South Asian Languages NEW
Visit the new Alliance Web pages which focus on the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of the geographical area of South Asia, which includes the Indian subcontinent and surrounding countries.
Arising from ACTFL's Discover Languages initiative, CAL presents a Web series highlighting various world languages.
Visit CAL's Discover Languages pages to learn more about Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic.
Watch our Web site as we will continue to add additional language profiles periodically.
NEW! The Alliance has developed the Heritage Voices Collection, an online series designed to allow heritage language speakers and programs to share their unique voices with visitors to our Web site. Learn more.
Language Spotlights
This area of the Alliance Web site is dedicated to providing information, links, and networking opportunities for specific languages.
These language-specific resources are works in progress and need the support of the language communities they have been created to serve. If you have suggestions about ways that a specific language site can be built and improved, please contact heritage@cal.org
Spanish
Spanish language education in the U.S. has faced the challenge of meeting heritage language speakers’ unique needs as they entered foreign language classrooms in increasing numbers throughout the 1990s. Spanish is the second-most-spoken language in the United States, with vibrant communities of speakers. The following pages provide resources on Spanish as a heritage language, including information on programs, textbooks, research, advocacy, and media coverage.
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Visit CAL's Spanish for Native Spanish
Speakers Web site -
Read CAL's Spotlight on Spanish - the fourth in a series of language spotlights created by CAL in support of ACTFL's Discover Languages initiative.
- Read the second issue of the Alliance News Flash, our periodic e-newsletter, which focused on Spanish.
Chinese
Chinese language development is receiving a great deal of attention in the U.S. media, and demand for Chinese language programs is on the rise at the K-12 and higher education levels. Meanwhile, Chinese community language programs have existed in the United States for over a century. The face of Chinese language education is changing rapidly.
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Read CAL's Spotlight on Chinese - the second in a series of language spotlights created by CAL in support of ACTFL's Discover Languages initiative.
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Read the first issue of the Alliance News Flash, our periodic e-newsletter, which focused on Chinese.
Russian
Russian is a one of the less commonly taught languages (LCTL) in the United States, but has been gaining considerable growth in the United States. The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) engaged in a national survey of foreign language instruction in Grades K-12 and revealed that it is among the top 10 languages taught in U.S. schools (1997), with programs operating at both the elementary and secondary school levels since at least the 1980s (Rhodes & Branaman, 1999). Specifically from 1987 to 1997, Russian Language programs have grown considerably in large parts because there are over 700,000 Russian speakers in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003).
- Read CAL's Spotlight on Russian - the third in a series of language spotlights created by CAL in support of ACTFL's Discover Languages initiative.
Arabic
Arabic is undergoing significant changes in its status in the United States. It has become a critical language and is gaining importance as the demand for Arabic speakers increases nationally and internationally. Arabic ranks sixth amongst the world's most spoken languages and is spoken by over 1 million speakers in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000).
- Read CAL's Spotlight on Arabic - the first in a series of language spotlights created by CAL in support of ACTFL's Discover Languages initiative.
Return to the Heritage Languages Research and Resources Page.
