HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND LANGUAGE ATTITUDE IN CLASS - AND

The linguistic composition of the population in the
United States continues to change and schools
continue to experience a significant growth in the
enrollment of heritage language learners.
Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly evident
that the linguistic needs of these students are not
being adequately addressed.
In many situations, students only have formal
instruction in their heritage language through
enrollment in a foreign language class with students
learning that language for the first time. The
result is that world languages teachers find
themselves teaching classes that are unlike the
traditional world languages classes that they were
trained to teach. Furthermore, the methodology they
have employed successfully for years is no longer
adequate, resulting in frustrated instructors as
well as heritage language learners.
The need for this study is significant since one of
the greatest challenges identified by world language
teachers is addressing student diversity, in
particular, is meeting the needs of heritage
language learners. This study will help teachers
identify and better address the needs of heritage
language learners.