Critical Approaches to Heritage Language Education
Teaching heritage learners is not the same as teaching learners of a foreign language. Heritage languages are languages other than English that are spoken in homes, communities, and extended families. Although many of our students come from vibrant multilingual contexts, unless bilingual options are available, youth seldom have access to expanding their home/community languages (and literacy in them) in schools, which are predominantly English environments. When students are given the opportunity to use, learn, and expand on their heritage languages, they are able to tap into an abundance of resources and knowledge.
We will examine identity work, social justice topics, community-based learning and inquiry projects for growing heritage language (literacy), content-based instruction that promotes ethnic studies and racial consciousness, and arts-integrated language arts for heritage language development. This is the introductory prerequisite course that introduces the “deep-dive” topic courses. Participants will collaborate; connect experiences of heritage teachers and learners to research on multilingual development; and learn how to bring communities, classrooms, and digital storytelling together to create powerful heritage language learning environments. Sessions will be held virtually, using Zoom and will be hands-on and discussion-heavy. Come ready to share resources, ideas, and help requests!
Required books: Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish: Essays by Classroom Teachers
Tuesdays & Thursdays | June 13 - July 27, 2023 | 4:00 - 6:00 pm (CST)
Meeting Dates
- June 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 & 29
- July 06, 11, 13, 25 & 27
Limited to the first 30 registrants.
Registrations accepted online Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Registration Questions
Registrants will be asked the following questions in the registration. Please have the answers prior to registering:
Registrant name, address, phone, email, gender idenity; race/ethinicity (optional), job title, years experience, name on CEU Certificate, additional reading and/or literacy courses or PD taken participated in or are registered for, language(s) you teach, language(s) you are comfortable using with others, language(s) you can understand, grades/ages you teach, how did you hear about the event, accommodations/comments, I understand the cancellation/refund policy
Cost Information
Fee :
- Early Bird (Before 5/15/23): $200
- Standard: $250
Included in the Fee: The event fee includes instruction.
Early Bird/Group Discount: Save $50 if registered by May 15 for Early Bird discount. Register in group of 2-3 people = 10%, group of 4-5 people = 20% . For speakers and teachers of Indigenous languages = 100%. Other: For teachers who qualify for membership with "HLE Black & African Diaspora Teacher Special Interest Group" (email cushingj@uww.edu with questions) = 50% discount.
Prior to Attending Information
Login to Online Session
A few days prior to the event you will receive an email from the director indicating the steps you will need to take to join this event. Please contact cesevents@uww.edu if you do not recieve this email 24 hours before the event starts.
By registering for an event, you agree to our Registration Terms and Conditions. UW-Whitewater will hold all registrants responsible for their conduct. Serious misconduct or disruption will lead to immediate dismissal from event. Registrants dismissed from the event will not receive a refund. Please review the Terms and Conditions for more details.
We receive many questions from registrants. We have prepared a page with answers to our frequently asked questions about registering and attending an event.
Required Book
"Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish: Essays by Classroom Teachers: Essays by Classroom Teachers (edited by Mike Peto) $19.99.
https://mygenerationofpolyglots.com/product/practical-advice-for-teachers-of-heritage-learners-of-spanish-essays-by-classroom-teachers/
*Note: These essays are written by heritage language teachers of Spanish, but heritage language teachers of less commonly taught languages have shared that they have found this text very useful, too. We will also be using other readings during the class. Those will be provided by the instructor.
What You Will Need to Attend
- Required book
- A computer, tablet, or smartphone
- A reliable internet connection (hard-wired connections work best)
- A microphone (external mics preferred)
- Webcam
6 week Certificate Course
Critical Approaches to Heritage Language Education will be video-based and real-time. We will use Webex/Zoom and Google Classroom to create as close to an in-person environment as we can.
This course is the only prerequisite for all of the other courses in our series. Rather do this in-person? Contact instructor for information about week-long intensive in-person option at the CARLA Institute in Minneapolis, MN.
Course Credit
Do not register on this site if seeking course credit.
- Current UW-Whitewater students seeking graduate or undergraduate credit please register using WINS.
- Non-UW-Whitewater students seeking credit please contact Continuing Education Services before registering at contined@uww.edu.
- If you have a non-teaching degree and are seeking initial teaching licensure, please education@uww.edu before registering.
- If you have teaching license and are seeking additional licensure in world (heritage) language education, please email education@uww.edu before registering.
Instructors
J. Eik Diggs
Teacher
