The purpose of the study was to investigate the views held by teachers in Thrace, Greece with respect to their multilingual students and the teaching practices. A questionnaire (De Angelis, 2011) was used to assess teachers" beliefs about the role of prior linguistic knowledge, the teacher, the school and the family in the education of multilingual learners, as well as about their teaching practices. The effect of variables (gender, age, subject taught, teaching experience, intercultural education, and contact with languages) on teachers" attitudes and beliefs were examined. 60 primary and secondary school teachers, who mainly taught languages but also other school subjects, participated. They worked in an area comprising a significant number of multilingual learners with a non-Greek L1 belonging to the minority or immigrant families. Overall results suggest that teachers tend to share similar views and that the tested variables significantly affected their responses on a number of questions.
The present study aims to further the research on heritage language speakers (HLSs) by providing the socio-linguistic profiles and identities of an uninvestigated community of heritage speakers, namely the Greeks of Chicago, thus offering data for a less-studied HL, Greek. The participants were fifty-four (N=54) first, second, and third-generation Greek HLSs. The socio-linguistic data were collected through an online survey, while identification with Greek culture as well as ethnic attachment and practice of Greek traditions were investigated through the content analysis of data from the Greek Heritage Language Corpus. The results of the study are discussed with respect to how they can improve our knowledge of the educational needs of Greek HL learners. This research-based knowledge can be employed for addressing the academic needs of HL learners through educational programs. The authors propose an agenda for a more linguistically and culturally responsive education program for HL learners, in general, and Greek HL learners in diasporic communities, in particular.
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