seem to have a lack of understanding of bilingualism’s cognitive and bi-literacy benefits. Instead, employment seems to be perceived as the number one reason for becoming bilingual. Also, the students have a desire to add culture to the heritage language curriculum. The study was conducted at one of the most diverse and largest high schools in Palm Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida. The results of this study imply that given the positive attitude toward heritage language and bilingualism, students need to be guided in exploring their understanding of heritage language and bilingualism. Implications for teaching and learning, as well as recommendations for further research, are included.

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The present dissertation examined the language use, proficiency and beliefs of child heritage language learners (HLLs) from Spanish and Chinese heritage language (HL) backgrounds exposed to English as a second language (L2) upon school entry (N=63). Data were collected via HL and L2 proficiency measures and a semi-structured interview and pictorial measure, during the primary years, a period noted for HL loss (Wong Fillmore, 1991). Study 1 focused on patterns of language input and use in children’s lives. Children mostly used L2 in their activities and in their interactions with siblings, cousins and peers. With parents, grandparents and older relatives, children mostly used HL. Study 2 investigated children’s proficiency and changes in proficiency across HL and L2 language and literacy domains. Children appraised their HL oral language skills at low to moderate levels, and viewed their HL literacy skills as very low. Contrarily, their appraisals of L2 skills were uniformly high across all domains. Children demonstrated limited HL proficiency, whereas they demonstrated moderate L2 skills in all domains. Concordance between perceived and demonstrated proficiency was low, with only one in three children accurate in their self-evaluations. While children indicated loss, stability and growth in their HL skills equally, most children indicated growth in L2 skills since beginning school. Children demonstrated growth in HL oral language and reading and in all L2 domains. Qualitative analysis indicated that children overwhelmingly referenced markers of language and literacy skill in explanations of their appraisals. Other attributions for proficiency and changes in proficiency included assistance from others, different learning approaches, the influence of language environments, and feedback received from others. Study 3 investigated children’s affects and beliefs in relation to HL and L2 situations. Positive affect was associated with listening and speaking HL in the home context, and with L2 across all domains and contexts. Skill in the domain or language was a common rationale for children’s affective responses to language and literacy situations. Children also associated their affect with interest in the target domain/language, availability of assistance, membership in language groups and the influence of language environments. Considerations for further research with this population and recommendations for relevant parties are discussed.

The present dissertation examined the language use, proficiency and beliefs of child heritage language learners (HLLs) from Spanish and Chinese heritage language (HL) backgrounds exposed to English as a second language (L2) upon school entry (N=63). Data were collected via HL and L2 proficiency measures and a semi-structured interview and pictorial measure, during the primary years, a period noted for HL loss (Wong Fillmore, 1991). Study 1 focused on patterns of language input and use in children’s lives. Children mostly used L2 in their activities and in their interactions with siblings, cousins and peers. With parents, grandparents and older relatives, children mostly used HL. Study 2 investigated children’s proficiency and changes in proficiency across HL and L2 language and literacy domains. Children appraised their HL oral language skills at low to moderate levels, and viewed their HL literacy skills as very low. Contrarily, their appraisals of L2 skills were uniformly high across all domains. Children demonstrated limited HL proficiency, whereas they demonstrated moderate L2 skills in all domains. Concordance between perceived and demonstrated proficiency was low, with only one in three children accurate in their self-evaluations. While children indicated loss, stability and growth in their HL skills equally, most children indicated growth in L2 skills since beginning school. Children demonstrated growth in HL oral language and reading and in all L2 domains. Qualitative analysis indicated that children overwhelmingly referenced markers of language and literacy skill in explanations of their appraisals. Other attributions for proficiency and changes in proficiency included assistance from others, different learning approaches, the influence of language environments, and feedback received from others. Study 3 investigated children’s affects and beliefs in relation to HL and L2 situations. Positive affect was associated with listening and speaking HL in the home context, and with L2 across all domains and contexts. Skill in the domain or language was a common rationale for children’s affective responses to language and literacy situations. Children also associated their affect with interest in the target domain/language, availability of assistance, membership in language groups and the influence of language environments. Considerations for further research with this population and recommendations for relevant parties are discussed.

In this exploratory case study, I take a constant comparative methods type approach to exploring a shift in second language acquisition (SLA) away from approaches built on the assumption that language participants in the U.S. are monolingual English speakers (Block, 2003; Ortega, 2009, 2013; Thompson, 2013; Valdés, 2005), with little initial investment in the language or its culture (Rivera-Mills, 2012; Valdés, Fishman, Chavéz, & Pérez, 2006). This bias has entrenched a monolingual speaker baseline for statistical analysis within many experimental designs (Block, 2003; Ortega, 2009, 2013; Thompson, 2013; Valdés, 2005). Further, I redress this methodological bias by applying sociocultural theoretical (SCT) (Vygotsky, 1986) approaches to investigating Spanish heritage language learners (SHLLs). Heritage Language Acquisition (HLA) has an established tradition of situating its research within socio-cultural context when considering language-learning phenomena, laying groundwork for relating these contextual factors to the issues in delivering pedagogically sound HL instruction. Ducar (2008) identifies a specific gap in HLA literature, where HLL voices are underrepresented and Valdés et al. (2006) further highlights the need for the development of resources and strategies for accommodating HLLs specifically. I attempt to fill these gaps under SCT by using qualitative methods that incorporate HLL voices into the broader HLA discussion (Ducar, 2008). I take a bottom up approach to resource and task design targeted to serve Spanish heritage language learners (SHLLs) in the U.S. by first surveying the population’s backgrounds and motivations at universities that serve an over 20% student body of Hispanic/latin@ students. Next, I propose a supplemental resource whose agile design is able to adapt to the unique needs of these SHLLs. Further, I investigate in what ways one technological resource, the virtual world Second Life (SL), may be adopted to meet Spanish HLL (SHLL) needs. In this second part, I analyze how one SHLL, who I will refer to as David, used this SL resource. I was guided in this analysis by asking: “In what ways does differentiating HL instruction with SL afford identity mediation through symbolic artifacts within SL?” and “In what ways can task design and extension activities be adapted to meet specific SHLLs’ needs without overly constraining their creative language use or the open format of SL?”. I do this by first taking a snap shot via anonymous survey of 47 SHLLs across the U.S., attending 133 universities with a high level of undergraduate latin@/Hispanic students (20% or higher) that offer concentrations in Spanish (see http://www.collegedata.com). The respondents needed to be currently enrolled in a course advancing them beyond the Novice High level of proficiency as defined by ACFTL (2012). My analysis and discussion of these responses is organized around trends illuminated with descriptive statistics in their backgrounds and then motivations. Finally, I draw on open ended responses to create a qualitative analysis and present vignettes that highlight SHLL voices, while exemplifying trends found through word count analysis and axial coding of the data. Next, I explore the case of a single SHLL, reporting a familial connection to the language and studying intermediate Spanish at a university in the U.S, and his experience with SL. My analysis of David’s case draws on data from a pre-survey that was designed to elicit data on his background, align discussion with established criteria for matching HLL backgrounds to learning needs, and elicit his emic perspective about using SL to study his HL. Additionally, the community of inquiry framework (COI) (Arbaugh, Cleveland-Innes, Diaz, Garrison, Ice, Richardson, & Swan, 2008) guided me in meticulously designing SL tasks that elicited data about David’s engagement with the SL environment, its affordances, and the HL. These also provided insights into what ways that he chose to expand or deepen his command of the HL. I coded these data with Dedoose, a qualitative research tool, using a three-stage coding process similar to axial coding, building code trees and constantly relating themes to one another until saturated thematic categories emerge. I build a critical discussion of what this coding process reveals in relation to the case-study’s research focuses above, the guiding research questions, and relate the resulting findings to possible implications for teaching Spanish to SHLLs in the U.S., instructional design for this population within specific intuitional constraints, and for task design that leverages specific affordances that SL may offer SHLLs. In Part I, I present a rationale for introducing two new research questions to help guide my investigation of the survey of 47 SHLLs: “In what ways do SHLL motivations for studying their HL differ and how might these motivations be best accommodated through instructional design?” and “In what ways do SHLL backgrounds differ and influence their objectives for studying their HL?”. I then used these research questions to analyze these data and weave a discussion. At the beginning of each stage of this analysis I explain the methodology behind the analysis and the generation of any figures or tables that helped me in interpreting the data and answering the research questions. Ultimately, I create vignettes to highlight SHLL voices (Ducar, 2008) and weave a narrative grounded in the major trends and themes sown together throughout the chapter. In Part II, I present rationale for modifying my original three research questions, removing the second one completely due to lack of data: “In what ways do SHLL backgrounds differ and influence their objectives for studying their HL?” and “In what ways do SHLL motivations for studying their HL differ and how might these motivations be best accommodated through instructional design?”. I interweave my exploratory analysis and discussion about David’s background and motivations with that of the previous chapter to related David’s case to the larger data set. Further, I use the COI framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000, 2001) and Dörnyei’s (1994, 2005, 2009, 2014) work on motivation to analyze my instructional design in relation to David’s experience within the SL Lab. I analyze David’s motivational attractor states from a qualitative perspective as he progressed through to completion of the lab and compare motivational factors between David and pilot study participants. Based on these findings I offer some recommendations for both revising the proposed resource’s design and for the design of other resources that might capitalize on what I have learned during the course of this investigation. During the course of these investigative efforts I also encountered some challenges and surprising rewards. I reserve a section of this study to discuss some of these challenges, such as institutional barriers, demands on student time, strains on student motivation, and instructional design adaptations that frequently failed to address these challenges despite being research supported approaches. I correspondingly recount how these challenges coupled with moments of collegial collaboration to help both myself as a researcher and the project to grow, persevere, and adapt during the long course of the investigation. It is my sincere hope that sharing this personal perspective provides greater context to the study and insight for other researchers that would take on similar research endeavors.

Migration flows have created various educational needs worldwide. One such is HeritageLanguage Education as people claim their right to connect with their cultural, traditional,religious and linguistic background while they reside abroad. Ethnic communities haveestablished settings in which they aim to sustain their ethnolinguistic capital. The presentthesis explores how heritage language teachers perceive their role in two HeritageLanguage Community Schools, in Athens and in Stockholm. Based on a qualitativedesign, the research focuses on sociolinguistic phenomena such as language use andmaintenance, and ethnic identity creation. Data were collected in Athens and Stockholmthrough semi-structured interviews with nine teachers. The analysis of findings revealsself-perceptions of teacher role that include cultural and linguistic connotations. Teacherscontribute to language use and maintenance and to some extend to ethnic identityformation. Teacher practices and experiences strive not only for linguistic developmentbut for group’s ethnolinguistic vitality as well. The study concludes that there is a needfor further research on teachers of Heritage Language Education since the topic has notgotten the attention it deserves.

Packer and Goicoechea (2000) and Wortham (2006) propose that academic learning is both personal and social transformation. This transformation is continuously negotiated through classroom interaction and curricular choices. The current ethnographic study of an urban southwestern charter high school investigates academic learning in two contexts: a Spanish heritage-language (SHL) class and a humanities class.The study examines Mexican-origin students' resistance to studying their ancestral language. From the first day of their SHL class, students refused to speak Spanish (despite their proficiency), rejected published Spanish-language materials, and acted out. Student resistance was rooted in their perceived lack of relevant tasks and materials, teacher-respect for their home language and culture, and student belief that learning "proper Spanish" could threaten social and familial relationships (see also Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Labov, 1972a; Mehan, Hubbard, & Villanueva, 1994).The resistance of the heritage language learners contrasts sharply with the engagement of the same students in their Humanities course in which students connect enthusiastically with subject matter and instructor. Findings suggest that engagement was fostered through the teacher's strict adherence to the principles of place-based learning (Gruenewald, 2003a, 2003b), critical democratic pedagogy (Shor, 1992), and the instructor's teacher ethos.Latinos have the greatest high school dropout rate in the United States while simultaneously being the largest growing demographic group (Carreira, 2003; "US Census Report," 2004; Waggoner, 2000). The pairing of these two statistics should draw alarm. Thus the study of Latino student engagement and resistance to academic learning is crucial for understanding this problem as well as exploring what pedagogies hold most promise. In terms of HL instruction, analyses reveal that a critical place-based approach to heritage-language instruction holds such promise.

This study examines Dialect Awareness as an instructional practice when used to teach Spanish Heritage Language (HL) learners at a university located on the U.S.-Mexico border. The author employs bidialectalism as a theoretical perspective, recognizing the important role that U.S. Border Spanish plays in constructing ethnolinguistic identity. A mixed-methods research framework was used that included a pre-post survey instrument, focus group interviews, and classroom observations to examine HL student confidence toward learning a prestige language variety and attitudes toward speaking U.S. Border Spanish. Discourse analysis was employed to examine the discursive practices of the DA classroom. Quantitative survey results showed that students developed a number of significant attitudinal changes after taking a course infused with Dialect Awareness. Triangulated qualitative findings confirmed that student attitudes had changed after one semester. The author proposes an agenda for future application of Dialect Awareness in Spanish Heritage Language classrooms.

My dissertation research employs theories that examine the relationship between language and social meaning to look at semiotic processes through which ideologies of differentiation are formed. This dissertation considers language use and heritage language maintenance in four multigenerational families whose ancestral language was a target of elimination by national language policies. Utilizing paradigms for examining the semiotic processes of ideologies of language differentiation, as well as identity formation, this dissertation attempts to untangle the various language ideologies surrounding the different language resources within the ethnic Chinese community in Singapore and examines their effects on identity formation and intergenerational interactions where different language competencies are featured. Linguistic resources in Singapore are legitimized with differentiating attribution of linguistic capital where four official languages are placed higher than the heritage languages, and within the official languages, English is legitimized as the language for business and science, and for use in interethnic communication. Differentiation is constructed among the languages, which then project indexical values to their speakers and their respective linguistic behaviors. Taking a discourse-centered approach and paying attention to historicity, this dissertation provides an in-depth analysis of language patterns in multigenerational families. The findings show varying degree of heritage language maintenance at home and language shift from the heritage language in the public sphere. The study also identifies a unique skipped-generational heritage language transmission phenomenon resulting from changes in woman’s roles, as well as from the complexity of identity configurations featuring ethnic, heritage, linguistic, and national affiliations. This dissertation also examines processes of intergenerational language negotiation foregrounding age and religion as two intersecting factors, discussing their implications on traditional family values, family structure, as well as heritage language maintenance. Utilizing multigenerational and multilingual families as a research site encompasses alternative linguistic markets and temporalities to examine the creative use of linguistic resources by speakers for identity formation and language maintenance efforts. / text

This dissertation presents Vepsian language revival as a case study for language revival movements. The Vepsian language is classified as seriously endangered by UNESCO and it is spoken by Veps, a Finno-Ugric minority in north western Russia. The discussion on literacy-orality interaction in rural and urban areas lies at the core of the dissertation. Since the beginning of the revival movement, activists have privileged literacy over orality in the promotion of Vepsian. Literacy became an emblem of political action as a way to promote the Vepsian language within a multi-ethnic society. The present ethnographic study aims to bring to the surface aspects of the Vepsian language which have not reached mainstream Vepsian revitalization. It shows Vepsian language ecology more comprehensively. In this dissertation, the phrase language ecology matches contemporary ideas of interaction and socialization with the world. The scope of the dissertation builds upon the work by Blommaert (2005) and Bourdieu (1992) in giving voice to the marginalised. It presents sets of language practices and their social symbolism which have been partially included in the revival of Vepsian. I refer to the oral practices of the Vepsian speech communities in rural areas of the Vepsän ma (V. ‘Vepsian land’) as opposed to the use of Vepsian literacy in the cities, especially Petrozavodsk. The present inquiry of the Vepsian revival movement provides the foundation for a theoretical discussion on the literacy and orality dualism. Not only has this dualism stressed the political importance of literacy in a post-Soviet context, it has also given space to the Vepsian oral mode and its social relevance. By drawing these two traditions together, the oral and the written, the thesis matches Vepsian traditional ontologies, the Vepsian sebr (V. ‘community’) whose unity had been affected by Soviet and contemporary political measures, language and social ideologies.