2019 Heritage Language Symposium

Getting to Advanced: Challenging High School Heritage Language Learners to Step Outside Their Comfort Zone

(UW STARTALK Team: Dr. Eduardo Viana Da Silva, Dr. Svetlana Abramova, Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, Dr. Bridget Yaden)

Opportunities for Learning in Mixed Heritage/Second Language Classrooms

(Dr. Ana Fernández Dobao, Associate Professor, Spanish; Language Program Director, at the UW)

Keynote: New perspectives on the “incomplete acquisition” debate in heritage language bilingualism

In this presentation, I examine the use of the term ‘incomplete acquisition’ and the controversy it has generated in recent years (cf. Pascual y Cabo & Rothman, 2012; Kupisch & Rothman, 2016; Silva-Corvalán, 2018). Although the matter is a question of terminology, the debate reflects a very real dilemma in how to describe and ultimately explain heritage speakers’ language abilities. Are heritage speakers like native speakers in some ways and different in others? Is it fair to expect heritage speakers to wind up with grammars like native monolinguals? To shed light on these questions, I examine the original use of the term ‘incomplete acquisition’, the critiques against it, and the most recent line of argumentation to defend it. I will conclude by presenting my own research on innovation/creativity in Spanish, which suggests that ‘incompleteness’ is not the only outcome of heritage language acquisition.

Lunch (on your own)

Update on Projects from the UW Center for Spanish Heritage Learning

(María Gillman, Principal Lecturer, Spanish; Department Director of Experiential Learning and The Center for Spanish Heritage Learning at the UW)

Interactive Panel with Heritage Language Learners and Teachers

What does the Seal of Biliteracy Mean to Heritage Language Learners?

(Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, Paris Granville and Linda Egnatz from the Global Seal of Biliteracy)

Global Seal of Biliteracy Reception

NHLRC Flyers