New Directions for Greek Education in the Diaspora: Teaching Heritage Language Learners in Canada

“Their Greek goes to waste”: Understanding Greek heritage language teachers’ language ideologies and instructional practices

“…Aside from examining the Greek HL teachers' attitudes towards their students, I also wanted to understand their perceptions about other Greek HL teachers. As it has been described in previous research studies (Aravossitas & Oikonomakou, 2020;Constantinides, 2001), and as it is also reflected in the participant profiles, there are both Greek-born and Canadian-born teachers teaching in the various Greek programs in Canada. Five participants (Maria, George, Lena, Stella, and Sofia) were adamant that Greek native speakers, and more specifically, newcomers from Greece, are better suited for the position of a Greek HL teacher than Canadian-born Greeks.…”

“…Ideally, they must also have a sound understanding of pedagogic studies. As previous research (Aravossitas & Oikonomakou 2017, 2020Constantinides, 2001;Tisizi 2020a) suggests however, many Greek HL teachers in Canada either have limited Greek language skills, or no background in educational studies whatsoever. Offering teacher training opportunities targeted at both aspects is thus indispensable for the enhancement of Greek HLE in Canada.…”

“…On the contrary, HL learners are members of ethnolinguistic minorities who maintain a connection with the HL not only at home and in the local community, but also through formal instruction (Polinsky & Kagan, 2007). Previous research has identified some challenges that Greek schools in Canada are confronted with, namely the fact that the schools are underfunded, there is a lack of appropriate teaching materials, and the teaching staff is in some cases untrained and has little or no background in pedagogic studies (Aravossitas & Oikonomakou 2017, 2020Constantinides, 2001;Tisizi 2020aTisizi , 2020b. Despite such challenges, Greek schools in Canada remain one of the main places where students of Greek origin can learn and practice their HL.…”

The UK’s shifting diasporic landscape: negotiating ethnolinguistic heterogeneity in Greek complementary schools post-2010

“…As one of the pillars of diaspora communities (Li 2018), community schools play an important role in establishing and transforming forms of community life and socialisation. In this regard, researchers have identified some key aspects that may transform the internal diversity of Greek schools and the ways in which emergent transformations may set in motion revisions in the way schools approach Greek language education as well as their policies, guiding principles and overall administration (see the contributions in Aravossitas &Oikonomakou 2020 andPanagiotopoulou et al 2019). These include the increase in the number of pupils that attend Greek schools; differences in competence in Greek between newly arrived pupils and pupils from older waves of migration; and, the high socioeconomic and educational level of (most but by no means all) post-2010 migrants, including newly arrived qualified teachers who join teaching teams in Greek schools.…”