This autoethnography narrative examines my journey as a first-generation Mexican immigrant woman from birth, through completion of the doctorate degree at California State University, San Bernardino. The purpose in writing this autoethnography is to present a personalized account of my experiences growing up, in communicating between two languages, the structural and personal motivators behind maintaining a heritage language (Spanish), and to reflect, in my experience, how I have negotiated with multiple social identities, including ethnic, academic, and bilingual identities. In this self-study, I bring the reader closer to Mexican-American identity, language, and culture. Specifically, this qualitative analysis of Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) and identity will examine the following questions: a) How did I perceive and negotiate my bilingual identity?; b) What obstacles did I face when speaking English, Spanish or both?; c) What role does SHL have in identity development? I have chosen a qualitative approach, specifically an autoethnography, to answer these questions in order to add to existing literature rooted in the lived experience of Spanish heritage language maintenance. This approach allows me to be the researcher, subject, and narrator of the study, and allows me to reflect on my education as a bilingual and bicultural immigrant student. The autoethnographer’s subjective experiences (my stories) become the primary data and encompass looking at a culture through the lens of the researcher. While searching for themes written in vignettes, my journey is an account of two worlds, which coexist, in the infinite intricacy of language learning, speaking, thinking, and being.

Esta tese é um estudo de caso sobre as particularidades do processo de formação de uma professora de italiano como língua de herança (LH), durante as fases de planejamento, elaboração de material didático e realização de um curso de italiano na cidade de Pedrinhas Paulista (SP), ex-colônia italiana fundada em 1952. O processo de formação ocorreu durante quinze meses e os instrumentos para a coleta de dados foram gravações em áudio dos encontros, interações por meio do aplicativo WhatsApp, questionários, anotações de campo, reuniões e entrevistas com habitantes e membros gestores da comunidade. No que concerne à fundamentação teórica, baseamo-nos em uma concepção ampla de falantes de LH, que inclui não apenas pessoas com proficiência na língua e com laços de ancestralidade, mas também aquelas que, mesmo sem origem italiana, possuem um sentimento de afiliação em relação à língua e à cultura da comunidade que a usa. A literatura da área evidenciou que as políticas linguísticas em prol das LH são insuficientes para mantê-las presentes no país de acolhimento, e que uma LH não deve ser ensinada como uma língua estrangeira. Os resultados deste trabalho indicam que a formação de professores de italiano LH deve contemplar, de maneira especial, dois temas que geram dificuldades na elaboração do material didático e na prática de sala de aula: (a) a relação entre língua padrão e dialetos e (b) a heterogeneidade de conhecimento linguístico e/ou cultural entre os alunos de LH. Essas questões foram consideradas à luz da pedagogia pós-método, que evidencia a necessidade de olhar para fora da sala de aula, de levar em conta fatores sociais, políticos e históricos ligados à imigração e às políticas linguísticas, familiares e institucionais. Em consonância com o princípio da particularidade, o contexto de formação foi detalhadamente analisado, tendo como guia o arcabouço teórico KARDS, em que conhecimentos pessoais e profissionais da professora, bem como as motivações, as necessidades dos alunos, as ações em sala de aula e auto-observação da professora foram elementos-chave para a compreensão do processo formador. A concretização dos outros dois princípios da teoria pós-método, da praticidade e da possibilidade, revelou a importância (a) da postura do formador para que a professora tenha liberdade para expressar seus dilemas e para agir e inovar e (b) da participação da comunidade no desenvolvimento da autonomia da professora e dos alunos na busca de soluções diante da falta de apoio de instituições e órgãos locais. Se, por um lado, a falta de apoio institucional pode trazer liberdade didática ao professor, por outro, limita o oferecimento de cursos de formação de professores de LH e seu ensino. Os resultados evidenciam, por fim, que a formação de comunidades de prática e de comunidades de investigação é essencial para enfrentar as relações linguísticas de poder, para transformar a realidade local, nos níveis pessoal e social. / This case-study explores the particularities of the educational process of a teacher of Italian as Heritage Language (HL), during the phases of planning, elaboration of teaching materials and realization of a course of Italian HL in Pedrinhas Paulista, (SP), Brazil, an ex-Italian colony founded in 1952. The teacher education process lasted 15 months and the data-collecting instruments were: audio recordings of the meetings with the teacher-student, interactions through the messaging app WhatsApp, questionnaires, field notes, meetings and interviews with inhabitants and city managers. From a theoretical point of view, we adopted a broad definition of HL speakers, which includes not only speakers linguistically proficient and with a family background, but also those with no family background who feels an affiliation to the language and to the culture of the HL speaking community. The studies in that field indicate that the language policies in favor of the HLs are insufficient to maintain them alive, and that a HL should not be taught as a foreign language. The findings of this study suggest that Italian as HL teacher education has to consider, especially, two topics that create difficulties both in preparing the teaching material and in classroom teaching: (a) the relation between standard language and dialects and (b) the heterogeneity of the linguistic and cultural knowledge within the HL learners. These issues have been considered through the incorporation of post-method pedagogy, which makes clear the necessity to look for external factors outside the classroom, and to consider social, political and historical aspects related to immigration and to family and institutional language policies. We analyzed in details the context of teacher education process, in a critical manner consistent with the principle of Particularity, adopting as a guide the modular model KARDS. In that model, the key-elements for the understanding of teacher education process were the teacher professional and personal knowledge, the learners motivations and needs, the teacher self-observation and the teacher classroom work. The realization of the two others principles of post-method theory, practicality and possibility, revealed the importance (a) of a teacher educator stance that gives to the future teacher liberty to express his/her dilemmas and to act and innovate; and (b) of the community participation in the developing of teacher and learners autonomy in the quest for solutions that can face the lack of support by local institutions and entities. Although institutional deficiency spurs the teachers to look for didactic freedom; on the other side it can limit the delivering of teacher education courses in the HL and its teaching. Finally, the findings indicate that the construction of communities of practice and communities of inquiry are essential to face the language power relations, to transform the local reality, on a personal and social level.

Heritage Language Education is considered the cornerstone of Canada’s multiculturalism policy. In Ontario, the mission to preserve the cultural capital of the various ethnic communities is carried out primarily by non-profit organizations and groups with limited official support. My thesis is the autobiographical inquiry of an internationally educated teacher who is involved in a Greek language credit program in Toronto. My commitment to understanding the needs of the new generation of learners guided me through a series of professional development initiatives and the creation of an educational blog which is currently used by students, parents and teachers of the Aristoteles Credit School. By presenting my experiences as I navigated the multidimensionality of HLE in Ontario, I hope to offer a case of a bottom-up reform attempt which is based on transformative pedagogy and brings heritage language education to the epicentre of community activity and educational change in the 21st century.

Heritage Language Education is considered the cornerstone of Canada’s multiculturalism policy. In Ontario, the mission to preserve the cultural capital of the various ethnic communities is carried out primarily by non-profit organizations and groups with limited official support. My thesis is the autobiographical inquiry of an internationally educated teacher who is involved in a Greek language credit program in Toronto. My commitment to understanding the needs of the new generation of learners guided me through a series of professional development initiatives and the creation of an educational blog which is currently used by students, parents and teachers of the Aristoteles Credit School. By presenting my experiences as I navigated the multidimensionality of HLE in Ontario, I hope to offer a case of a bottom-up reform attempt which is based on transformative pedagogy and brings heritage language education to the epicentre of community activity and educational change in the 21st century.

This multiple-case study investigated six teachers’ perspectives on their teaching practices and cultural integration in a Chinese heritage language school. This research also explored how the teachers’ instructional practices were linked to Ladson-Billings’ theories on culturally relevant pedagogy (1994). Qualitative in nature, multiple data sources were included, such as semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and teachers’ artifacts. Data analysis included both within- and cross-case analysis. Within-case analysis showed that each teacher had her particular method of fostering students’ language learning. They also had unique ways of teaching Chinese culture; one held that culture is embedded in literature, another held that culture is the daily life of a group of people, another held that culture is gained through reading, a fourth held that culture is transmitted from one generation to the next, another held that culture is analyzed in relation to other cultures, and, finally, one teacher perceived that culture is hybrid and multifaceted. Based on the central tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy, four themes emerged from the cross-case analysis: (a) motivational and skill-building strategies to promote academic success, (b) individual, plural, and progressive ways to integrate and reconceptualize Chinese culture, (c) rebalancing authority to share power with students, and (d) culture identity development to enhance self-empowerment. Despite the link between the current study and Ladson-Billings’ theory, differences were found. For example, the Chinese teachers viewed heritage language learning as a way to help students connect their family members rather than to become active agents in the larger society. Besides cultural facts, the teachers incorporated cultural virtues and cultural reconceptualization. Instead of focusing on questioning inequities, the teachers encouraged students to build harmonious relationship with other ethnic groups. As the existing studies emphasized minority education for Mexican and African American students, the present study shed new light on language and culture instruction for Chinese Americans. This study suggests four implications: (a) developing heritage language teachers’ professional knowledge about implementing a “student-centered” approach, (b) enhancing heritage language teachers’ critical cultural awareness, (c) investigating heritage language teaching from diverse sociocultural backgrounds, and (d) introducing the theory of culturally relevant pedagogy in heritage language education. / text

The demographics in the United States continue to show a dramatic increase of immigrant students who speak a language other than English at home (Smitherman; U.S. Census); however, schooling ideologies and practices continue to treat developing bilingualism as a detriment to students entering school rather than a resource (Canagarajah; Heath; Matsuda; Valdés et al; Richardson; Santa Ana; Street). In this case study, conducted in the “Nuevo New South” (Mohl; Rich and Miranda), I observed how bilingual music and play in school-like settings can promote bilingual literacy practices and bridge gaps between traditional schooling practices and communities ways of languaging. Engaging in structured music and play practices creates spaces that can generate moments of felicidad and meta-construction of heritage language users as bilinguals.

abstract: This study examines the experiences of parents in mixed marriages (Vietnamese married to non-Vietnamese) raising their children in the United States. Specifically, this study focused on what factors influence parents' development of family language policies and patterns of language use. While research has been done on language policy and planning at the macro-level and there are an increasing number of studies on family language policy at the microlevel, few studies have focused on couples in mixed marriages who are heritage language speakers of the language they are trying to teach their children. This study used both surveys and interviews to gather data about parents' beliefs and attitudes towards bilingualism and the heritage language (HL), strategies parents are using to teach their children the HL, and major challenges they face in doing so. There were three main findings. First, parents without full fluency in the HL nevertheless are able to pass the HL on to their children. Second, an important factor influencing parents' family language policies and patterns of language use were parents' attitudes towards the HL--specifically, if parents felt it was important for their children to learn the HL and if parents were willing to push their children to do so. Third, proximity to a large Vietnamese community and access to Vietnamese resources (e.g., Vietnamese language school, Vietnamese church/temple, etc.) did not assure families' involvement in the Vietnamese community or use of the available Vietnamese resources. The findings of this study reveal that though language shift is occurring in these families, parents are still trying to pass on the HL to their children despite the many challenges of raising them bilingually in the U.S. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011

This research aimed to describe, understand, and discuss the curriculum development process of a Brazilian-Portuguese heritage language community-based school in South Florida. This study was guided by the following research questions: (a) What roles does this HL community-based school aim to play for its students? This investigation was also related to the subsidiary question: (b) How does this HL community-based school organize its curriculum development process? In order to explore these research questions, I observed and interviewed teachers and coordinators based on a qualitative research approach. I analyzed the interviews’ transcripts, and the program’s website with a central focus of describing and understanding their curriculum development process. Hopefully, the findings will help Brazilian and other HL community schools toward discussing and elaborating their own curriculum development, as well as to look for specific teacher training courses.

Receptive bilinguals have been in a dilemma of knowing just enough Spanish to write and aurally comprehend the curriculum at the beginning-intermediate levels of a Spanish language course. This dichotomy in classrooms with mixed-ability learners has created a need to reconsider placement and pedagogical structures tailored for these students in foreign language courses. Thus, this descriptive study examined the perceptions of receptive bilinguals, drawn from two secondary Spanish courses regarding receptive bilinguals’ language use, personal Spanish language abilities and confidence, personal beliefs about the language, and contentment with the course. For this study, 31 participants were selected from two public high schools in a suburb of a large metropolitan area in north Texas. Two surveys, a listening assessment and an online questionnaire, were administered at the end of the academic year. The Likert questionnaire items were analyzed using SPSS software, while open-ended questions were coded for recurrent themes. Analyses revealed four major findings. First, with regard to influence on language use, participants’ grandparents created the most interaction with the Spanish language when compared with the other family groups. In addition, Spanish influence through television, literature, radio, and music contributed to students’ early childhood Spanish learning. Second, as to language preference, although participants perceived English to be the language with which they were most at ease, they were also confident in their Spanish conversational abilities. Third, with respect to perceptions of language abilities, Spanish 2Pre-AP students noticed an increased ability in listening, speaking, and writing the language. In both courses, students’ receptive ability was one of the highest abilities. Receptive bilinguals reflected a sense of pride and passion for the language. They desired to improve their language through their own self-motivation as a way to connect with family. Fourth, and finally, in reporting on course contentment, participants expressed overall contentment with the course, irrespective of the particular course in which they were enrolled; however, some did not agree that all curricular structures were to their benefit. Results indicate a need to place students with receptive bilingual skills in courses designed to meet their specific linguistic characteristics.

Le transfert linguistique est un grand défi contemporain touchant tout particulièrement les langues d’héritage, qui courent le risque d’être remplacées par les langues majoritaires ou dominantes en contexte migratoire (Fishman 2006, 1968). En effet, l’institutionnalisation d’une langue officielle affecte inévitablement l’emploi des autres langues, y compris celles des communautés immigrantes allophones. Les cours de langues d’héritage cherchent à pallier le transfert à travers l’enseignement explicite de la langue, souvent axé sur une variété standard de celle-ci. Or, cette socialisation linguistique formelle et prescriptive n’entraîne pas toujours une attitude positive envers les langues d’héritage, puisque les apprenants sont demandés de les « performer », plutôt que les employer en tant que moyen de communication (Meek 2010, Das 2008). Notre étude se focalise sur le rôle des institutions religieuses dans le maintien des langues d’héritage à Montréal. Nous démontrons que les lieux de culte fondés par et rattachés à une communauté immigrante ouvrent des espaces où la relation entre langue et identité n’est pas fixe, précisément parce que le but des activités et événements n’est pas la langue en tant que telle. Étant donné que la langue n’est pas la cible mais le médium, ces institutions fournissent des conditions propices aux interactions en langue d’héritage. Ce mémoire est basé sur notre terrain ethnographique dans cinq églises à Montréal, chacune caractérisée par une conceptualisation différente de la relation entre la langue et la religion, et reliée à une communauté immigrante allophone distincte. Notre recherche démontre l’importance des institutions affleurant des communautés immigrantes elles-mêmes dans le maintien linguistique. / Language shift from heritage languages to dominant, national languages among immigrant communities has been an important object of study in the sociology of language (Fishman 2006, 1968). The institutionally stabilized and ideologically sanctioned hegemony of the national language inevitably affects the use of all other languages, including those of allophone immigrant communities. Heritage language programs attempt to stay language shift by explicit language instruction often itself focused on a standard variety of the heritage language. However, explicit language socialization does not always foster a positive attitude towards heritage languages, since learners are solicited to “perform” linguistic competence, rather than use them as a means of emergent quotidian communication (Meek 2010, Das 2008). My study focuses on the role of religious institutions in maintaining heritage languages in Montreal. I show that places of worship founded by and linked to an immigrant community generate spaces where the relationship between language and identity is not over-determined, allowing for flexible and heterogeneous engagements with the heritage language. The focus of activities in religious settings is geared towards fostering a sacred community, not language instruction per se. Such settings, in which language is not the goal but the medium of collective activity, provide conditions favourable to interactions in heritage language. This thesis is based on our ethnographic field research in five churches in Montreal, each characterized by a different conceptualization of the relationship between language and religion, and each linked to a distinct allophone immigrant community. My research shows the importance of institutions that emerge from immigrant communities in language maintenance.