This page contains curricula that were created by heritage language (HL) instructors who have participated in our summer HL teacher workshop. These projects are course curricula that incorporate principles of HL pedagogy and which have been placed into practice in real-world classrooms.
Most heritage languages are also less commonly taught languages, and few materials exist for teachers that are appropriate or can be adapted for heritage language instruction. NHLRC, with support from the National Foreign Language Center’s STARTALK Program, is committed to the development of materials that are suitable for heritage language instruction. The following language materials were created for use in our summer High School Language courses.
2010 Workbook
2011 Workbook
2012 Workbook
2013 Workbook
We created the following online script courses to give high school heritage learners a head start before taking our UCLA summer courses. They are specially designed for heritage learners, taking their knowledge of basic vocabulary and oral skills into account to make a bridge to literacy. Each tutorial is sequential: teachers introduce a certain number of letters in each lesson, providing multiple ways to practice identifying and writing each letter. The following lessons build on the previous ones, until students are practicing reading, listening to, and writing all the letters in the alphabet. Because of this structure, we recommend that you begin at the beginning and go through the lessons in order without skipping. We hope you enjoy these tutorials and let us know whether they helped you learn.
Arabic
Hindi
Persian
Urdu
The following podcasts are dedicated to heritage language research, education, pedagogy, and lived experience. They address issues that the NHLRC has identified through its surveys, or which have been raised by participants in workshops and conferences. If you have any suggestions or requests to address specific issues, please email us at nhlrc@international.ucla.edu.
November 14, 2021
Teaching Grammar to L2 Hindi Heritage Language Learners
An interview with Rajiv Rajan on the role of grammar instruction for Heritage second/foreign language learners (HLLs).
November 8, 2021
Hindi Heritage Learners' Performance during OPIs: Characteristics and Pedagogical Implications. An interview with Dr. Gabriela Ilieva from New York University about Hindi language learners and their performance during ACTFL OPIs.
October 27, 2020
Online Heritage Language Instruction
An interview with Dr. Florencia Henshaw, instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
October 18, 2021
NorCal Girl Scout Troop: Building Hindi Language Proficiency during the Pandemic through Research Informed SLA
An interview with Bhavya Singh, an Instructor Technology Specialist with STARTALK, who discusses a project-based learning in a Hindi immersion girl scout troop in Northen California.
October 10, 2020
Webinar: Latino Heritage Panel
A panel interview with leaders in Spanish as a Heritage Language including Krystal Kurtz, Alejandro Lee, Jazmin Mier, Diego Pascual y Cabo, and Dr. Alegria Ribadeniera.
September 22, 2020
Instructed Heritage Language Acquisition
An interview with Associate Professor Melissa Bowles from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign about the significance within the emerging field of Instructed Heritage Language Acquisition.
October 18, 2019
The Armenian Experience
An interview with Michael Abassian, a former UCLA student.
October 2, 2019
Community-Based Heritage Language Schools
An interview with Dr. Joy Peyton, Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools
October 1, 2019
The Global Seal of Biliteracy
An interview with Linda Egnatz, the Executive Director of the Global Seal of Biliteracy
August 28, 2019
A Heritage Speaker's Experience with Eastern Armenian
An interview with John Torosyan (University of Cincinnati).
August 23, 2019
Language anxiety when speaking Armenian
A follow-up interview with Gevick Safarians (University of California, Los Angeles).
August 21, 2019
A Persian-Armenian's Linguistic Experiences
An interview with Gevick Safarians (University of California, Los Angeles)
August 14, 2019
A Narrowly Defined Learner's Experiences with Eastern Armenian
An interview with Anahit Pogossian from the University of California, Los Angeles.
August 6, 2019
The nuances of teaching Western Armenian
Jesse Arlen returns to discuss his teaching experience with Shushan Karapetian.
August 5, 2019
An Armenian's experiences with Armenian
An interview with Jesse Arlen (University of California, Los Angeles).
July 23, 2019
Research on HL bilingualism and implications for teaching: Focus on Russian
An interview with Russian professor Irina Dubinina (Brandeis University).
July 12, 2019
Understanding and leveraging broad-definition HL learners' motivations through the linguistic autobiography
An interview with graduate student Natalie Nutman (California State University, Long Beach)
July 11, 2019
Organizing principles and best practices for mixed classes
An interview with Alegría Ribadeneira (Colorado State University, Pubelo)
As heritage languages gain more attention in the public domain, universities have begun to offer courses that introduce students to social, cultural, pedagogical, and linguistic challenges of heritage languages, make one think what it means to be a heritage speaker in a modern society, and dispel persistent misconceptions and stereotypes about bilingualism. It is encouraging that such courses are offered in addition to (and sometimes in connection with) language courses for heritage re-learners. An introductory class on heritage languages and their speakers may be a true melting pot where a student taking Mandarin for Mandarin speakers, a student taking Spanish for Spanish speakers, and a monolingual English speaker who has never had any experience with bilingual families study side by side, compare experiences, and learn new concepts from such diverse fields as sociology, psychology, education, and linguistics. It is our hope that more and more universities will offer more general education classes (as well as higher division classes) on heritage speakers. This website presents syllabi, class materials, and samples of students' work from several such classes offered throughout the country. If you or your colleagues have offered such a course please send us your materials for posting.
Email: nhlrc@international.ucla.edu
The following are syllabi from classes taught by Maria Polinsky on the subject of heritage language learners (HLLs) at the University of California, Los Angeles and at the University of Maryland, and Vera Gribanova's syllabus from her graduate course on HLLs at Stanford University.
The following works are final papers from Maria Polinsky's course "Heritage Languages and Their Speakers" at the University of Maryland.
The Coalition of Community-Based Language Schools is a nationwide initiative established to support, guide, and promote the interests of community-based heritage language schools and organizations across the United States. The NHLRC has partnered with the Coalition to disseminate resources and information through a website and forum with the aim to facilitate communication among these community-based heritage language schools/programs.
Visit the website of the Coalition of Community-based Heritage Language Schools