Building on the Nation’s Strength: Heritage Language Speakers, a National Resource Olga Kagan, Director, National Heritage Language Resource Center Language and Culture Summit, D.C. January 25 1

“heritage languages as a national resource…” R.D. Brecht & C.W. Ingold (2002) Tapping a National Resource: Heritage Languages in the United States, National Foreign Language Resource Center, Washington, DC. 2

Most Spoken Languages Other than English in the U.S. (2009 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau) U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Table B16001: Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over [data table]. American Community Survey year Estimates. 3

LANGUAGESNUMBER OF SPEAKERS IN U.S. Spanish or Spanish Creole: 35,468,501 Chinese:2,600,150 Tagalog:1,513,734 French ((incl. Patois, Cajun): 1,305,503 Vietnamese:1,251,468 German:1,109,216 Korean:1,039,021 Russian:881,723 Arabic:845,396 Italian:753,992 Portuguese or Portuguese Creole: 731,282 French Creole: 659,053 Polish:593,598 Hindi:560,983 Japanese:445,471 Persian:396,769 4

Heritage language speakers Working definition: Individuals who have been exposed to a particular language in childhood but did not learn it to full capacity because another language became dominant. 5

MYTHS HL SPEAKERS ARE native speakers (Myth 1) same as L2 learners (Myth 2) 6

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NHLRC Survey: Heritage Language Learners An on-line survey 1,800 responses 22 languages Survey Report 8

Heritage Language Speaker: A profile 77% U.S.born+arrived before 5 y.o. Use HL before starting school Continue using HL in limited ways I/A ACTFL (1/2 ILR) before literacy 9

“I am like Swiss cheese” 10

Conditions of Success 1.High goals 2. Time on task 3. Special curriculum and materials 4. Instructor training 5. Motivating HL speakers 11

Making Strides 1. Language Flagships 2. STARTALK 3. SLI, NSLI-Y and others 4. Title VI National Heritage Language Resource Center 12

Targeted Support for 1. HL teacher preparation 2. Motivational campaign 3. Internship and job opportunities for the HL learners 13

To conclude Heritage Language Speakers can become a true national resource. 14

THANK YOU! OLGA KAGAN 15