2. Background

Although the number of HLLs in the United States continues to increase (Kagan & Dillon, Reference Kagan, Dillon, Deusen-Scholl and Hornberger2008), there are few K-12 schools that offer heritage-specific courses, leading to an increasing number of mixed classrooms in which HLLs are placed with second language (L2) learners. As these two groups of students have different abilities and proficiency profiles (Montrul, Reference Montrul2010), HLLs are often described as being at a disadvantage in traditional world language courses (Carreira & Chik, Reference Carreira, Chik and Potowski2018). It is therefore imperative that K-12 world language teachers develop an understanding of how to best meet the needs of HLLs.

To ensure that the 2021 Massachusetts World Languages Framework is actionable, inclusive, and relevant to educators working with HLLs, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education contracted the Center for Applied Linguistics to conduct research on best practices and educator needs for working with HLLs in K-12 language classrooms. The research presented in this poster investigated three research questions: (1) What do teachers of HLLs need to ensure that the Framework is actionable and relevant for their teaching context? (2) What are best practices for standards implementation, instruction, and assessment in world language courses for HLLs? And (3) what topics should be addressed in the QRG to support Framework implementation in this context.

For the purposes of this research, we defined an HLL as ‘a student who is raised in a home where a non-English language is spoken, who speaks or merely understands the heritage language and who is to some degree bilingual in English and the heritage language’ (Valdés, Reference Valdés and Kagan2000), though it is important to note that HLLs may have different degrees of exposure to the language, and different areas where they demonstrate more knowledge or familiarity with the language or culture.

4. Focus group findings: Educator needs

Findings from the focus groups suggest that educators working with HLLs in K-12 language classrooms need a shared understanding of the definition and profile of HLLs; guidance for developing effective placement testing and assessment practices, addressing learner diversity, and exploring and reflecting on identity; and a greater emphasis on culture, community, and the importance of differentiated instruction in world language frameworks.

Participants agreed that all educators need to recognize what it means to be an HLL and that they would benefit from having a single, shared understanding of this population for the purposes of identification, instruction, and assessment. Participants expressed difficulties placing students into appropriate courses, as the range of HLLs’ abilities may not correspond with the proficiency levels and expected student outcomes described in world language frameworks. Participants also highlighted further considerations that should be made in world language frameworks related to learner diversity. As these frameworks are not explicitly designed for HLLs, participants agreed that educators must understand how to adapt and personalize them to best meet the needs of this population, and it is therefore important for frameworks to also provide guidance on how to address the unique backgrounds and skills that HLLs bring to the classroom, including different language varieties, community experiences, and cultural or generational perspectives.

Participants also underscored the importance of identity, and they argued that without greater attention to identity, HLLs cannot make the cultural connections described in world language frameworks. The significance of culture was further emphasized by participants when reacting to the literature review, and they expressed a desire for more practical guidance on incorporating culturally-appropriate topics/activities and using community-based service learning to address different standards. Participants also agreed that educators would benefit from strategies and templates for personalizing lessons, activities, and assessments to support differentiated and individualized instruction for HLLs in their classrooms.

5. Literature review findings: Best practices

Findings from the literature review highlight various best practices for working with HLLs in K-12 language classrooms, including effective instructional practices and approaches; strategies and considerations for teaching and assessing world language standards; supporting learner diversity in the classroom; and addressing issues of identity.

Educators are encouraged to get to know HLLs in their classroom by administering informal surveys to learn about their backgrounds and experiences (Douglas, Reference Douglas2005), and macro-based approaches to instruction are recommended for leveraging HLLs existing abilities in the language (Carreira & Kagan, Reference Carreira and Kagan2018). In recent years, the multiliteracies approach, the community-based service-learning approach, and the critical language awareness approach have been increasingly referenced in the literature on heritage language teaching and learning (Parra, Reference Parra, Trifonnas and Aravossitas2014), and elements of these pedagogical approaches may be helpful to include when teaching HLLs the less commonly taught standards of Cultures, Comparisons, Connections, and Communities. In addition to world language standards, educators may find it helpful to use heritage-specific goals (as cited in Martinez, Reference Martinez, Fairclough and Beaudrie2016, p. 42) to guide instruction, and classroom content, expected learning outcomes, and teaching strategies should be modified to best meet the needs of HLLs (Carreira & Chik, Reference Carreira, Chik and Potowski2018).

To support learner diversity, it is important to provide students with opportunities to engage in multilingual/multimodal communication throughout the course of instruction (Parra, Reference Parra, Trifonnas and Aravossitas2014), and educators are encouraged to teach about different language varieties rather than only focusing on standard varieties in the classroom (Correa, Reference Correa2011). Recognizing and supporting the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of all learners is essential for effectively working with HLLs in K-12 language classrooms, and it is important to have an assets-based approach to working with these learners and placing them into appropriate courses. Although HLLs bring substantial knowledge to the world language classroom, educators are advised to avoid assigning them tutoring roles, as this can impedetheir own language development(Burgo, Reference Burgo2017). HLLs benefit from scaffolding, individualized goals, and mutually beneficial paired activities with L2 learner peers to promote self-confidence and help them further develop their knowledge of and abilities in the heritage language (Albirini, Reference Albirini2014).

Educators are also encouraged to build upon HLLs’ existing English literacy skills to support their acquisition of literacy skills in the heritage language, and it may be helpful to use pre-writing exercises and low-stakes writing activities about familiar topics when working with this population (Chevalier, Reference Chevalier2004). Finally, researchers recommend that students engage in critical dialogue about language's role in their lives and their communities to support their recognition and analysis of larger issues associated with the heritage language (Beaudrie et al., Reference Beaudrie, Amezcua and Loza2020).