1、 The ESL Teachers Role in Heritage Language MaintenancePaela L. Andersn-ejas pandersnejias at htail. The University f Texas-Pan Aerian (Edinburg, Texas, USA)IntrdutinAs prfessinals in the teahing f English as either a freign r send language, e spend the ajrity f ur eduatin and pratie fusing n the pr
2、ess f send language aquisitin, apprpriate teahing ethdlgies fr greater effetiveness in students aquisitin f English, designing and ipleenting aterials, tests, prgras, et. This is t ve ur students fr little r n knledge f English t a suffiient knledge fr the t aess their gals t study, t interat, and f
3、ten t live in an English speaking envirnent.That is ur prfessin-t teah English. Hever, ithut the need t refer t the extensive researh, ur experiene tells us that the native languages f ur students greatly influene their aquisitin f English. The heritage language, that hih is used by the parents and
4、anestrs heavily r exlusively at he, and hih is usually native t the students, serves t nnet the students ith their ulture hile living ithin anther, ajrity language unity and ulture. Its linguisti influene n English aquisitin and its iprtane t identity and tivatin annt be ignred. Seties, nnetheless,
5、in ur fus n the aquisitin f English, hih is the rux f ur prfessin, e d ignre ur students need t aintain their heritage language. This paper addresses that vital linguisti link t their ulture hih ur students need and alls fr sensitivity t the issue f heritage language aintenane as e teah English. Fur
6、therre, the paper ill give speifi suggestins as t h t inrprate supprt fr the students heritage languages int the daily lassr and shl experiene. These ere gathered via a questinnaire fr ESL prfessinals in the 87% bilingual Spanish/English Ler Ri Grande Valley f Texas. Thirty-t teahers and teaher-trai
7、nees respnded t Sandra Kuritzins artile A thers Tngue via an pen-ended questinnaire. There as n attept ade t randly saple a ppulatin, but t eliit the teahers n experienes, any f hih paralleled Kuritzins. Seven questins, hih flled the general setins f Kurtizins artile, asked fr persnal and failial ex
8、perienes ith their t languages and then eliited tehniques hih ESL teahers uld use t help parents f and heritage language students pe. These tehniques and suggestins ill fr a ajr segent f this rk. h Needs t Address Heritage Language aintenane?Fr the ajrity f English as a freign language teahers, the
9、aintenane f the heritage language is f little nern s this disussin is fused tard the ESL rather than the EFL teaher, hse students are usually surrunded by their heritage language hen they leave ur lassr. Fr the ESL teaher and se EFL teahers hse students heritage languages ay nt be the general ediu f
10、 uniatin utside the lassr (suh as Krean L1 speakers ang EFL learners in exi), supprt fr the heritage language is re vital. Fr this rk, I ill use the ter ESL t inlude suh sial situatins as the latter type f EFL teahing. The hallengeIn publi eduatin in Texas, as elsehere in the United States, eleentar
11、y grade hildren an be enrlled in bilingual lasses if they are nt prfiient in English. These bilingual prgras vary greatly, but are generally geared t ve hildren fr their heritage language t English as the shl language ithut regard t language aintenane and the heritage language is rarely used in shl
12、after eleentary grades. Additinally, thugh the bilingual ptin exists, any iigrant parents ften rejet it in rder t ensure that their hildren learn English re effiiently. If language lss is a serius threat even fr bilingual students in the Ler Ri Grande Valley here Spanish is used n a daily basis utsi
13、de the eduatinal dain, it is a far re serius nern hen the heritage language is nt used in the envirnent ther than at he r ithin an islated, sall grup f speakers. e kn that, as Hrnberger (1998) nted, individuals h pratie literay in their heritage language usually als rk hard t learn English and expre
14、ss a general appreiatin fr all languages. This leads t a versatility hih is essential if iigrants and their languages aret thrive and ntribute in their ne land. (449) Althugh heritage language supprt shuld be addressed as an independent and iprtant issue in ur lassrs fr this reasn, the persnal need
15、ust als be nsidered. Kuritzins ArtileSandra Kuritzin (2000) reprts n a variety f persnal, etinal, and sial issues hih relate t the desire she and her husband have t raise their hildren bilingually in Japanese and English. As Kuritzin explres these persnal, siultural, and eduatinal issues thrugh her
16、n etinal filter, she regnizes that perhaps parents f ESL learners endure the sae hallenges, yet ithut reurse t the prfessinal literature and availability f a supprt struture. T nsider these aspets brught ut by Kuritzin, I used her artile as ipetus fr the pen-ended questinnaire hih generated a nuber
17、f iprtant issues fr ESL lassrs and resulted in any f the lassr suggestins given here. The respndents ere teahers fr a variety f prgras, publi and private, K-12 and adult ang the bilingual ppulatin f the Ler Ri Grande Valley f Texas here bth English and Spanish share the daily uniatin tasks utside th
18、e lassr. They regnize that it falls t the ebers f ur prfessin t help heritage language hildren sueed nt nly in learning English as a send language but in aintaining their heritage language and finding suess in the eduatinal envirnent as a hle. lassr Praties fr Heritage Language aintenaneThere are th
19、ree priary areas in hih the ESL teaher is key t supprting the heritage language. First, is the area f uniatin ith the parents f heritage language hildren. Send, is the area f effetively nveying heritage languages t all students as a psitive, a plus, rather than sething t be vere and hanged, a negati
20、ve. And, third, is the area f aurately and passinately interpreting the speifi heritage language and its ulture ithin ur lassrs. ithin these three areas, a variety f suggestins ill be ffered fr the lassr teaher. uniatin ith Parents f Heritage Language hildrennsidering the first area, hih is uniating
21、 effetively ith parents f heritage language hildren, e realize that all parental needs annt be et by the lassr teaher. Yet, understanding these parents is vital. any ESL teahers are fr a ultural envirnent here the shl is quite basi t life, as in the U.S., here the shl as ften a unity enter. Hever, a
22、ny ultures arund the rld d nt assiate shl ith unity but ften ith ppressin, gvernental authrity and s frth; ESL teahers ust be aare f this. It ay be very diffiult t enurage se parents t attend funtins at the shl even hen language barriers are nt a fatr. Teahers suggestins-hld an early event, suh as a
23、 pini fr the students and failies at a lal park nt assiated ith the shl. Parents f previus ESL students an be invited s that nn-English-speaking parents ill have thers t interat ith than just the teaher and their n hild r hildren. Suggestin t-visit in hes f students. The ESL teahers an ake this a pr
24、irity fr any retient parents h d nt attend funtins f their hildren. e realize that this requires extra, nn-shl tie, a nstraint fr any ESL teahers. Hever, the results an lead t heritage language supprt and suessful parental prgras. Fr a fe hurs f rganizatinal strategizing and then a sial event ith th
25、e ESL students and parents in an ff apus latin, any teahers have fund reards f lasting friendships ith parents h ill return t the ESL lassr and present infratin abut their n heritage language even after their n hildren have left the shl. Next-invite parents t the lassr t bserve their hildren. any pa
26、rents are fearful f interfering in their hildrens eduatin r d nt e t shl beause they are afraid that they ill appear strange t the peers f their hildren. A syste f rtating visits fr all students available faily an help t vere this fear. hen the parents are speifially and individually issued an invit
27、atin t the lass, and kn that this is a part f the eduatin fr all the hildren, they ill usually ake effrts t attend. hen hildren see that their peers and teahers value their parents presene at the shl, even thugh their parents ay appear different r nt speak English, they ill realize that their parent
28、s are respeted individuals and ill ntinue t give respet t the as ell utside the lassr. As e build relatinships ith the parents individually, e an reassure the f their hildrens prgress. Se parents equate language learning ith graar exerises and herk papers parsing sentenes and erizing vabulary. As st
29、 prfessinals use a re theati, task-based r funtinal apprah t teahing ESL, e ust reassure the parents that their hildren are prgressing despite the lak f pius graar exerises. It ay prve fruitful t spend ne hur ith parents befre a shl event denstrating a typial language lass here the parents are asked
30、 t be the students. The teaher shuld ake every effrt t have the lass as near t h he r she teahes the hildren ith additinal visuals t ake the exerises age apprpriate fr the parents. An vervie f hat has been learned, ith plenty f visuals, an help parents realize that their hildren are, in fat, learnin
31、g ithut the graar exerises they ay believe t be language. Usually the parents enjy the language lass using Ttal Physial Respnse (TPR) r ther ethds and ay even begin t think abut enrlling in adult ESL lasses theselves. It ay be neessary t have translatin in parental eetings. Teahers suggestin-use a s
32、hl unselr r ther adult rather than a hild f se f the parents. If that is nt pssible, then try t use an lder sibling rather than the hild enrlled ithin the atual lass, sine this rle reversal plaes the parents in a diffiult psitin in frnt f the teaher. In any ultures, suh a lss f sial status r fae is
33、diffiult t vere hen the teahers ishes t have further aess t the parents. nsiusness Raising abut Languages fr All StudentsThe send area in hih the ESL prfessinal an enurage the aintenane f heritage language is that f nsiusness raising abut languages fr all students. f urse the ephasis in ur lasses is
34、 n the aquisitin f English, yet hen ur students feel linguistially islated and their identity is threatened by this ne language, they annt learn as effetively. Thus it is iprtant fr the ESL teaher t sh, by rd and attitude, that all languages are f equal value fr their speakers. It is als iprtant fr
35、students t kn that their teaher is interested in their heritage language as a language itself. The redibility given t the heritage language by their teahers interest ay help hildren see that their language is a ptential area fr further study , even later eplyent. The very nature f teahing English ip
36、lies the attitude that it is seh better fr eduatin than the heritage language. Teaher suggestin-have a language aareness inute! A fe inutes f a hinese r Sahili lessn in the fr f a puzzle r ther ativity an help fster understanding abut ther language strutures. Fus ativities n speaking/listening ne da
37、y, reading anther, and even a day f riting in the students first language in rder t help the find their vie in English. These ativities shuld be shrt ith a gal f pening the dr t greater respet fr all languages f the rld. Anther area iprtant t reeber is that f testing. bviusly the heritage languages
38、f ur students ill nt sh up n state andated tests, but the iprtane hih e give t preparing fr these des give iprtane t the subjets vered by thse tests. As e prepare ur students fr the testing prgra f the shl syste, e ay as ell ant t add a fe pratie test questins abut fats presented in ur lassrs regard
39、ing the students heritage languages. Althugh the tpi itself ill nt be vered, the pratie in test taking is still iprtant. And the redibility fr the heritage languages that is given by testing fats abut the alng ith ther aspets f English usage supprts the heritage languages f ur students as IPRTANT. T
40、hese lassr suggestins are nt t bee a large part f ur teahing. ur priary gal is t teah English. Nnetheless, the inlusin f se tie eah eek, a fe questins ang ther ites n the lass tests, parents presentatin abut native language, r a puzzle, an serve ur students by validating their linguisti identities a
41、nd easing the persnal transitin t English user. Interpreting the Speifi Heritage Language and Its ulture ithin ur lassrsThe final area hih the teahers f ESL an use t supprt heritage languages hile teahing English is that f aurately and passinately interpreting the speifi heritage language and its ul
42、ture ithin ur lassrs. Suggestin-use illing parents! A parent riting in his r her native language in a jurnal hile the hildren are riting in their jurnals an stiulate disussin f h the ritten rd, althugh differently nstruted, still nveys essages, reslves inner nflits, rerds speial events, r just jgs t
43、he ery. A parent an read a pe that is interpreted by the hild. Be reative! Anther suggestin-alert students t the key ntrasts hih identify the as nn-native and hih ay sially stigatize the. Age related tehniques fr teahing English sunds, fr exaple the retrflex r f English, and pssible ntrast ith siila
44、r sunds f the native language an fster aareness f the speifi language differenes. Yunger learners understand the tngue arund the (lean!) penil tehnique hile diagras rk ell ith sehat lder hildren. Se lder learners an lk n the rld ide eb fr val trat sites hih sh sunds f varius languages. Suh parisns f
45、 English ith the heritage language nt nly teahes English, but als gives status t the languages f students. And the Internet ay help the heritage language hild find a hle ne universe abut that language utside f the he/faily ntext. e teahers annt be the sle interpreters f the heritage languages and ul
46、tures f ur students, but hen e aknledge by ur atins and rds the iprtane f understanding thers languages, e bring passin and understanding as values ithin the learning f English. nluding ThughtsThere are nuerus tasks hih all ESL teahers ust plete t siply d the jb. ne f the st iprtant ay nt be related
47、 t the teahing f English at all. That is the task f helping fster a liate f respet fr languages in general and strengthen, in the eduatinal dain, the learners ties t the speifi heritage languages fr hih they e. As Kuritzin s elquently states: The diffiultiesare nt intelletual; they are persnal and etinal. (2000: 322). ReferenesHrnberger, N. H. (1998). Language pliy, language eduatin, language rights: Indigenus, iigrant and internatinal perspetives. Language in Siety, 27, 439 - 458. Kuritzin. S. (2000). A thers Tngue. TESL Quarterly, 34, 311 - 324.
