GOAL: Understand the needs of heritage language learners for adults born and raised away from their heritage country, who do not know or struggle to maintain their heritage language(s). This specific segment of the project focuses on comparing the experiences of second language learners (SLLs) with heritage language learners (HLLs), primarily in the domain of education technology.
TOOLS: Literature Review, surveys, Interviews, Qualitative Coding
PROJECT TYPE
Academic Research
TEAM
Solo
“How might we enable second and third generation immigrants in the U.S. to learn their heritage language in adulthood?”
An overview:
First generation immigrants sacrifice a significant amount of their heritage and culture in coming to the United States. Along with personal sacrifices regarding family and financial support come sacrifices related to raising children in a completely new environment. These children, also known as second generation immigrants (SGI), may face a variety of challenges as children of parents from another country and members of a society where English is the dominant language. As these second generation immigrants grow into adulthood, they face additional challenges in reconnecting with or maintaining a connection to their ethnolinguistic roots in a society that mostly values assimilation into English speaking communities, in both work and social areas.
