Heritage Meets Heritage at ACTFL 2016

Students from Korean, Greek, Russian and Spanish talk about their heritage language experience.

Students from Korean, Greek, Russian and Spanish talk about their heritage language experience.

The Heritage Meets Heritage project made its off-campus debut at a round-table discussion at ACTFL 2016.  This project, a study of identity, motivation and inter-language relationships among heritage speakers of Greek, Korean, Russian and Spanish, has been an adventure in learning for all involved.  Having students articulate and share their thoughts on aspects of their heritage experience allows us, as instructors, to reach a better understanding of the HL affective filter, but more importantly, it gives students a sense of belonging, a place in the greater HL community.  Our trial-run at ACTFL has been very useful in shaping the future of this project.

I am grateful to my colleagues, Maria Kaliambou, Angela Lee-Smith and Julia Titus for their willingness to embark on this journey before the ship was built and for their valuable contributions, which allowed us to set sail.  I look forward to having other colleagues join us next semester for the next iteration of Heritage Meets Heritage!

Heritage Meets Heritage on the red carpet!

Heritage Meets Heritage on the red carpet!

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