Resources for heritage language program
teachers and managers
Informative videos
In this section you will find videos to webinars, presentations, and workshops that are free to view.
​
See also HLXchange recorded events
See Also over 75 recordings from a 2021 conference in Sydney
Project-based learning (PBL)
from Washington, U.S.
Dr. Maria Carreira's keynote address from the 2018 Annual Community-Based Heritage Language Schools Conference at American University in Washington, DC is about project-based learning. PBL is a proficiency-oriented instructional approach that supports real-world language use, fosters student engagement, and facilitates learner-centered instruction. These features make PBL ideal for teaching HL learners. (You can start at 25 minutes to skip conference opening.)
Basics of Assessment with Dr. Olenka Bilash
from Canada
Organized by the International and Heritage Languages Association (IHLA) in Canada. During this PD session teachers will learn the basics of assessment. This includes learning about assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning. Teachers can use multiple tools to look at their students’ learning beyond tests and quizzes. Some of these include journals, blogs, notes, concept maps, rubrics, self-assessments, and presentations. Teachers will learn how to triangulate assessments by looking at the products students produce, conversations that they have with students, and observations of their students’ learning. These all come together to give an accurate picture of students’ progress. Dr. Bilash will share ways to collect this information for presenting to parents.
Meeting the Needs of Heritage Language Learners Remotely
from Washington, U.S.
Remote learning can be very effective for heritage language (HL) learners because it supports developing the presentational speaking and writing modes of communication in ways that in-person language classes often do not. In this session you'll learn how to use the Global Competence Certificate with HL learners to engage them in a meaningful project and meet their linguistic and intercultural needs while teaching from a distance.
Community Languages School Leadership and Management Program: How did you come to start your school?
from Sydney, Australia
from Brussels
NESET has recently published an extensive analytical report entitled The future of language education in Europe: case studies of innovative practices, building on its previous work in this area - Multilingual Education in the Light of Diversity: Lessons Learned. NESET is an international advisory network of experts working on the social dimension of education and training. It was set up at the initiative of the European Commission, and has been coordinated by PPMI since 2015. This report aims to support the implementation of the Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages, adopted by the Council of the European Union in 2019. It emphasizes the importance of innovative language education in an increasingly interconnected and intercultural world.
​
The report incorporates six case studies on inspiring language teaching approaches, policies and tools implemented in various contexts across Europe and beyond. See the list of all 4 NESET webinars on language education and multilingualism in which the details of the most relevant findings of this report are presented and discussed.
How to open a heritage language school
from Alberta, Canada
A professional development video from the International and Heritage Languages Association is an umbrella organization which supports language schools in the province of Alberta.
Intercultural competence of heritage language learners
from California, the U.S.
Heritage language learners differ from typical second language learners in a variety of ways, including (1) their language proficiency (2.) reasons for studying their home language, and (3) their perception of themselves as Americans and, at the same time, the "other."
​
Dr. Kagan discusses the results of a national survey in the U.S. that demonstrates heritage language learners' attitude toward their heritage language. She will also focus on specific pedagogical implications of the learners' identities, motivations, and language perceptions for the heritage language curriculum.
Lights, Camera, Action- Online videos and student engagement
from Alberta, Canada
In this video Sofia Eigueta Duplancic & Zuzana Buchanan shared with tips and tricks they have used to make exciting and entertaining presentations that inspire and engage students in their language teaching. Thank you to IHLA for making your PD videos public!
Mobile Assisted Language Learning
from Alberta, Canada
In this workshop Dr. Aga Palalas shares her expertise about heritage language learning and mobile apps. She describes how students can benefit from using technology during heritage language classes. Thank you to IHLA for making your PD videos public!
Courses
European Centre for Modern Languages
The resources offer innovative ways to enhance young migrants' education by developing links between schools, the home and local partners in education. This educational joint venture develops the learners' skills in the language of schooling as well their plurilingual competences.
​
View the flyer.
from California, the U.S.
In conjunction with STARTALK, the National Heritage Language Resource Center in the U.S. has developed this online course for language instructors who teach heritage language (HL) students. The course consists of five self-paced modules. The modules can be followed by individual teachers wanting to improve their teaching skills and better serve their HL students.
If all five modules are completed, the NHLRC will issue a certificate. (This is not a UCLA-issued certificate.) The course costs between $75 and $150.
Teaching Heritage Languages:
free online tutorials
from California, the U.S.
By STARTALK / National Heritage Language Resource Center (NHLRC) in U.S.:
Modules 1 and 2 are self-paced online tutorials that are designed for teachers of world and heritage languages.
​
-
As you complete the first module, you will gain a better understanding of important differences between heritage language learners (HLLs) and foreign language learners (FLLs).
-
In the second module, you will learn about strategies for working with heritage language students in the classroom.
-
Module 3 focuses on issues that are language specific. For each language, you will hear a scholar discuss topics that s/he has found relevant and challenging in the teaching of that language to heritage language students.
from Groningen, the Netherlands
A free, 4-week course from Future Learn, called "Multilingual Practices: Tackling Challenges and Creating Opportunities" teaches about central aspects of multilingualism in today's globalised societies, such as cognition, policies and (heritage language) education.
from the U.S.
Presented by Carrie Rogers-Whitehead and Karina Gathu, moderated by Tay Gudmundson, sponsored by Digital Respons-ability.
​
Parents can be collaborators or obstacles when the topic of technology comes up. With more remote learning than ever, schools need parents. Educators often talk to parents when mistakes or accidents happen, as a reactionary measure. However, schools can be more proactive about preventing those mistakes by reaching out and understanding parents’ situations and worries. This recorded edWebinar will draw from on-the-ground work with hundreds of parents, sharing survey results with their biggest concerns.
​
Educators will also learn:
-
The five most important things parents should know about digital citizenship
-
How, when, why and who with, to host a digital parenting event
-
How to be proactive with parents, not reactive
​
Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more
Teaching materials
The Sydney Institute for Community Languages Education (SICLE) has established this portal to bring together available resources to support teaching both in out-of-hours community languages schools and primary and secondary schools. For many languages there is a gap in quality heritage language teaching materials. So far there are materials available in Arabic, Assyrian/Chaldean, Chinese, Greek, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian/Dari, Punjabi, Tamil, Turkish, and Vietnamese. HL teachers from anywhere in the world are welcome to use and submit materials.
PBLWorks offers a variety of online Project Based Learning workshops, courses, and services for educators.
This page from NHLRC contains curricula that were created by heritage language (HL) instructors who have participated in a summer HL teacher workshop. These projects are course curricula that incorporate principles of HL pedagogy and which have been placed into practice in real-world classrooms.
A resource for and by teachers, based in North America. Focused on issues of practice, the Heritage Language Exchange aims to be a hub of resources for HL teachers and programs from all languages and levels of education.
​
View the recorded events from HLX!
The series “Materials for Heritage Language Teaching” offers an introduction to the teaching methods currently used in Western and North European schools. The different volumes not only provide theoretical background information, but also numerous practical suggestions for daily teaching. My Heritage Language materials are available in English, Shqip, German, Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), Portuguese, Turkish, French, Italian, and Tamil.
The publication of the Heritage Language Teaching series is the result of a cooperative effort coordinated by the department International Projects in Education (IPE) of the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zurich).
