Globalisation has resulted in European families that have a variety of home languages, leading to the need for heritage language learning (HLL). The purpose of HLL is to ensure that in addition to learning the language of their schools, children with migrant backgrounds also maintain their heritage language (HL). Besides the 'regular' teaching, in many countries, there are usually voluntary, extra-curricular maintenance courses available for migrant children. The purpose of our study was to investigate the impact that HL teachers working in Finnish schools have on the process of learning HLs. The data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire (N = 25) and semi-structured interviews (N = 15) with HL teachers representing 24 different languages. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted to check the survey construct validity. The statistical and qualitative analysis of the data indicated that HL teachers act as multilingual identity supporter, that is that they showed understanding of their students' multilingualism and were convinced about the positive impact of HL for students' future lives. Our study also reported on the challenges teachers face in the classroom.
Resumen
En este estudio se analiza, por un lado, el beneficio de ser bilingüe y, por otro, cómo las familias planifican
este hecho y qué actitudes motivacionales (instrumentales o integrativas) llevan a los padres a inscribir a sus hijos en programas
de enseñanza bilingüe. Los datos se han obtenido mediante cuestionarios y entrevistas a los padres de alumnos de dos tipos de
programas bilingües finés-español en Finlandia. El análisis muestra el papel destacado de la madre en el mantenimiento y
aprendizaje de la lengua minoritaria incluso cuando no es su lengua nativa, así como el papel del padre y subraya, además, cómo
los matrimonios mixtos facilitan el proceso de aprendizaje de la lengua minoritaria. Los resultados describen un patrón
determinado de familia y el uso de la lengua minoritaria en el hogar.
Household perspectives on minority language maintenance and loss: Language in the small spaces
Isabel Velázquez (2019)
Series: Bilingual Education & Bilingualism
Bristol and Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. Pp. 214
ISBN: 9781788922272
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