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Editor's
Introduction
Terrence G. Wiley and Guadalupe Valdés
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Why Bilingual Education
Policy Is Needed: A Philosophical Response to the Critics
Michele S. Moses
Arizona State University
Abstract
What role does bilingual education policy have in the educational
opportunity structure for heritage language (HL) students? In what
ways might bilingual education enhance students’ self-determination?
In this article, I shall argue that the various criticisms against
bilingual education policy are myopic and focused on nostalgic notions
of Americanization and assimilation, which often cost heritage language
students a secure sense of cultural identity, an expansive social
context of choice, and consequently, their self-determination. When
students have a secure sense of authenticity in their cultural identity,
and a favorable social context within which to make important life
choices, they then have the best chance of become self-determining.
Thus, I examine how bilingual education policy should be justified
based on the principle of self-determination.
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Aquí No Se Habla
Español: Stories of Linguistic Repression in Southwest Schools
Patricia MacGregor-Mendoza
New Mexico State University
Abstract
For some Americans, the growing number of heritage language speakers
in the United States signals a threat to the cultural fabric of
U.S. society. For these individuals, English is the only language
that is appropriate for the indoctrination of youth into our nation’s
social order. Recent events in the United States’ political landscape,
such as the passage of California’s Proposition 227 and Arizona’s
Proposition 203, attest to the notion that schools remain one of
the most ardent battlegrounds for the English language policy debate.
Nonetheless, school-based language policy decisions have been made
too hastily, often relying on rash assessments of public opinion
or personal biases. What school language policymakers have failed
to consider are the potential long-term consequences to the social,
academic, or linguistic development of heritage language speakers
these policies affect. In the present paper, several accounts of
Spanish speakers whose heritage language clashed on school grounds
are provided. The stark memories from their youth reveal that the
establishment of formal or informal English-only policies at school,
and the manner in which those policies were enforced, often did
shape their personal, scholastic, and language development over
time.
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The
Role of Heritage Language in Social Interactions and Relationships:
Reflections from a Language Minority Group
Grace Cho
California State University, Fullerton
Abstract
This article examines the experiences of one language minority group
in regard to the effects of their home or “heritage” language (HL)
competence. The results indicated that competence with one’s HL
has an effect on social interactions, relationships with HL speakers
of their ethnic minority group, and the individuals themselves.
Having developed one’s HL, in addition to English, has a number
of sociocultural advantages, as well as personal and societal benefits.
Those who have developed their HL have a strong ethnic identity,
are strongly connected to their ethnic group, and have greater understanding
and knowledge of cultural values, ethics, and manners; this further
enhances their interactions with HL speakers. Moreover, HL development
is shown to provide a personal gain, eventually contributing positively
to the betterment of the society. The results are discussed here,
and implications are presented for heritage language education.
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Teaching
in a Hawaiian Context: Educator Perspectives on the Hawaiian Language
Immersion Program
Lois A. Yamauchi, Andrea K. Ceppi, and Jo-Anne Lau-Smith
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
Abstract
Papahana Kaiapuni is the nation’s only K-12 program taught entirely
in the Hawaiian language. This indigenous language immersion program
was established as an attempt to revive Hawaiian after a century-long
ban on the language was lifted. The current study examines the perceptions
of Kaiapuni educators regarding the ways in which participation
in the program transforms teachers’ identities as educators and
as Hawaiians. Thirty seven Kaiapuni teachers and four principals
participated in individual interviews and focus group discussions
about their roles and experiences in the program. Many teachers
regard Kaiapuni as more than a “Hawaiian” version of the English
program. Teachers strive to integrate the Hawaiian culture into
the curriculum and view the program as a model of school reform
for Native Hawaiians. For many teachers, participation in the program
has also influenced the way they think of themselves as members
of the Hawaiian community.
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Mexico
Host Family Reactions to a Bilingual Chicana Teacher in Mexico:
A Case Study of Language and Culture Clash
Florencia Riegelhaupt and Roberto Luis Carrasco
Northern Arizona University
Abstract
This study describes the attitudes of a middle-class
Mexican family toward the Spanish of a Chicano bilingual teacher
from Yuma, Arizona. She was among 10 U.S. first- and second-generation
Chicano native Spanish-speaking bilingual teachers from Arizona
who had participated in a five-week Mexico immersion program and
who lived with Mexican families. During the first-week interviews
with the investigators, she complained about “harsh reactions” toward
her and her Spanish. This study demonstrates how the use of just
a few stigmatized characteristics of Spanish are generalized by
standard Spanish speakers to judge the speaker as uneducated and
of low social status.
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Validating
and Promoting Spanish in the United States: Lessons from Linguistic
Science
María Carreira
California State University, Long Beach
Abstract
With U.S. Hispanics constituting a culturally,
racially, and economically diverse group, the Spanish language represents
a key identity factor for this community. Regrettably, the derisive
attitudes about Spanish in the United States, as well as abroad,
present a serious obstacle to the preservation of Spanish in this
country. This paper argues that the Spanish for native speakers
(SNS) curriculum represents the single most important forum where
such attitudes can be exposed as groundless, and where the dual
task of validating the regional variants represented in the classroom
while teaching the standard language can be accomplished. Well-chosen
linguistic examples hold the key to demonstrating four issues that
are vital to the education of bilingual Hispanics and the preservation
of Spanish in the United States. These are: (a) the arbitrary nature
of linguistic prejudice, (b) the linguistic validity of all dialects
of a language including nonstandard variants, (c) the overwhelming
linguistic overlap between nonstandard and standard dialects of
Spanish, and (d) the instrumental value of learning the standard
language.
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In a Different
Voice: Sign Language Preservation and America’s Deaf Community
Susan Burch
Gallaudet University
Abstract
Current studies in heritage language learning have explored the linguistic
and social-cultural issues of identity. Most scholars, however,
overlook an important heritage language group in America: the Deaf
community. This work seeks to redress this oversight by examining
the ways Deaf people protected their heritage language—American
Sign Language—and their cultural identity during the early twentieth
century. This period was especially hostile to the Deaf community,
exemplified by increasing application of oralism in schools for
the Deaf. Oralism, which teaches lip reading and speech instead
of Sign Language, promised to integrate Deaf people into mainstream
society. Deaf resistance to oralism took on many forms, including
the support of Deaf teachers in schools, as well as Deaf churches,
clubs, and Deaf newspapers. Individuals and organizations also exploited
new technology in an effort to codify and legitimate their language,
producing numerous Sign Language films and dictionaries. While solidifying
the broad Deaf community, efforts to appear “normal” to mainstream
society ultimately marginalized sub-groups within the community,
including women and racial minorities.
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Opening
a Japanese Saturday School in a Small Town in the United States:
Community Collaboration to Teach Japanese as a Heritage Language
Setsue Shibata
California State University, Fullerton
Abstract
This article addresses the problem of how immigrant parents from
Japan can pass on their native language, Japanese, to their children
in a location where ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) is low. The case
study is an overview of an opening of a Saturday school to teach
Japanese as a heritage language. The school is located in a small
town in the northeastern region of the United States. Its background,
curriculum, and community support, as well as parents’ efforts,
are described. It is obvious that Saturday schools are one of the
most effective ways to teach children a heritage language, since
parents’ efforts, patience, and resources are limited. Cooperation
among parents and community support are essential. The school became
not only a place to teach the language, but also a center for the
ethnic group to share their values and identity, which were passed
on to the next generation in the small community. Factors that contributed
to the success of the Saturday school are also discussed.
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Heritage
Language Research Priorities Conference Report, University of California,
Los Angeles September 21-23, 2000
The UCLA Steering Committee
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Book
Review
The American Bilingual Tradition
(2nd ed.)
By H. Kloss
Reviewed by Ivonne Heinze Balcazar
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