Community Language Schools Conference

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A profile of a Korean heritage language school in West Los Angeles

The present study explores a profile of a small, community-based Korean heritage language school in West Los Angeles in an attempt to understand the nature of heritage speakers’, their parents’, and teachers’ involvement with the heritage language school, and the challenges they face. More specifically, this study aims to obtain a general picture of 1) who the agents of the heritage language school (i.e., heritage speakers, their parents, and teachers) are, 2) what motivates them to become involved with the heritage language school, 3) how they contribute to shaping its curriculum and designing the instructional materials, and 4) what challenges they face in participating in and maintaining the heritage language program. The data of this study consist of surveys of and interviews with the students, parents, and/or teachers, as well as audio/video-recordings of class meetings and teacher meetings, which one of the researchers collected during participant observation over a nine month period. The findings of this study will hopefully provide valuable insights into heritage language maintenance through small, community-based heritage language programs.